The almanac

Today is Wednesday, July 25, the 207th day of 2012 with 159 to follow.

The moon is waxing. Morning stars are Venus, Jupiter, Neptune and Uranus. Evening stars are Mercury, Saturn and Mars.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Leo. They include Revolutionary War Gen. Henry Knox in 1750; artists Thomas Eakins in 1844 and Maxfield Parrish in 1870; actors Walter Brennan in 1894, Jack Gilford in 1908, Estelle Getty in 1923 and Barbara Harris in 1935 (age 77); folk singer/songwriter Steve Goodman in 1948; model/actor Iman Abdulmajid in 1955 (age 57); actor Matt LeBlanc in 1967 (age 45); Louise Joy Brown, the first "test-tube" baby, in 1978 (age 34); and actor Brad Renfro in 1982.

On this date in history:

In 1832, one man was killed and three others injured in the first recorded railroad accident in U.S. history. The four were thrown from an otherwise vacant car on the Granite Railway near Quincy, Mass.

In 1898, during the Spanish-American War, U.S. forces launched their invasion of Puerto Rico, the island that was one of Spain's two principal possessions in the Caribbean.

In 1909, French pioneer aviator Louis Bleriot became the first person to fly a "heavier-than-air machine" across the English Channel. It took him 36 minutes.

In 1917, Mata Hari, the archetype of the seductive female spy, was sentenced to death in France as a German spy.

In 1952, Puerto Rico became a self-governing U.S. commonwealth.

In 1956, the Italian luxury liner Andrea Doria sank off Long Island, N.Y., after colliding with the Swedish liner Stockholm.

In 1965, folk legend Bob Dylan performed for the first time with electric instruments, so upsetting his fans that they booed him.

In 1972, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, U.S. Sen. Thomas Eagleton of Missouri, disclosed he had undergone psychiatric treatment in the 1960s. Presidential nominee George McGovern replaced him on the ticket with Sargent Shriver.

In 1978, the world's first "test-tube" baby, Louise Brown, was born in Oldham, England.

In 1986, former Navy radioman Jerry Whitworth was convicted of selling U.S. military secrets to the Soviets through the John Walker spy ring. The government called it the most damaging espionage case since World War II.

In 1994, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Jordan's King Hussein signed a declaration that ended the 46-year state of war between their countries.

In 1997, captured Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot was sentenced to life imprisonment in a trial by his former comrades in Cambodia.

In 1999, cyclist Lance Armstrong, having overcome cancer, became the first American on a U.S. team to win the Tour de France.

In 2000, an Air France Concorde supersonic jet crashed on takeoff from Paris, killing all 113 people aboard. It was the first crash of a Concorde.

In 2004, Lance Armstrong won the grueling Tour de France bicycle race for a record sixth consecutive year.

Also in 2004, the harshest cold spell in 30 years struck the Andes Mountains in Peru causing the deaths of at least 46 children.

In 2007, a bipartisan presidential commission, set up in response to inadequate treatment of troops at Washington's Walter Reed Medical Center, called for an overhaul the system of determining disability and compensation determinations and improving treatment for brain injuries and post traumatic stress.

Also in 2007, as Iraqis celebrated their national soccer team's victory over South Korea in the Asian Cup semifinals, panic took over when two suicide bombers attacked crowds in Baghdad, killing at least 50 people and injuring about 140.

In 2008, California banned the use of trans fats in all restaurants and retail bakeries in the state, beginning in 2010.

In 2009, 5 million more American residents voted in the 2008 presidential election than in the previous one, due largely to minorities and young voters, U.S. election officials reported.

In 2011, the Vatican recalled its special envoy in Ireland after a blistering report on the Catholic Church's handling of child abuse by priests there and alleged covering up of such charges. Prime Minister Enda Kenny accused the church of putting its reputation ahead of child rape victims.

Also in 2011, swooping down on Juarez bars, hotels and boarding houses, Mexican police arrested more than 1,000 people in a crackdown on human trafficking.

A thought for the day: Margaret Fuller said, "Genius will live and thrive without training but it does not the less reward the watering pot and pruning knife."