The almanac

Today is Sunday, Oct. 6, the 279th day of 2013 with 86 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Libra. They include singer Jenny Lind, the "Swedish Nightingale," in 1820; inventor and manufacturer George Westinghouse in 1846; French aviator Roland Garros in 1888; tennis champion Helen Wills Moody in 1905; actors Janet Gaynor in 1906 and Carole Lombard in 1908; Norwegian ethnologist, archaeologist and adventurer Thor Heyerdahl in 1914; former "60 Minutes" journalist Shana Alexander in 1925; actor Britt Ekland in 1942 (age 71); Northern Ireland politician Gerry Adams in 1948 (age 65); television execution Leslie Moonves in 1949 (age 64); writer David Brin in 1950 (age 63); and actor Elisabeth Shue in 1963 (age 50).

On this date in history:

In 1853, Antioch College opened in Yellow Springs, Ohio, as the first non-sectarian school to offer equal opportunity for both men and women.

In 1921, sports writer Grantland Rice was at the microphone as baseball's World Series was broadcast on radio for the first time.

In 1927, "The Jazz Singer" starring Al Jolson, Hollywood's legendary "first talkie," premiered in New York, ushering in the era of sound and a subsequent end of the silents.

In 1981, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat was assassinated as he reviewed a military parade in Cairo.

In 1989, Oscar-winning Hollywood legend Bette Davis died of cancer in a suburb of Paris. She was 81.

In 1991, Anita Hill, a former personal assistant to U.S. Supreme Court justice nominee Clarence Thomas, accused him of sexual harassment.

In 1997, U.S. President Bill Clinton used his new line-item veto power to eliminate 38 military spending projects.

In 2001, Cal Ripkin Jr. retired after a baseball career with the Baltimore Orioles that included playing in a record 2,632 consecutive games.

In 2004, a U.S. weapons inspector said Iraq began destroying its illicit weapons in 1991 and had none by 1996, seven years before the United States invaded.

In 2007, Pervez Musharraf breezed to re-election to a third term as president of Pakistan.

In 2010, floods inundated more than 200 villages on the Chinese island of Hainan and trapped at least 6,000 people.

In 2012, the cost of a gallon of regular gasoline in California reached a record high of $4.614. Industry analysts said the increase was mainly due to refinery and pipeline problems.

A thought for the day: Hubert Humphrey said in 1964, "Freedom is the most contagious virus known to man."