The Almanac

• Tweet

Today is Sunday, Feb. 4, the 35th day of 2007 with 330 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Aquarius. They include Polish-born American patriot Tadeusz Kosciuszko in 1746; French cubist painter Fernand Leger in 1881; aviator Charles Lindbergh in 1902; civil rights activist Rosa Lee Parks in 1913; actress Ida Lupino in 1918; feminist Betty Friedan in 1921; actor John Schuck in 1940 (age 67); comedian David Brenner in 1945 (age 62); rock musician Alice Cooper in 1948 (age 59); actresses Pamela Franklin in 1950 (age 57) and Lisa Eichhorn in 1952 (age 55); country singer Clint Black in 1962 (age 45) and actress Gabrielle Anwar in 1970 (age 37).

In this date in history:

In 1789, George Washington, the commander of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, was elected the first president of the United States by all 69 presidential electors who cast their votes. John Adams of Massachusetts was elected vice president.

In 1861, at a convention in Montgomery, Ala., six states -- Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and South Carolina -- elected Jefferson Davis president of the Confederacy.

Also in 1861, the 25-year period of conflict known as the Apache War began at Apache Pass, Ariz., with the arrest of Apache Chief Cochise for raiding a ranch. Cochise escaped his U.S. Army captors and declared war.

In 1938, Adolf Hitler seized control of the German army and put Nazi officers in key posts as part of a plan that led to World War II.

In 1974, urban guerrillas abducted Patricia Hearst, the 19-year-old daughter of publisher Randolph Hearst, from her apartment in Berkeley, Calif.

In 1976, an earthquake measuring 7.5 on the Richter scale killed nearly 23,000 people in Guatemala and Honduras.

In 1991, Iran offered to mediate an end to the Persian Gulf War.

In 1993, the U.S. Congress approved legislation giving employees unpaid leave in the event of a birth or a medical emergency in their family. U.S. President Bill Clinton signed it into law the next day.

Also in 1993, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expanded its investigation into contaminated hamburger meat that sickened hundreds of people in four Western states.

In 1997, a jury in a civil trial in Santa Monica, Calif., found O.J. Simpson liable in the killings of his former wife and her friend, and was ordered to pay a total of $33.5 million to both families. Simpson had been acquitted in his murder trial.

In 2002, U.S. President George W. Bush submitted a $2.13 trillion budget for the 2003 fiscal year to Congress, including a 14-percent or $48 billion increase in defense spending.

In 2004, A Pakistani scientist considered the key figure in his country's nuclear weaponry development admitted he had leaked that technology to other countries.

Also in 2004, the Massachusetts Supreme Court refused to allow "civil union" as a substitute for gay "marriage."

In 2005, Condoleezza Rice, the new U.S. secretary of State, said Washington is not planning to attack Iran's nuclear facilities "at this point."

In 2006, widespread Muslim protests of published caricatures depicting Muhammad in a negative light turned violent. Angry demonstrators smashed windows, set fires and burned flags and Syrian mobs burned Danish and Norwegian embassies.

Also in 2006, nearly 100 people were reported killed and more than 250 injured in a stampede at a Philippine stadium where thousands were on hand for a popular game show.

A thought for the day: Ralph Waldo Emerson advised, "Go often to the house of a friend, for weeds choke the unused path."