The almanac

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Today is Wednesday, Feb. 4, the 35th day of 2009 with 330 to follow.

The moon is waxing. The morning stars are Mercury, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. The evening stars are Venus, 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 69); comedian David Brenner in 1945 (age 64); rock musician Alice Cooper in 1948 (age 61); actresses Pamela Franklin in 1950 (age 59) and Lisa Eichhorn in 1952 (age 57); country singer Clint Black in 1962 (age 47) and actress Gabrielle Anwar in 1970 (age 39).

On this date in history:

In 1789, George Washington of Virginia, 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 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 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 same-sex marriage.

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.

In 2007, severe flooding in Jakarta killed at least 20 people and drove 340,000 Indonesians from their homes.

In 2008, U.S. President George Bush introduced a $3.1 trillion budget for fiscal 2009, including proposed increases in military spending but cutbacks in most domestic programs.

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