The Almanac

Today is Thursday, Sept. 16, the 260th day of 2004 with 106 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Virgo. They include historian Francis Parkman in 1823; railroad magnate James Jerome "J.J." Hill in 1838; department store founder James Cash Penney in 1875; British car designer Walter Bentley in 1888; entertainer Allen Funt in 1914; actress Lauren Bacall in 1924 (age 80); blues musician B.B. King in 1925 (age 79); actors Peter Falk in 1927 (age 77), Ann Francis in 1932 (age 72), Ed Begley Jr. in 1949 (age 55), and Susan Ruttan ("L.A. Law") in 1950 (age 54); magician David Copperfield and actor Mickey Rourke, both in 1956 (age 48); actress Jennifer Tilly in 1961 (age 43); comedian Molly Shannon ("Saturday Night Live") in 1964 (age 40); and singer/actor Marc Anthony in 1969 (age 35).

On this date in history:

In 1620, the Mayflower left Plymouth, England, with 102 passengers, bound for America.

In 1810, Mexico began its war of independence against Spain.

In 1893, more than 100,000 people rushed to the Cherokee Strip as a large area of the Indian Territory, now Oklahoma, was opened to homesteaders.

In 1974, President Ford offered conditional amnesty to Vietnam draft evaders. He said they could come home if they performed up to two years of public service.

In 1977, celebrated soprano Maria Callas died in Paris at the age of 53.

In 1982, Christian militiamen entered two Palestinian refugee camps in West Beirut, Lebanon, and began shooting. By the time the massacre was over two days later, hundreds of people were dead. Survivors claimed Israeli forces sealed off the boundaries of the camps and allowed the militiamen to enter.

In 1986, fire and fumes in the Kinross mine killed 177 people in South Africa's worst gold mine disaster.

In 1991, the Philippine Senate rejected a U.S. lease on the Subic Bay Naval Station.

In 1992, what Dan Quayle called the "Hollywood Cultural Elite" turned out en masse in Beverly Hills, Calif., for a Bill Clinton fundraiser. Among the big shots -- Barbra Streisand, Warren Beatty and Whoopi Goldberg.

In 1994, a federal court jury in Anchorage, Alaska, ordered Exxon to pay $5 billion dollars to the fishermen and natives whose lives were affected by the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989. It was the second largest assessment for punitive damages ever directed at one company, and the largest ever in a pollution case.

In 1999, Hurricane Floyd's 140-mph winds pounded the Carolinas before moving up the East Coast, leaving death and destruction in its wake. More than 3 million people fled inland prior to Floyd's arrival, the most ever in response to a hurricane threat.

Also in 1999, at least 18 people were killed and 200 more injured in the bombing of an apartment building in Volgodonsk, Russia.

And in 1999, Congress gave a pay raise to future U.S. presidents, from $200,000 a year to $400,000. The increase was to take effect in 2001.

In 2001, as the Gargantuan task of cleaning up "Ground Zero" wreckage of what had been the World Trade Center continued in New York following the Sept. 11 attacks, the government rapidly began rounding up possible terrorist suspects across the country.

In 2002, Iraq said it would allow weapons inspectors back into the country "without conditions," but the U.S. and others were skeptical.

In 2003, Israel rejected a truce plan proposed by Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, calling it a "deception" and demanding instead a crackdown on terrorism. The proposal was for a comprehensive and unlimited cease-fire.

A thought for the day: Bertrand Russell argued that "Boredom is a vital problem for the moralist, since at least half the sins of mankind are caused by the fear of it."