The almanac

Today is Wednesday, Feb. 10, the 41st day of 2010 with 324 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Aquarius. They include essayist Charles Lamb in 1775; journalist William Allen White in 1868; Russian author Boris Pasternak in 1890; entertainer Jimmy Durante and tennis player Bill Tilden, both in 1893; German dramatist Bertolt Brecht in 1898; actors Judith Anderson in 1897 and Lon Chaney Jr. in 1906; Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Georges Pire in 1910; operatic soprano Leontyne Price in 1927 (age 83); actor Robert Wagner in 1930 (age 80); singer Roberta Flack in 1937 (age 73); Olympic gold medal swimmer Mark Spitz in 1950 (age 60); golfer Greg Norman in 1955 (age 55); television commentator George Stephanopoulos in 1961 (age 49); television commentator Glenn Beck in 1964 (age 46); and actress Laura Dern in 1967 (age 43).

On this date in history:

In 1763, the Treaty of Paris ended the Seven Years' War between Britain and Spain and also the French and Indian War, with France ceding Quebec to Great Britain.

In 1870, the Young Women's Christian Association of founded in New York.

In 1897, the slogan "All The News That's Fit To Print" first appeared on page one of The New York Times.

In 1931, New Delhi is made the capital of India.

In 1962, captured U-2 spy plane pilot Francis Gary Powers was returned to the United States by Russia in exchange for Soviet spy Rudolf Abel.

In 1964, 82 Australian sailors died when an aircraft carrier and a destroyer collided off New South Wales, Australia.

In 1967, Minnesota and Nevada ratified the 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, making it part of the frame of government. The amendment deals with presidential succession.

In 1984, Americans and other foreigners were evacuated from Beirut following the withdrawal of U.S. Marines from Lebanon.

In 1987, U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop endorsed television advertising for condoms to help curb the spread of AIDS.

In 1991, ANC gunmen ambushed an Inkatha Freedom Party motorcade outside Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, killing 17 and wounding 29.

In 1992, an Indianapolis jury convicted former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson in the rape of a beauty pageant contestant.

In 1993, U.S. President Bill Clinton announced a 100,000-person reduction in the federal government work force over three years.

Also in 1993, a gang of more than 40 people ambushed two trucks in a mountainous region of Mexico, killing 24 men in a drug-related family feud.

In 1996, a computer -- IBM's Deep Blue -- wins a game against world champion chess player Garry Kasparov. But Kasparov won three games and drew two others in winning the overall match with Deep Blue.

In 2004, at least 43 people died in the crash of an Iranian civilian airplane near Sharjah airport the United Arab Emirates. There were three survivors.

In 2005, as North Korea boasted for the first time that it had nuclear weapons, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged the nation to return to disarmament talks.

Also in 2005, a previously undisclosed report from the U.S. Sept. 11 commission showed the risk of suicide aircraft attacks was known months prior to the 2001 assault.

And, Prince Charles, Britain's heir to the throne, announced plans to marry his long-time companion, Camilla Parker Bowles.

In 2006, the Winter Olympic Games opened in Turin, Italy.

Also in 2006, the price for fixing the Hurricane Katrina-shredded roof of the New Orleans Superdome came to $32 million, more than twice the original estimate.

In 2007, U.S. Army Lt. Gen. David Petraeus assumed control of the U.S. forces in Iraq at a ceremony in Baghdad. He described his new job as "hard but not hopeless."

Also in 2007, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the United States was provoking a new nuclear arms race as it destabilized relations by "an almost uncontained hyper-use of military force."

In 2008, U.S. military officials filed capital charges against six al-Qaida members for their roles in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The admitted mastermind, Khalid Sheik Mohammed, and the others were detainees at Guantanamo Bay.

Also in 2008, masterpieces by Cezanne, Degas, Van Gogh and Monet, with a combined worth of $163 million, were stolen from the Zurich Museum.

In 2009, in a 61-37 vote, mostly along party lines, the U.S. Senate approved President Barack Obama's $838 billion stimulus plan. Congress reached a compromise after whittling it down to $787 billion and sent the measure to Obama, who signed it.

Also in 2009, nine people were killed by a tornado that ripped through Lone Grove, Okla.

A thought for the day: "To keep your marriage brimming, / With love in the loving cup, / Whenever you're wrong, admit it; Whenever you're right, shut up." Ogden Nash said that.