The Almanac

Today is Wednesday, Oct. 22, the 295th day of 2003 with 70 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Scorpio. They include Hungarian composer Franz Liszt in 1811; actresses Sarah Bernhardt in 1844 and Joan Fontaine in 1917 (age 86); English author Doris Lessing in 1919 (age 84); psychologist and LSD advocate Timothy Leary in 1920; artist Robert Rauschenberg in 1925 (age 78); actors Derek Jacobi and Christopher Lloyd, both in 1938 (age 65), Annette Funicello in 1942 (age 61), Catherine Deneuve in 1943 (age 60), and Jeff Goldblum in 1952 (age 51); and champion skater Brian Boitano in 1963 (age 40).

On this date in history:

In 1797, the first parachute jump was made by Andre-Jacques Garnerin, who dropped from a height of about 6500 feet over a Paris park.

In 1836, Gen. Sam Houston was sworn in as the first president of the Republic of Texas.

In 1938, inventor Charles Carlson produced the first dry, or xerographic, copy, but had trouble attracting investors.

In 1962, President Kennedy announced that Soviet missiles had been deployed in Cuba and ordered a blockade of the island.

In 1966, The Supremes became the first all-female group to score a No. 1 album, with "Supremes a Go-Go."

In 1978, Pope John Paul II was installed as pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church.

In 1990, President Bush vetoed the Civil Rights Act of 1990, saying it would lead to a quota system.

Also in 1990, a judge in Santa Ana, Calif., ruled that a surrogate mother not genetically linked to a baby she bore for a childless couple had no right to the infant.

In 1991, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir warned that Israel would refuse to negotiate with any Palestinians who claimed alliance to the PLO.

In 1992, pioneer sportscaster Red Barber died at age 84.

In 2001, anthrax spores were found in a mail opening machine serving the White House. Preliminary tests on 120 workers who sort mail for the executive mansion were negative.

Also in 2001, the Pentagon announced nearly 200 U.S. jets struck Taliban and al-Quaida communications facilities, barracks and training camps and disputed Taliban claims that 100 civilians died when a bomb hit a hospital in western Afghanistan.

Also in 2001, an estimated 500 people were killed when the Nigerian army attacked villages throughout the eastern state of Benue. While many viewed the attacks as retribution for earlier killings of 19 soldiers, officials claimed the army acted in self defense.

A thought for the day: of the existence of God, Clarence Darrow said, "I do not pretend to know where many ignorant men are sure."