The almanac

Today is Sunday, Sept. 14, the 258th day of 2008 with 108 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Virgo. They include Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov in 1849; artist and illustrator Charles Dana Gibson, "Gibson Girl" creator, in 1867; Margaret Sanger, American pioneer leader in the birth control movement, in 1879; film director/producer Hal Wallis in 1899; and actors Clayton Moore, serial action star of the 1940s who later played the Lone Ranger on television, in 1914, Walter Koenig ("Star Trek") in 1936 (age 72), Joey Heatherton in 1944 (age 64), Sam Neill in 1947 (age 61), Mary Crosby in 1959 (age 49) and Faith Ford in 1964 (age 44).

On this date in history:

In 1628, Salem, Mass., focal point of the notorious witch trials of the late 1700's, was founded.

In 1776, the British army entered New York City after defeating the Americans, under Gen. George Washington, at the Battle of Long Island.

In 1847, Mexico City was occupied by the U.S. Army.

In 1901, U.S. President William McKinley died of wounds inflicted by an assassin eight days earlier. He was succeeded by his vice president, Theodore Roosevelt.

In 1920, the first live radio dance music was broadcast, carried by a Detroit station and featuring Paul Specht and his orchestra. The idea caught on fast.

In 1959, the Soviet probe Lunik-2 became the first Earth-launched space vehicle to land on the moon.

In 1963, the first surviving U.S. quintuplets were born in Aberdeen, S.D., to Maryann and Andrew Fischer.

In 1982, Princess Grace of Monaco -- American film actress Grace Kelly -- was killed when her car plunged off a mountain road by the Cote D'Azur. She was 52.

In 1984, Joe Kittinger, 56, left Caribou, Maine, in a 10-story-tall helium balloon to make the first solo trans-Atlantic balloon crossing. He reached the French coast on the 17th and landed in Italy the next day.

In 1990, Iraqi soldiers stormed the French, Belgian and Canadian diplomatic buildings in Kuwait and briefly detained five diplomats, including a U.S. consul.

In 1991, the South African government, ANC, Inkatha Freedom Party and 20 other anti-apartheid groups signed a peace accord to end black factional violence.

In 1992, the U.S. Senate voted to repeal the so-called gag rule prohibiting healthcare workers at federally financed clinics from telling pregnant patients that abortion is an option.

In 1996, Bosnians elected a three-person collective presidency: one Muslim, one Serb and one Croat.

In 2001, U.S. President George Bush proclaimed this to be a day of national mourning and remembrance for those killed in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The FBI identified the hijackers and learned that several had taken flying lessons in Florida.

In 2003, an estimated 124 people were reported dead or missing after South Korea was struck by the most powerful typhoon to hit the nation in a century.

Also in 2003, Swedish voters turned thumbs down on a proposal to make the euro the national currency.

In 2004, a massive car bomb killed 47 people and injured more than 100 others in Baghdad, catching mostly conscripts seeking a job in the Iraqi police force.

In 2005, 12 suicide bombings in Baghdad, aimed at Shiites and believed to be carried out by Sunnis, killed 167 people and injured 600.

Also in 2005, Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines, the third and fourth largest U.S. air carriers, filed for bankruptcy as the industry continued to reel under record high jet fuel costs.

In 2006, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to build a 700-mile fence along the U.S.-Mexico border to control immigration and sent it to the Senate.

In 2007, the CIA reportedly moved to ban water-boarding, a controversial interrogation procedure involving the simulation of drowning, widely viewed as torture.

Also in 2007, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto said she planned return to Pakistan from exile in October to "bring back true democracy."

And, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a law barring residents under the age of 18 from using mobile devices, including cell phones, while driving.

A thought for the day: John Kenneth Galbraith wrote that when a big corporation pays a big salary to a big boss, it's "not a market award for achievement. It is frequently in the nature of a warm personal gesture by the individual to himself."