The almanac

Today is Wednesday, Feb. 6, the 37th day of 2013 with 328 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Aquarius. They include England's Queen Anne in 1665; statesman Aaron Burr in 1756; baseball great George Herman "Babe" Ruth in 1895; former U.S. President Ronald Reagan in 1911; Eva Braun, mistress of Adolf Hitler, in 1912; actors Zsa Zsa Gabor in 1917 (age 96), Patrick Macnee in 1922 (age 91) and Rip Torn and Mamie Van Doren, both in 1931, (age 82); French film director Francois Truffaut in 1932; actors Mike Farrell in 1939 (age 74) and Michael Tucker in 1945 (age 68); TV newsman Tom Brokaw in 1940 (age 73); handgun control activist Sarah Brady in 1942 (age 71); Jamaican reggae singer/songwriter Bob Marley in 1945; singers Fabian Forte in 1943 (age 70), Natalie Cole in 1950 (age 63) and W. Axl Rose in 1962 (age 51); and actor/director Robert Townsend and actor Kathy Najimy, both in 1957 (age 56).

On this date in history:

In 1788, Massachusetts ratified the federal Constitution, the sixth state to do so.

In 1819, Singapore was founded with the establishment of a British East India Company trading post.

In 1865, Gen. Robert E. Lee was appointed commander in chief of the armies of the Confederacy.

In 1933, the 20th Amendment, changing the dates of terms of some federal offices, to the U.S. Constitution went into effect.

In 1943, U.S. Army Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower was named commander of Allied expeditionary forces in North Africa. He later became World War II Supreme Allied Commander in Europe.

In 1952, Princess Elizabeth became sovereign of Great Britain upon the death of her father, King George VI. She was crowned Queen Elizabeth II on June 2, 1953.

In 1987, broad no-smoking rules took effect for 890,000 employees in 6,800 U.S. federal buildings nationwide.

In 1992, a military transport plane crashed into a restaurant and hotel in Evansville, Ind., killing 16 people.

In 1993, U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali asked NATO for authority to order airstrikes against Serb artillery positions in Bosnia.

In 1997, the head of Mexico's leading anti-drug agency resigned after evidence emerged that he took bribes from a drug cartel.

In 1998, U.S. President Bill Clinton said he would never consider resigning because of allegations that he had an affair with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

In 2001, Ariel Sharon was elected prime minister of Israel.

In 2004, a female suicide bomber detonated explosives in a suitcase on a Moscow subway car killing 39 people and injuring about 200.

In 2005, the New England Patriots won their third Super Bowl in four years, defeating the Philadelphia Eagles 24-21.

In 2006, U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales told Congress that President George W. Bush was within his legal rights when he authorized warrantless surveillance of people in the United States by the National Security Agency.

In 2008, storms spawned tornadoes across the U.S. South, killing at least 54 people and injuring nearly 100 more.

In 2009, Pakistani helicopter gunships killed 52 militants in clashes near the Khyber region to fight off efforts to disrupt a supply line for U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan.

In 2010, a raging storm with heavy snowfall left nearly 90,000 homes without power in Maryland and Virginia and forced much of the nation's capital to a standstill.

In 2012, the United States suspended operations at its embassy in Damascus and evacuated its staff, citing the deteriorating situation across Syria.

Also in 2012, a 6.9-magnitude earthquake in Negros Oriental province in the Philippines' Visayas Island chain killed at least 43 people.

A thought for the day: it was U.S. President Ronald Reagan who said, "You can accomplish much if you don't care who gets the credit."