The Almanac

Today is Sunday, Nov. 4, the 308th day of 2001 with 57 to follow.

The moon is waning, moving toward its last quarter.

The morning stars are Venus, Jupiter and Saturn.

The evening stars are Mercury and Mars.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Scorpio. They include British King William III, known as William of Orange, in 1650; humorist Will Rogers in 1879; reporter Walter Cronkite in 1916 (age 85); actors Art Carney in 1918 (age 83), Martin Balsam in 1919 and Loretta Swit in 1937 (age 64); controversial photographer Robert Mapplethorpe in 1946; and actors Markie Post in 1950 (age 51), Ralph Macchio ("The Karate Kid") in 1962 (age 39), and Matthew McConaughey in 1969 (age 32).

On this date in history:

In 1922, British archaeologist Howard Carter discovered the tomb of ancient Egypt's child-king, Tutankhamen.

In 1952, Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower was elected president, ending 20 years of Democratic administrations.

In 1956, Soviet forces entered Budapest to crush the anti-communist revolt in Hungary.

In 1979, Iranian militants seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, taking some 90 people hostage, 63 of them Americans.

In 1980, Ronald Reagan was elected 40th president in a landslide victory over incumbent Jimmy Carter.

In 1986, Democrats regained control of the U.S. Senate, 55-45.

In 1990, actress Mary Martin died at age 76.

In 1991, former First Lady Imelda Marcos returned to Philippines, ending more than five years of exile in United States.

In 1993, Canadian Liberal Party leader Jean Chretien was sworn in as prime minister.

In 1994, the U.N. Security Council voted unanimously to withdraw the remaining 17,000 U.N. troops from Somalia by mid-March 1995.

In 1995, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, 73, was assassinated by a Jewish extremist following a peace rally in Tel Aviv.

In 1996, the Odwalla juice company issued an apology for tainted apple juice.

In 1997, the Republicans swept the off-year elections, with New Jersey Gov. Christie Whitman winning re-election, James Gilmore becoming Virginia governor, Vito Fossella taking the New York congressional seat vacated by Susan Molinari, and Rudy Giuliani being re-elected mayor of New York.

A thought for the day: humorist Will Rogers said, "My forefathers didn't come over on the Mayflower, but they met the boat."