The Almanac

Today is Saturday, Jan. 3, the third day of 2004, with 363 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Capricorn. They include feminist and abolitionist Lucretia Mott in 1793; British Prime Minister Clement Attlee in 1883; J.R.R. Tolkien, author of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, in 1892; actor Ray Milland in 1908; entertainer Victor Borge in 1909; Maxine Andrews of the Andrews Sisters trio in 1918; actors Robert Loggia in 1930 (age 74) and Dabney Coleman in 1932 (age 72); Hockey Hall of Famer Bobby Hull in 1939 (age 65); actress Victoria Principal in 1950 (age 54); actor/director Mel Gibson in 1956 (age 48); and actress Danice McKellar ("The Wonder Years") in 1975 (age 29).

On this date in history:

In 1777, the Continental Army commanded by Gen. George Washington defeated the British at Princeton, N.J.

In 1938, the first March of Dimes campaign to fight polio was organized.

In 1939, Gene Cox, 13, became the first female congressional page.

In 1959, Alaska became the 49th state of the Union.

In 1961, the United States severed diplomatic relations with Cuba after Fidel Castro announced he was a communist.

In 1967, Jack Ruby, who shot and killed Lee Harvey Oswald, the assumed assassin of President John F. Kennedy, died of cancer in Dallas.

In 1969, police at Newark, N.J., confiscated a shipment of the John Lennon-Yoko Ono albums "Two Virgins" because the cover photo, featuring full frontal nudity, violated pornography statues.

In 1990, deposed Panamanian dictator Gen. Manuel Antonio Noriega left his refuge in the Vatican Embassy in Panama City and surrendered to U.S. troops. He was whisked to Florida to face narcotics trafficking charges.

In 1991, acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) was removed from the list of diseases that would automatically bar an infected person from entering the United States.

In 1993, President Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed the START II treaty reducing strategic nuclear arsenals by two-thirds.

In 2000, peace talks between Israeli and Syrian leaders opened in Shepherdstown, W.Va.

In 2001, the 107th Congress convened for the first time with the Senate equally divided 50-50 between Republicans and Democrats. Republicans had a 10-member advantage in the House.

Also in 2001, the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by half a percent to stem an economic slowdown.

In 2002, Miami won the national collegiate football championship by defeating Nebraska, 37-14.

Miami returned to the football championship game in 2003 but this time lost to Ohio State, 31-24, in two overtimes.

In 2003, Democrats Howard Dean, John Edwards, John Kerry and Al Sharpton announced for their party's 2004 presidential nomination. Richard Gephardt, Joe Lieberman, Al Gore's running mate in 2000, and others would follow suit in the next few days.

A thought for the day: Henry David Thoreau said, "Be true to your work, your word, and your friend."