The almanac

Today is Friday, July 16, the 197th day of 2010 with 168 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Cancer. They include English painter Joshua Reynolds in 1723; Mary Baker Eddy, founder of the Christian Science Church, in 1821; rights activist Ida Bell Wells-Barnett in 1862; Norwegian polar explorer Roald Amundsen in 1872; baseball great and "Black Sox" scandal figure "Shoeless" Joe Jackson and actor Percy Kilbride ("Pa Kettle"), both in 1888; vaudeville great Blossom Seeley in 1886; popcorn businessman Orville Redenbacher and actor Barbara Stanwyck, both in 1907; actor/dancer Ginger Rogers in 1911; actor Barnard Hughes in 1915; former Miss America/TV personality Bess Myerson in 1924 (age 86); actor Corin Redgrave in 1939; tennis Hall of Fame member Margaret Court in 1942 (age 68); former football coach and television commentator Jimmy Johnson in 1943 (age 67); singer/actor Ruben Blades and violinist Pinchas Zukerman, both in 1948 (age 62); Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Stewart Copeland in 1952 (age 58); playwright Tony Kushner in 1956 (age 54); cyclist Miguel Indurain in 1964 (age 44); football Hall of Fame member Barry Sanders in 1968 (age 42); and actors Phoebe Cates in 1963 (age 47), Will Ferrell in 1967 (age 43); Rain Pryor in 1969 (age 41); and Corey Feldman in 1971 (age 39).

On this date in history:

In 1769, the first Roman Catholic mission in California was dedicated at the site of present day San Diego.

In 1790, the U.S. Congress designated the District of Columbia as the permanent seat of the U.S. government.

In 1918, Russian Czar Nicholas II and his family killed by Bolsheviks, who had held them captive for two months.

In 1935, world's first parking meter installed in Oklahoma City.

In 1945, the first test of the atom bomb was conducted at a secret base near Alamogordo, N.M.

In 1951, J.D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye" published.

In 1959, Billie Holiday, considered one of the greatest jazz singers of all time despite a tragic life, died of cardiac failure at age 44.

In 1969, Apollo 11, the first moon-landing mission, was launched from the Kennedy Space Center, carrying astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin and Michael Collins.

In 1980, Ronald Reagan was unanimously nominated as the Republican candidate for president at the GOP National Convention in Detroit. He chose George Bush as his running mate after former U.S. President Gerald Ford declined to join the ticket.

In 1990, Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev dropped his objections to a unified Germany in NATO.

In 1991, at its London summit, the Group of Seven agreed to support the Soviet Union's economic reforms and its admission to the International Monetary Fund.

In 1999, John F. Kennedy, Jr., his wife and her sister were killed when their single-engine plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off Martha's Vineyard. The son of former U.S. President John Kennedy was 39.

In 2004, Martha Stewart was sentenced to five months in prison and five months of house arrest after being found guilty of conspiracy, obstruction of an agency proceeding and making false statements to federal investigators.

Also in 2004, at least 75 children were killed in a fire that engulfed a school in India's southern state of Tamil Nadu.

In 2005, British police said a powerful explosive had been found in an apartment in the English town of Leeds, possibly related to the previous week's London bombings of three subway trains and a double-decker bus in which 54 people died and more than 700 were injured.

In 2006, leaders of the Group of Eight major economic powers criticized Israel and Hezbollah forces in Lebanon for their fighting and urged them to stop. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Hezbollah had to be disarmed.

Also in 2006, North Korea said the U.N. Security Council resolution sanctioning Pyongyang for its recent missile tests was a prelude to a new Korean war.

In 2007, a reported 85 people died when a suicide bomber drove an explosives-laden truck into a Kirkuk compound that housed offices of Kurdish politicians in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Also in 2007, International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors verified that North Korea had shut down its nuclear reactor at Yongbyon.

In 2008, a bold attack by Taliban militants on a U.S. base in Afghanistan killed nine U.S. soldiers and wounded at least 50 NATO troops in the most deadly assault against U.S. troops in three years.

Also in 2008, an apparent breakthrough in efforts to negotiate a power-sharing government in Zimbabwe fizzled. Officials said the Movement for Democratic Change, the main opposition group, refused to sign a memorandum of understanding.

In 2009, the foreclosed Washington complex site of the burglary that led to the Watergate scandal and resignation of President Richard Nixon, was scheduled for auction.

Also in 2009, opposition parties and a human rights group disputed election results that returned Denis Sassou-Nguesso to power as president of the Republic of Congo.

A thought for the day: From Ogden Nash: "The cow is of the bovine ilk; One end is moo, the other, milk."