The Almanac

Today is Wednesday, April 20, the 110th day of 2005 with 255 to follow.

The moon is waxing. The morning stars are Mars, Neptune, Uranus, Mercury and Pluto. The evening stars are Venus, 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; U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens in 1920 (age 85); actress Nina Foch in 1924 (age 81); actor Ryan O'Neal in 1941 (age 64); actress Jessica Lange in 1949 (age 56); singer Luther Vandross in 1951 (age 54); and actors Carmen Electra in 1973 (age 32) and Joey Lawrence in 1976 (age 29).

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 at that time..

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 that had accused abortion opponents of threats and extortion in an effort 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.

In 2003, the Chinese government admitted it had substantially understated its total of SARS cases.

In 2004, some 21 Iraqi detainees were killed at Abu Ghraib prison, largest facility used by U.S. troops to detain Iraqis, by mortar rounds apparently fired by anti-coalition insurgents. Many others were hurt.

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."