The almanac

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Today is Wednesday, Jan. 9, the ninth day of 2013 with 356 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Capricorn. They include women's suffrage and peace movement leader Carrie Chapman Catt in 1859; pioneer psychologist John Watson in 1878; Czech writer Karel Capek in 1890; French novelist Simone de Beauvoir in 1908; Richard Nixon, 37th president of the United States, in 1913; actors Fernando Lamas in 1915, Lee Van Cleef in 1925 and Bob Denver in 1935; author Judith Krantz in 1928 (age 85); football Hall of Fame member Bart Starr in 1934 (age 79); sportscaster Dick Enberg in 1935 (age 78); actor Susannah York in 1939; singer Joan Baez in 1941 (age 72); rock 'n' roll Hall of Fame member Jimmy Page in 1944 (age 69); country singer Crystal Gayle in 1951 (age 62); actors Imelda Staunton in 1956 (age 57) and Joely Richardson in 1965 (age 48); Guatemalan activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Rigoberta Menchu in 1959 (age 54); bandleader Dave Matthews in 1967 (age 46); golfer Sergio Garcia in 1980 (age 33); and Kate Middleton, wife of British Prince William, in 1982 (age 31).

On this day in history:

In 1768, the first modern circus was staged in London.

In 1788, Connecticut became the fifth U.S. state.

In 1861, Mississippi seceded from the Union.

In 1945, in World War II, U.S. troops invaded the Philippine island of Luzon and liberated Manila.

In 1951, the U.N. headquarters opened in New York.

In 1969, the British-French supersonic Concorde jetliner made its first test flight at Bristol, England.

In 1972, the luxury liner Queen Elizabeth was gutted by fire while docked in Hong Kong.

In 1996, rebels in the Russian republic of Chechnya overran the town of Kizlyar and took 2,000 hostages at a hospital and in nearby homes.

In 2004, a Kenyan survey said about 1 million adults were infected with HIV in the country, one-third of previous estimates.

In 2007, Venezuelan stocks fell almost 19 percent -- the biggest drop on record -- and the country's currency lost almost one-third of its value after President Hugo Chavez pledged to nationalize the country's utilities.

In 2008, U.S. President George W. Bush began a trip to the Middle East, including his first visit as president to Israel. After meeting with Palestinian leaders, Bush called for an end to Israeli "occupation that began in 1967."

In 2009, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was impeached on abuse of power charges, including accusations that he tried to sell U.S. President-elect Barack Obama's U.S. Senate seat. The vote was 114-1.

In 2011, North Korean officials urged South Korea to return to talks aimed at easing military tension between the countries and overcoming "distrust and confrontation."

Also in 2011, an IranAir Boeing 727 with 105 people aboard crashed shortly before it was scheduled to land in northwestern Iran. Authorities said there were 50 survivors.

In 2012, military experts said a buildup of Western naval forces in the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea was a reaction to Iran's threat to close the Strait of Hormuz. U.S., Russian, French and British air and naval forces moved to the Syrian and Iranian coasts.

A thought for the day: Seneca said, "If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable.