The almanac

Today is Friday, Aug. 27, the 239th day of 2010 with 126 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Virgo. They include German philosopher Georg Hegel in 1770; novelist Theodore Dreiser in 1871; English automaker Charles Rolls in 1877; novelist C.S. Forester in 1899; Lyndon Baines Johnson, 36th president of the United States, in 1908; singer/actor Martha Raye in 1916; writers Ira Levin in 1929 and William Least-Heat Moon in 1939 (age 71); singer/actor Tommy Sands in 1937 (age 73); actors Tuesday Weld in 1943 (age 67), Barbara Bach in 1947 (age 63); Paul Reubens (Pee-Wee Herman) in 1952 (age 58); golf Hall of Fame member Bernhard Langer in 1957 (age 53); and actor Sarah Chalke in 1976 (age 34).

On this date in history:

In 1859, the first successful oil well in the United States was drilled near Titusville, Pa.

In 1883, the most powerful volcanic eruption in recorded history occurred on Krakatoa, a small, uninhabited island located west of Sumatra in Indonesia.

In 1928, the Kellogg-Briand Pact, outlawing war as a means to settle international disputes, was signed by 15 nations in Paris. World War II began 11 years later.

In 1939, Adolf Hitler served notice on England and France that Germany wanted Danzig and the Polish Corridor.

In 1977, IRA militants killed Louis Mountbatten, a cousin of the queen, by blowing up his boat. It was the IRA's first attack on the royal family.

In 1991, the Soviet republic of Moldavia declared independence and the European Community recognized Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania as independent countries.

In 1992, Serbian leaders at the Yugoslav peace conference pledged to close the prisoner-of-war camps, end "ethnic cleansing" and work toward peace.

In 1999, two Russian cosmonauts and a French astronaut left Mir to return to Earth, leaving the orbiting Russian space station unmanned for the first time in 13 years.

In 2003, the United States and North Korea met privately in Beijing during the six-nation talks on Pyongyang's nuclear program. Diplomats said there was no breakthrough in the talks.

In 2004, Russian authorities said traces of explosives were found in the wreckage of two airliners that crashed within minutes of each other after takeoff earlier in the week in Moscow. A total of 89 people died in the crashes.

In 2006, reports said hundreds of tribal chiefs signed a pact supporting reconciliation and an end to sectarian strife in Iraq while bombs and gunfire killed 100 Iraqis over a 2-day period.

In 2007, U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales announced his resignation, effective Sept. 17. He had been embroiled in several controversies including the firings of nine U.S. attorneys, treatment of detainees, surveillance and other issues.

In 2008, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois was formally elected the Democratic presidential nominee at the party's national convention in Denver. Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware was the party's vice presidential nominee.

In 2009, first-time claims for U.S. jobless insurance fell by 10,000 during the week ending Aug. 22. The figure for the month, however, was up 4,750. Unemployment remained at 9.4 percent.

Also in 2009, 17-year-old British youth Mike Perham, after a 9-month voyage in a 50-foot yacht, was recognized as the youngest person to sail alone around the world without assistance. At age 14, he had been the youngest to sail solo across the Atlantic.

A thought for the day: in her novel "Molly Bawn," Margaret Wolfe Hungerford wrote, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."