The Almanac

Today is Thursday, Dec. 20, the 354th day of 2001 with 11 to follow.

The moon is waxing, moving toward its first quarter.

The morning star is Jupiter.

The evening stars are Mars and Saturn.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Sagittarius. They include author and decorator Elsie de Wolfe (Lady Mendl) in 1865; industrialist Harvey Firestone in 1868; philosopher Susanne K. Langer in 1895; nuclear physicist Robert Van de Graaff in 1901; actress Irene Dunne in 1904; movie director George Roy Hill ("Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid") in 1922 (age 79); actor John Hillerman in 1932 (age 69); psychic Uri Geller in 1946 (age 55); and actors Jenny Agutter in 1952 (age 49) and Kiefer Sutherland in 1966 (age 35).

On this date in history:

In 1803, the United States formally took over territory acquired from France in the Louisiana Purchase.

In 1812, Sacagawea, the young Indian woman who guided the Lewis and Clark Expedition, died.

In 1864, Union Gen. William T. Sherman completed his "march to the sea" across the South and arrived in Savannah, Ga.

In 1907, University of Chicago physics professor Albert Michelson became the first U.S. scientist to receive the Nobel Prize.

In 1956, the Montgomery, Ala., public bus boycott officially ended. The boycott had been called in reaction to the Dec. 1, 1955, arrest of Rosa Parks for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white man.

In 1976, longtime Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley died at age 74.

In 1987, nearly 1,600 people died in the Philippines when a passenger ferry was struck by an oil tanker and sank. It was the century's worst peacetime maritime disaster.

In 1989, the United States invaded Panama to oust Manuel Noriega and install the duly elected civilian government. 23 U.S. troops were killed.

In 1990, Eduard Shevardnadze abruptly resigned as Soviet foreign minister, warning against a dictatorship of hard-liners.

Also in 1990, the Pentagon said the U.S.-led forces of Operation Desert Shield could move against Iraq by Jan. 15.

In 1991, New York Gov. Mario Cuomo ended his 70-day flirtation with a White House bid, and chooses instead to settle his state's budget woes rather than enter the race.

Also in 1991, Philippines prosecutors filed nine counts of graft against former first lady Imelda Marcos, charging she used bogus front companies to bilk millions of dollars from the nation.

In 1992, a former Cuban military pilot who defected to the United States in 1991 flew a small plane back to Cuba to bring his wife and two sons safely to Florida.

In 1993, in Serbia, President Slobodan Milosevic's governing Socialist Party claimed victory in parliamentary elections held the day before.

In 1994, former President Carter announced that the warring parties in Bosnia had agreed to a four-month cease-fire starting on Dec. 23.

In 1995, 160 people were killed when an American Airlines 757 crashed into a mountain shortly before it was scheduled to land in Cali, Colombia.

Also in 1995, Buckingham Palace confirmed that Queen Elizabeth II had sent letters to her son, Prince Charles, and his estranged wife, Princess Diana, urging them to seek a divorce as quickly as possible.

In 1996, guerillas in Peru took an estimated 380 hostages at the Japanese Ambassador's residence.

Also in 1996, a judge granted O.J. Simpson custody of his children, Sydney and Justin, from his marriage with Nicole Brown Simpson.

In 1998, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein declared that the four-night U.S.-British bombing campaign of his country was a victory for Iraq over the "enemies of God and humanity."

Also in 1998, a Houston woman gave birth to seven more babies after delivering the first infant 12 days earlier. They were the only known set of octuplets to be born alive in the United States. The smallest baby died a week later.

In 1999, Macau reverted back to Chinese rule.

A thought for the day: Bertrand Russell said, "To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom."