The Almanac

Today is Monday, Sept. 5, the 248th day of 2005 with 117 to follow.

This is Labor Day.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Virgo. They include French King Louis XIV in 1638; outlaw Jesse James in 1847; marketing research engineer A.C. Nielsen in 1897; movie producer Darryl F. Zanuck in 1902; Hungarian-born author Arthur Koestler in 1905; retired Federal Reserve Board Chairman Paul Volcker in 1927 (age 78); comedian Bob Newhart in 1929 (age 76); singer/actress Carol Lawrence in 1935 (age 70); actors William Devane in 1939 (age 66), Raquel Welch in 1942 (age 63) and Dennis Dugan in 1946 (age 59); and rock musician Dweezil Zappa, son of Frank Zappa, in 1969 (age 36).

On this date in history:

In 1774, the first Continental Congress convened in secret in Philadelphia.

In 1882, 10,000 workers marched in the first Labor Day parade in New York City.

In 1877, Oglala Sioux chief Crazy Horse was fatally bayoneted by a U.S. soldier after resisting confinement in a guardhouse at Fort Robinson, Neb.

A year earlier, Crazy Horse was among the Sioux leaders who defeated George Armstrong Custer's Seventh Cavalry at the Battle of Little Bighorn in Montana Territory.

In 1935, Gene Autry starred in his first Western feature "Tumbling Tumbleweeds."

In 1972, Palestinian terrorists invaded the Olympic Village outside Munich, West Germany, and killed 11 Israeli athletes and six other people.

In 1975, Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, a follower of mass murderer Charles Manson, tried to shoot President Ford.

In 1978, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and President Carter began a Middle East peace conference at Camp David, Md.

In 1991, former Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega went on trial in Miami on money laundering and drug-trafficking charges. He was eventually convicted.

Also in 1991, six BCCI officials and a Medellin drug cartel leader were charged with laundering cocaine profits through the bank from 1983 to 1989.

In 1995, France conducted an underground nuclear test at the Mururoa Atoll in the South Pacific. It was the first of several -- all of which were met by protests worldwide.

In 1996, Ramzi Ahmed Yousef and two others were convicted in New York of planning to blow up jetliners.

Also in 1996, Moscow announced that Russian President Boris Yeltsin needed heart surgery.

In 1997, at least 172 people were slain in Algeria in three incidents believed linked to the country's upcoming election and to the long, though sporadically fought, civil war.

Also in 1997, Mother Teresa died at age 87.

And further in 1997, in an unusual television speech, Queen Elizabeth acknowledged the public expression of grief over Diana's death and expressed her own admiration for her former daughter-in-law.

In 2001, Mexican President Vicente Fox traveled to Washington to ask the Bush administration for a U.S. agreement to legalize the status of 3.5 million Mexicans who entered the country illegally.

In 2002, an attempted assassination of Afghanistan President Harmid Karzai failed when a gunman missed him after opening fire on his car.

In 2003, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, speaking in Iraq, said "impressions" of mounting Iraqi violence were being created by negative news media coverage.

In 2004, two weeks after Hurricane Charley hit Florida, Hurricane Frances barged in north of Palm Beach and cut across the state to the northwest before going into the Gulf of Mexico. The reported death toll was more than 30 and Florida damage from the two storms was placed at more than $10 billion.

A thought for the day: Norman Douglas said, "You can tell the ideals of a nation by its advertisements."

---

Today is Tuesday, Sept. 6, the 249th day of 2005 with 116 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Virgo. They include the Marquis de Lafayette, French hero of the American Revolutionary War, in 1757; pioneer social worker Jane Addams in 1860; financier-diplomat Joseph P. Kennedy in 1888; theatrical producer Billy Rose in 1899; comedienne Joanne Worley ("Laugh-In") in 1937 (age 68); actresses Swoozie Kurtz in 1944 (age 61) and Jane Curtin in 1947 (age 58); comedian Jeff Foxworthy ("You know you're a redneck...") in 1958 (age 47); and actors Rosie Perez in 1964 (age 41) and Justin Whalin in 1974 (age 31).

On this date in history:

In 1522, one of Ferdinand Magellan's five ships -- the Vittoria -- arrived at Sanlúcar de Barrameda in Spain, thus completing the first circumnavigation of the world.

In 1620, 149 Pilgrims set sail from England aboard the Mayflower, bound for the New World.

In 1901, President William McKinley was shot and critically wounded by an anarchist at the Pan American Exposition in Buffalo, N.Y. He died eight days later.

In 1909, word was received that Adm. Robert Peary had discovered the North Pole five months earlier, on April 6, 1909.

In 1966, South African Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd, an architect of his nation's apartheid policies, was stabbed to death by a deranged messenger during a parliamentary meeting in Cape Town.

In 1982, Polish dissidents seized the Polish Embassy in Bern, Switzerland, and demanded an end to martial law in Poland. They eventually surrendered.

In 1991, the Soviet State Council recognized the independence of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania after 51 years of Soviet occupation.

In 1995, the Senate Ethics Committee unanimously recommended that Sen. Bob Packwood, R-Ore., be expelled from the Senate on charges of sexual misconduct and influence peddling. He resigned two days later.

Also in 1995, Baltimore Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken, Jr., played his 2,131st consecutive game, breaking the record of 2,130 set in 1939 by Lou Gehrig of the New York Yankees.

In 1996, Hurricane Fran made landfall at Cape Fear, N.C., with 115 mph winds. It killed 28 people.

In 1997, Britain bid an emotional farewell to Princess Diana -- killed in a car accident a week earlier -- with a funeral service at London's Westminster Abbey that was broadcast worldwide. Her body was buried in a private service at her family home in Northamptonshire.

In 2001, the Justice Department reversed an earlier decision and said it would no longer seek to split the Microsoft Corp. into more than one company or pursue the claim that the company had illegally tied its network browser to its operating system.

In 2003, Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas resigned less than four months in the job.

Also in 2003, an unemployed electrician was charged in Northern Ireland's worst-ever violence, the bombing of an open market in Omagh that killed 29 and injured 220.

In 2004, former President Bill Clinton underwent a successful 4-hour quadruple bypass operation at New York Presbyterian Hospital.

A thought for the day: it was Frank Lloyd Wright who said, "The physician can bury his mistakes, but the architect can only advise his client to plant vines."

--

Today is Wednesday, Sept. 7, the 250th of 2005 with 115 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Virgo. They include England's Queen Elizabeth I in 1533; American primitive painter Anna "Grandma" Moses in 1860; financier J. Pierpont Morgan Jr. in 1867; heart surgeon Michael DeBakey in 1908 (age 97); film director Elia Kazan in 1909; physicist and rocket developer James Van Allen in 1914 (age 91); actor Peter Lawford in 1923; Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, in 1924 (age 81); rock 'n' roll pioneer Buddy Holly in 1936; actors John Philip Law ("The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming") in 1937 (age 68), Richard Roundtree in 1942 (age 63), Susan Blakey in 1950 (age 55), Julie Kavner in 1951 (age 54) and Corbin Bernsen in 1954 (age 51); and musician Michael Feinstein in 1956 (age 49).

On this date in history:

In 1822, Brazil declared independence from Portugal.

In 1892, James Corbett knocked out John L. Sullivan in the 21st round of a prize fight at New Orleans, the first major fight under the Marquess of Queensberry Rules.

In 1901, the Boxer Rebellion in China ended with the Boxer Protocol.

In 1926, Hollywood studios closed for the day in honor of the funeral of Rudolph Valentino, the silent movie superstar who had died after ulcer surgery.

In 1940, Nazi Germany launched the London blitz, a bombing that Adolf Hitler believed would soften Britain for invasion. The invasion never materialized.

In 1977, President Jimmy Carter and Panamanian dictator Omar Torrijos signed a treaty agreeing to transfer control of the Panama Canal from the United States to Panama at the end of the 20th century.

In 1986, Desmond Tutu was installed as the Anglican archbishop of Cape Town, becoming first black titular head of South Africa's fourth-largest Christian church.

In 1992, black soldiers in the South African homeland of Ciskei killed 23 people and wounded nearly 200 when they fired on thousands of African National Congress supporters.

Also in 1992, 12 people were killed when a twin-engine plane carrying skydivers crashed in a soybean field in Hinckley, Ill.

And in 1992, Baseball Commissioner Fay Vincent quit, five days after the game's owners resoundingly voted to ask him to resign.

In 1993, President Clinton and Vice President Gore announced a broad program to streamline the government.

Also in 1993, South Africa's ruling National Party agreed to share power with a multi-party council that would be established within two months.

In 1996, "Dr. Death" Jack Kevorkian assisted in a 40th suicide in Michigan.

In 1999, Viacom, the world's largest cable network company, announced plans to buy CBS.

And, in 2002 sports, Serena Williams defeated her sister Venus, 6-4, 6-3, to win the women's U.S. Open tennis tournament.

In 2003, President George W. Bush asked Congress for $87 billion to pay for the occupation and reconstruction of Iraq.

In 2003 sports, Andy Roddick won the U.S. Open men's singles title and Justine Henin-Hardenne of Belgium took the women's crown.

In 2004, the U.S. military death toll in Iraq passed the 1,000 mark.

Also in 2004, September's third hurricane, named Ivan, struck Grenada with150 mph sustained winds, killing about 40 people, and headed toward the United States.

A thought for the day: American lawyer and statesman Daniel Webster said, "Knowledge is the only fountain both of the love and the principles of human liberty."

---

Today is Thursday, Sept. 8, the 251st day of 2005 with 114 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Virgo. They include England's King Richard I, "Richard the Lion Hearted," in 1157; composer Antonin Dvorak in 1841; stage and film director Max Reinhardt in 1873; country music pioneer Jimmie Rodgers, "The Singing Brakeman," in 1897; Florida Sen. Claude Pepper in 1900; comedian Sid Caesar and political activist Lyndon Larouche Jr., both in 1922 (age 83); actor Peter Sellers in 1925; country music singer Patsy Cline in 1932; former Sen. Sam Nunn in 1938 (age 67); and actors Henry Thomas ("E.T. -- The Extra-Terrestrial") in 1971 (age 34) and Jonathan Taylor Thomas ("Home Improvement") in 1981 (age 24).

On this date in history:

In 1522, Spanish navigator Juan de Elcano returned to Spain, completing the first circumnavigation of the globe with an expedition that began under Ferdinand Magellan.

In 1565, the first permanent European settlement in what is now the continental United States was founded on the site of the present St. Augustine, Fla.

In 1900, more than 6,000 people were killed when a hurricane and tidal wave struck Galveston, Texas.

In 1935, an assassin shot autocratic Louisiana Sen. Huey P. Long at the Capitol building in Baton Rouge, La. Long died two days later.

Also in 1935, 19-year-old Frank Sinatra launched his singing career when he appeared with a group called The Hoboken Four on the Major Bowes Amateur Hour radio talent show.

In 1966, "Star Trek" premiered on NBC-TV.

In 1974, President Ford granted former President Nixon full pardon for any and all offenses he may have committed during his years in office.

In 1993, the Senate approved President Clinton's national-service bill, which would give participants grants for taking part in community service work.

In 1994, a U.S. Airways jetliner crashed near Pittsburgh, killing 132 people. The accident became the subject of the longest aircraft investigation in the history of the National Transportation Safety Board.

In 1998, the Justice Department opened a preliminary inquiry into President Clinton's participation in Democratic fundraising for the 1996 re-election campaign.

In 1999, former New Jersey Sen. Bill Bradley returned to his hometown of Crystal City, Mo., to announce he was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination.

In 2002 sports, Pete Sampras won his fifth men's U.S. Open tennis championship with a four-set victory over Andre Agassi. Sampras retired the following year as the 2003 Open was about to begin.

In 2003, New York police beefed up subway security because of renewed fears about a possible gas or chemical assault.

Also in 2003, the U.S. music industry filed lawsuits against 261 people, accusing them of violating copyright laws by swapping online music files.

In 2004, CBS reported that newly discovered documents bolstered claims that President Bush failed to meet his responsibilities while a member of the Texas National Guard in the 1970s. But, serious doubts soon arose as to validity of the documents.

A thought for the day: in "Middlemarch," English novelist Mary Anne Evans (George Eliot) wrote, "...men know best about everything, except what women know better."

--

Today is Friday, Sept. 9, the 252nd day of 2005 with 113 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Virgo. They include the Duc de Richelieu, French statesman and Roman Catholic cardinal, in 1585; Capt. William Bligh of the HMS Bounty, in 1754; Russian author Leo Tolstoy in 1828; Alf Landon, the Kansas Republican who lost the 1936 presidential election to Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt, in 1887; Kentucky Fried Chicken founder Harland Sanders in 1890; composer Arthur Freed in 1894; oddsmaker Jimmy "the Greek" Snyder in 1919; actor Cliff Robertson in 1925 (age 80); rhythm & blues singer Otis Redding in 1941; singer/songwriter Billy Preston in 1946 (age 59); and actors Michael Keaton and Tom Wopat, both in 1951 (age 54), Angela Cartwright in 1952 (age 53), Hugh Grant in 1960 (age 45), and Adam Sandler in 1966 (age 39).

On this date in history:

In 1776, the second Continental Congress officially changed the new American nation's name from "United Colonies" to "United States."

In 1850, California became the 31st state.

In 1956, rock 'n' roll singer Elvis Presley appeared on national television for the first time, on "The Ed Sullivan Show."

In 1971, more than 1,000 convicts took over the state prison at Attica, N.Y. and held 35 convicts hostage. Four days later, 28 convicts and nine hostages were killed as state police re-took the prison.

In 1976, Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong died at age 82.

In 1990, President Bush and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev met in a quickly arranged summit in Helsinki, Finland, to present a united front against Iraq.

Also in 1990, Liberian President Samuel Doe was captured and later killed by Prince Johnson's rebels after visiting the headquarters of West African peacekeeping forces in Monrovia.

In 1991, Iraq grounded foreign helicopters carrying U.N. weapons-plant inspectors.

In 1992, veteran rocker Eric Clapton's "Tears in Heaven" was named best male video at the ninth annual MTV Video Music Awards.

In 1993, in a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, the PLO recognized the right of the state of Israel to exist in peace and security. In turn, Rabin declared the PLO the representative of the Palestinian people.

In 1994, the United States and Cuba reached an agreement aimed at discouraging Cubans from trying to flee to the U.S. by rafts or other vessels.

In 1995 sports, Steffi Graf of Germany defeated Monica Seles to win her fourth U.S. Open women's singles title in her first appearance since a fan stabbed her in 1993.

In 1996, Susan McDougal was jailed for contempt after she refused to appear before the Whitewater grand jury on the grounds that she thought the special counsel was out to get the Clintons.

In 1998, independent counsel Kenneth Starr sent to the U.S. House his report on his investigation into President Clinton. He said it contained "substantial and credible information ... that may constitute grounds" for impeachment.

In 1999, more than 90 people died in the bombing of a Moscow apartment building. The blast was blamed on terrorists from the breakaway republic of Chechnya.

In 2001 sports, Venus Williams defeated her sister Serena for the U.S. Open tennis championship, 6-2, 6-4, the first time since 1884 that sisters had met in a Grand Slam finale.

In 2003, The Roman Catholic archdiocese of Boston and lawyers for about 550 victims of sexual abuse by priests reached an agreement that could run as high as $85 million.

In 2004, President Bush urged the United Nations and the international community to put a stop to the violence in Sudan where reported genocide in the Darfur region led to the deaths of an estimated 50,000 people over the past 18 months.

A thought for the day: former Chrysler Chairman Lee Iacocca said, "A country's competitiveness starts not on the factory floor or in the engineering lab. It starts in the classroom."

--

Today is Saturday, Sept. 10, the 253rd day of 2005 with 112 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Virgo. They include English scientist and clergyman John Needham in 1713; physicist Arthur Holly Compton in 1892; English critic Cyril Connolly in 1903; film director Robert Wise in 1914 (age 91); golfer Arnold Palmer in 1929 (age 76); television journalist Charles Kuralt and baseball star Roger Maris, both in 1934; singer Jose Feliciano in 1945 (age 60); musician Joe Perry in 1950 (age 55), and actors Amy Irving in 1953 (age 52), Jennifer Tilly in 1958 (age 47), Colin Firth in 1960 (age 45), and Clark Johnson ("Homicide: Life on the Street") in 1964 (age 41).

On this date in history:

In 1813, U.S. naval units under the command of Capt. Oliver Perry defeated a British squadron in the Battle of Lake Erie.

In 1823, Simon Bolivar, who led the wars for independence from Spain in Venezuela, Colombia, Peru and Bolivia, was named president of Peru, with dictatorial powers.

In 1846, Elias Howe received a patent for the sewing machine.

In 1963, blacks entered the white public schools of Birmingham, Tuskegee and Mobile, Ala., after President Kennedy federalized the state's National Guard.

In 1992, a survey found birth control pills remained the most popular form of contraception among American women.

In 1996, the United Nations approved the new nuclear test ban treaty, 158-3.

Also in 1996, Hurricane Hortense hit Puerto Rico and Hispaniola, killing 20 people.

And in 1996, Reform Party presidential candidate Ross Perot choose author Pat Choate as his running mate.

In 1998, Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams held face-to-face talks with David Trimble, leader of Northern Ireland's Protestant Unionists, for the first time.

In 2000, the U.S. government agreed to drop virtually all charges against Chinese-American scientist Wen Ho Lee, who'd been accused of stealing nuclear secrets from the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. Three days later, Lee pleaded guilty to mishandling nuclear secrets and left court a free man.

In 2002, Switzerland and East Timor joined the United Nations, expanding the membership roll to 191.

In 2003, the former treasurer of bankrupt Enron was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to criminal wire fraud and ordered to give up close to $1 million in profits from his illegal transaction.

In 2004, top U.S. forensic document specialists said papers described by CBS News as proving President Bush shirked military duty may have been faked.

A thought for the day: LaRochefoucauld wrote, "Absence diminishes small passions and increases great ones, as wind blows out candles and fans fire."

---

Today is Sunday, Sept. 11, the 254th day of 2005 with 111 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Virgo. They include American short story writer O. Henry (William Sydney Porter) in 1862; author D.H. Lawrence in 1885; Jimmie Davis, former Louisiana governor and songwriter ("You Are My Sunshine") in 1899; University of Alabama Football Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant in 1913; former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos in 1917; Pro Football Hall-of-Fame Coach Tom Landry in 1924; filmmaker Brian DePalma in 1940 (age 65); entertainer Lola Falana in 1946 (age 59); actresses Amy Madigan in 1951 (age 54), Kristy McNichol in 1962 (age 43), and Virginia Madsen in 1963 (age 42); and actor/singer Harry Connick Jr. in 1967 (age 38).

On this date in history:

In 1777, troops commanded by Gen. George Washington were defeated by the British under Gen. William Howe in the Battle of Brandywine.

In 1841, all members of President John Tyler's Cabinet except Secretary of State Daniel Webster resigned in protest of Tyler's veto of a banking bill.

In 1847, Stephen Foster's first hit, "Oh! Susanna," had its debut at a concert in a Pittsburgh saloon and soon became standard for minstrel troupes.

In 1921, Fatty Arbuckle, one of the foremost comedians of the silent movie days, was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter in the death of a starlet in an alleged sexual assault during a wild drinking party. Arbuckle eventually was cleared but his career had been ruined.

In 1959, Congress passed a bill authorizing food stamps for low-income Americans.

In 1973, the elected Socialist government of Salvador Allende of Chile was toppled in a right-wing military coup supported by the CIA. Allende died, reportedly by his own hand.

In 1985, Pete Rose's 4,192nd hit broke Ty Cobb's 57-year-old career record as the Cincinnati Reds beat the San Diego Padres, 2-0.

In 1991, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev announced negotiations to withdraw 11,000 Soviet military advisers from Cuba and eliminate a $2 billion annual subsidy.

Also in 1991, Israel released 51 Lebanese and Palestinian prisoners after confirming the deaths of two missing Israeli soldiers in Lebanon.

In 1992, Hurricane Iniki, packing winds gusting to 160 mph, roared ashore on the Hawaiian island of Kauai.

Also in 1992, six people were killed when two small planes collided in flight over Indianapolis and crashed into a heavily populated area.

And in 1992, a 17-year-old gunman opened fire in a high school hallway in Amarillo, Texas, following a pep rally. Eight students were injured.

In 1996, the Iraqis fired at -- but missed -- two American warplanes patrolling the no-fly zone. Washington ordered U.S. forces to the region.

In 1997, Mother Teresa received the first state funeral accorded a private citizen of India since the death of Mohandas K. Gandhi in 1948. It was attended by foreign heads of state and other dignitaries, including U.S. first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton.

In 1998, as the U.S. House voted to release to the public the text of the Starr report, President Clinton told religious leaders that he had sinned.

In 2000, an FTC report accused the entertainment industry of deliberately marketing violence entertainment to children.

In 2001, Islamic terrorists attacked the United States, crashing two hijacked airliners into the twin towers at New York's World Trade Center and another into the Pentagon outside Washington. A fourth plane crashed in Pennsylvania, apparently en route to Washington, when passengers jumped their captors. A reported 2,749 people were killed, most of them in the trade center towers, which collapsed.

President George W. Bush pledged to destroy the responsible terrorist organizations and the regimes that supported them. Osama bin Laden, a wealthy anti-American Saudi exile operating out of Afghanistan and leader of al-Qaida, a shadowy, far-flung terrorist organization, was identified as the ringleader of the attacks.

In 2002, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, under German indictment on 3,000 charges of murder stemming from the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, was arrested in Pakistan with others allegedly linked to al-Qaida.

In 2003, the Israeli government decided "in principle" to deport Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat but said it would hold off taking such action "for now."

In 2004, a frighteningly powerful Hurricane Ivan pounded Jamaica, popping roofs off houses, downing hundreds of trees and sending 23-foot waves ashore. The storm's death toll stood at 37 as it headed toward the Cayman Islands and Cuba.

A thought for the day: "This is not only an attack on the United States, but an attack on the civilized world," proclaimed German Chancellor Gerhard Schneider, responding to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist assaults on America.