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The almanac

By United Press International
Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter

Today is Monday, Sept. 10, the 254th day of 2012 with 112 to follow.

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

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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; dancer Adele Astaire in 1896; English critic Cyril Connolly in 1903; film director Robert Wise in 1914; legendary golfer Arnold Palmer in 1929 (age 83); television journalist Charles Kuralt and home run-hitting baseball star Roger Maris, both in 1934; science writer Stephen Jay Gould in 1941; singer Jose Feliciano in 1945 (age 67); basketball Hall of Fame member Bob Lanier in 1948 (age 64); political commentator Bill O'Reilly in 1949 (age 63); musician Joe Perry in 1950 (age 62), film directors Chris Columbus in 1958 (age 54) and Guy Ritchie in 1968 (age 44); and actors Amy Irving in 1953 (age 59), Clark Johnson in 1954 (age 58), Colin Firth in 1960 (age 52) and Ryan Phillippe in 1974 (age 38).

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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 U.S. President John Kennedy federalized the state's National Guard.

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

In 1998, Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams had 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, accused of stealing nuclear secrets from the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.

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

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

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In 2007, a rebel leader claims the Sudanese government has bombed Darfur, killing at least 28 people. An estimated 200,000 people are believed to have died in the rebel-ravaged region of Darfur in the past four years.

In 2008, scientists in a Geneva lab activated the Large Hadron Collider, the world's largest and most powerful subatomic particle accelerator, built over a 14-year period and costing an estimated $8 billion. However, it had to be shut down after nine days for repairs.

In 2009, U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., shouted "You lie!" during U.S. President Barack Obama's address on healthcare reform to a joint session of Congress. Wilson's outburst brought sharp criticism from colleagues and he apologized to Obama for "inappropriate and regrettable" action when he let "my emotions get the best of me."

In 2010, a gas pipeline explosion and fire leveled 37 houses in San Bruno, Calif. Eight people were killed and more than 50 others injured.

In 2011, Zanzibar officials said at least 187 people died after an overloaded ferry capsized and sank off the coast of Tanzania. More than 600 were rescued.


A thought for the day: Francois Duc de La Rochefoucauld wrote, "Absence weakens mediocre passions and increases great ones, as the wind blows out candles and kindles fires."

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