The Almanac

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Today is Saturday, Oct. 28, the 301st day of 2006 with 64 to follow.

The moon is waxing. The morning stars are Saturn and Mars. The evening stars are Venus, Mercury, Pluto, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Scorpio. They include rifle maker Eliphalet Remington in 1793; actress Elsa Lanchester in 1902; English novelist Evelyn Waugh in 1903; Dr. Jonas Salk, a developer of the polio vaccine, in 1914; former baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn in 1926 (age 80); country musician Charlie Daniels in 1936 (age 70); actors Jane Alexander in 1939 (age 67) and Dennis Franz in 1944 (age 62); singer/actress Thelma Hopkins in 1948 (age 58); Olympic decathlon champion-turned-sportscaster Bruce Jenner in 1949 (age 57); Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates in 1955 (age 51); Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 1956 (age 50); actresses Annie Potts in 1952 (age 54), Lauren Holly in 1963 (age 43), Jami Gertz in 1965 (age 41); and Julia Roberts in 1967 (age 39).

On this date in history:

In A.D. 312, in a battle that marked the beginning of the Christian era in Europe, Constantine's army, wearing the cross, defeated the forces of Maxentius at Mulvian Bridge in Rome.

In 1636, Harvard College, now Harvard University, was founded in Massachusetts.

In 1846, the pioneering Donner Party of 90 people set out from Springfield, Ill., for California.

In 1886, the Statue of Liberty, a gift of friendship from the people of France to the United States, was dedicated in New York Harbor by U.S. President Grover Cleveland.

In 1919, the U.S. Congress passed the Volstead Act, over U.S. President Woodrow Wilson's veto, enforcing the constitutional amendment prohibiting the use of alcoholic beverages.

In 1962, Russian chief Nikita Khrushchev announced that all Soviet offensive missiles would be removed from Cuba.

In 1985, the leader of the so-called "Walker family spy ring," John Walker, pleaded guilty to giving U.S. Navy secrets to the Soviet Union.

In 1986, the Statue of Liberty reached the actual 100th anniversary of its dedication, without the hoopla of the July 4th ceremonies.

In 1989, the Oakland A's wrapped up an earthquake-delayed sweep of the World Series over the San Francisco Giants.

In 1992, scientists using sonar to map Scotland's Loch Ness made contact with a mysterious object, but declined to speculate what that implies about whether legendary monster "Nessie" exists.

In 1993, a U.S. budget deficit of $254.9 billion was reported for fiscal year 1993.

In 1994, U.S. President Bill Clinton visited U.S. troops in Kuwait during a Middle Eastern trip.

In 2001, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed a third New Jersey postal worker had an anthrax inhalation infection, bringing the total number to eight, including three people who died from the most serious form of the disease.

Also in 2001, on this date, U.S.-led forces resumed airstrikes against targets in Afghanistan, bombing the Taliban's southern stronghold of Kandahar.

In 2002, U.S. diplomat John Foley was slain in Amman, Jordan. An unknown group called the Honest People of Jordan claimed responsibility, calling it a response to U.S. support of Israel and actions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In 2003, U.S. President George W. Bush warned Iran and Syria not to allow terrorists to cross into Iraq from their territory.

In 2004, insurgents executed 11 Iraqi soldiers in what they said was revenge for women and children killed in U.S. strikes on the guerrilla stronghold of Fallujah.

In 2005, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, chief of staff and national security adviser to the vice president, resigned after he was indicted on multiple counts in the CIA leak case in which a covert operative's name was revealed to the media.

A thought for the day: poet Emily Dickinson wrote,

"I'll tell you how the sun rose --

"A Ribbon at a time --"