The Almanac

Today is Sunday, April 20, the 110th day of 2003 with 255 to follow.

Today is Easter.

The moon is waning.

The morning stars are Venus, Mars, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. The evening stars are Mercury, Jupiter and Saturn.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Taurus. They include French Emperor Napoleon III in 1808; sculptor Daniel Chester French, creator of "The Minute Man" statue, in 1850; Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler in 1889; silent film comedian Harold Lloyd and Spanish surrealist painter Joan Miro, both in 1893; Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court John Paul Stevens in 1920 (age 83); actress Nina Foch in 1924 (age 79); actor Ryan O'Neal in 1941 (age 62); actress Jessica Lange in 1949 (age 54); singer Luther Vandross in 1951 (age 52); and actors Carmen Electra in 1973 (age 30) and Joey Lawrence in 1976 (age 27).

On this date in history:

In 735 B.C., according to the Roman historian Varro, Romulus founded the city of Rome.

In 1653, Oliver Cromwell -- Puritan, revolutionary and Lord Protector of England -- dissolved Parliament to rule by decree.

In 1871, Congress passed the Third Force Act, popularly known as the Ku Klux Act, authorizing President Ulysses S. Grant to declare martial law, impose heavy penalties against terrorist organizations and use military force to suppress the Klan.

In 1902, Marie and Pierre Curie successfully isolated radioactive radium salts from the mineral pitchblende in their laboratory in Paris.

In 1976, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that federal courts could order low-cost housing for minorities in a city's white suburbs to ease racial segregation.

In 1987, Karl Linnas, sentenced to death by the Soviets in 1962 for running a World War II concentration camp, became the first Nazi war criminal returned by the United States to the Soviet Union against his will.

In 1990, Pete Rose, already banished from baseball for gambling, pleaded guilty to two felony counts alleging he concealed nearly $300,000 in income from the Internal Revenue Service.

In 1991, U.S. Marines crossed into northern Iraq to set up camps for Kurds seeking refuge from Iraqi civil strife.

Also in 1991, the United States announced plans to open a temporary office in Hanoi to investigate the unresolved cases of 2,278 American soldiers still listed as MIAs and POWs.

In 1992, Madonna signed a multi-million-dollar deal with Time Warner to form an entertainment company that would make her the highest paid female pop star in the world.

In 1993, President Clinton ordered an investigation into the federal raid on the Branch Davidian cult compound.

In 1996, the U.S. Marines arrived in war-torn Liberia.

In 1998, a federal jury in Chicago awarded more than $85,000 in damages to two women's health clinics. The clinics, along with the National Organization for Women, had filed a class-action lawsuit, asserting that abortion opponents were using threats and extortion to try to shut them down.

In 1999, two teenage boys killed 12 fellow students and a teacher at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., before turning their guns on themselves. It was by far the worst in a series of school shootings.

In 2001, the opening session of the Summit of the Americas was delayed as protesters massed in the streets of Quebec City, Canada. They were demonstrating against a proposed hemisphere-wide free trade area.

Also in 2001, an American missionary and her infant daughter were killed when their plane was fired on by the crew of a Peruvian jetfighter that thought the aircraft was carrying illegal drugs.

In 2002, Pope John Paul, speaking out on the sex scandal that had rocked the Catholic clergy, said bishops must "diligently investigate accusations" against priests who broke their vows of celibacy.

A thought for the day: Richard L. Evans said, "Don't let life discourage you; everyone who got where he is had to begin where he was."