The almanac

Today is Tuesday, Feb. 2, the 33rd day of 2009 with 332 to follow.

This is Groundhog Day in the United States.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Aquarius. They include French statesman Charles de Talleyrand in 1754; psychologist Havelock Ellis in 1859; Irish novelist James Joyce in 1882; Charles Correll, Andy of radio's "Amos and Andy" radio program, in 1890; National Football League co-founder George Halas in 1895; hotel magnate Howard Johnson, in 1897; violinist Jascha Heifetz in 1901; novelist Ayn Rand in 1905; columnist Liz Smith in 1923 (age 87); musician Stan Getz in 1927; comedian Tom Smothers in 1937 (age 73); singers Graham Nash in 1942 (age 68), Eva Cassidy in 1963 and Shakira in 1977 (age 33); actress Farrah Fawcett in 1947; model Christie Brinkley in 1954 (age 56); and actors Elaine Stritch in 1925 (age 85) and Michael T. Weiss ("The Pretender") in 1962 (age 48).

On this date in history:

In 1653, the city of New Amsterdam is incorporated. It was later renamed New York City.

In 1848, the war between the United States and Mexico formally ended with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. It provided for Mexico's cession to the U.S. of the territory that became the states of New Mexico, Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah, and parts of Colorado and Wyoming in exchange for $15 million.

In 1876, the National Baseball League was formed, with teams in Boston; Chicago; Cincinnati; New York; Philadelphia; St. Louis; Louisville, Ky.; and Hartford, Conn.

In 1887, Groundhog Day is celebrated for the first time in Punxsutawney, Pa.

In 1933, two days after becoming chancellor of Germany, Adolf Hitler ordered dissolution of the German Parliament.

In 1936, Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson were the first inductees into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

In 1990, South African President F.W. de Klerk announced he would free Nelson Mandela and lift a 30-year ban on the African National Congress. Mandela was released nine days later.

In 1993, more than 7,500 United Mine Workers miners went on strike against the Peabody Coal Co., the nation's largest coal producer.

Also in 1993, first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton banned smoking in the White House.

In 1998, U.S. President Bill Clinton submitted the first balanced federal budget in 29 years.

In 2002, a report requested by the board of directors of the Enron Corporation accused top executives of forcing the company into bankruptcy by, among other things, inflating profits by almost $1 billion.

In 2003, Vaclav Havel, the playwright who became a president, stepped down after his second five-year term as head of the Czech Republic.

In 2004, the Bush administration said a bipartisan commission would investigate why pre-war intelligence reports that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction apparently had been wrong.

In 2005, in a wide-ranging State of the Union address, U.S. President George Bush said that U.S. troops would remain in Iraq until Iraqis can provide their own security.

In 2006, Ohio's John Boehner won a vote to be the Republican leader in the U.S. House of Representatives.

In 2007, hundreds of scientists taking part in a U.N.-sponsored study concluded in a report that human activity was to blame for global warming, largely through greenhouse gases from the burning of fossil fuels.

In 2008, a reported 2,000 rebels stormed Chad's capital city of N'Djamena in an unsuccessful attempt to oust President Idriss Deby. A cease-fire went into effect two days later with an estimated toll of 400 civilians dead.

In 2009, Congress moved closer to passing a $787 billion stimulus bill intended to boost America's struggling economy through tax cuts and new federal spending.

A thought for the day: Robert Frost said, "Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence."