The almanac

Today is Saturday, Oct. 27, the 301st day of 2012 with 65 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Scorpio. They include English explorer Capt. James Cook in 1728; Italian violin virtuoso Niccolo Paganini in 1782; Isaac Singer, developer of the first practical home sewing machine, in 1811; Swedish pacifist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Klas Pontus Arnoldson in 1844; Theodore Roosevelt, 26th president of the United States and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, in 1858; etiquette arbiter Emily Post in 1872; longtime "Tonight Show" producer/director Fred de Cordova in 1910; Welsh poet Dylan Thomas in 1914; actors Nanette Fabray in 1920 (age 92) and Ruby Dee in 1924 (age 88); baseball Hall of Fame member Ralph Kiner in 1922 (age 90); pop artist Roy Lichtenstein in 1923; former Secretary of State Warren Christopher in 1925; Nixon aide H.R. Haldeman in 1926; poet Sylvia Plath in 1932; pop pianist Floyd Cramer in 1933; comedian John Cleese in 1939 (age 73); country singer Lee Greenwood in 1942 (age 70); Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in 1945 (age 67); Canadian filmmaker Ivan Reitman in 1946 (age 66); writer Fran Lebowitz in 1950 (age 62); actors Carrie Snodgress in 1945, Roberto Benigni ("Life Is Beautiful") in 1952 (age 60) and Robert Picardo in 1953 (age 59); singer Simon Le Bon in 1958 (age 54); blogger Matt Drudge in 1966 (age 46); and television personality Kelly Osbourne in 1984 (age 28).

On this date in history:

In 1659, William Robinson and Marmaduke Stevenson, two Quakers who left England in 1656 to escape religious persecution, were executed in the Massachusetts Bay Colony for their outlawed religious beliefs.

In 1682, the city of Philadelphia was founded.

In 1787, a New York newspaper published the first of 77 essays explaining the new Constitution and urging its ratification, written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay and later combined as "The Federalist Papers."

In 1795, a treaty with Spain settled Florida's northern boundary and gave navigation rights on the Mississippi River to the United States.

In 1904, the first rapid transit subway system in America opened in New York City.

In 1946, the travel show "Geographically Speaking," sponsored by Bristol-Myers, became the first television program with a commercial sponsor.

In 1954, Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio divorced, reportedly after a blowup over her famous scene in "The Seven-Year Itch" in which a blast of air lifts her skirt.

In 1981, the National Labor Relations Board withdrew recognition of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization for an illegal strike by its members.

In 1990, CBS founder William S. Paley died at age 89 and band leader/rumba king Xavier Cugat died at 90.

In 1991, Poland had its first fully free parliamentary elections.

In 1992, Israeli tanks rolled into Lebanon as air force jets carried out renewed raids to stop Muslim fundamentalist guerrillas.

In 1993, U.S. President Bill Clinton and first lady Hillary Clinton presented Congress with the administration's plan for healthcare reform in a ceremony at the Capitol.

Also in 1993, Southern California was hit by dozens of brush fires -- the worst in six years. Hundreds of homes were destroyed and thousands of people fled the flames.

In 1994, the U.S. Justice Department announced that the U.S. prison population topped the 1 million mark.

In 1998, Hurricane Mitch, one of the strongest recorded Atlantic storms, began its four-day siege of Central America, causing at least 10,000 deaths.

In 2003, as many as 40 civilians and U.S. soldiers were killed in terrorist bombings in Baghdad. Among the targets was the headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

In 2004 sports, The Boston Red Sox won the World Series for the first time in 86 years.

In 2006, David Safavian a former General Services Administration official, was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for helping lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

In 2007, Russian observers predicted correctly that Vladimir Putin would seek the post of prime minister when he stepped down from the presidency.

In 2008, U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, at 84 the longest-serving Senate Republican in history, was found guilty of seven federal felony charges related to unreported gifts and renovation work on his home. The convictions were vacated due to prosecutorial misconduct.

In 2009, the Federal Aviation Administration revoked the licenses of two Northwest Airlines pilots who overshot their Minneapolis destination by 150 miles after becoming distracted while working on laptop computers.

Also in 2009, a new Anglican rite within the Roman Catholic Church would allow married Anglican clergy to be ordained as Catholic priests but only unmarried clergy could serve as bishops, church leaders said.

In 2010, with the midterm national elections less than a week away, an official report estimated that about $4 billion had been spent, a record for a nonpresidential year and around $1 billion more than was spent in 2006.

Also in 2010, at least 60 people, mostly women and children, were killed in Afghanistan when a three-story mud-brick house collapsed during a wedding.

In 2011, most "Occupy" demonstrations on economic matters that began on Wall Street and spread across the United States were peaceful. But, a rally in Oakland, Calif., turned violent when police used force to keep protesters from setting up a tent camp in a downtown plaza from which they had been evicted earlier.

A thought for the day: U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt said, "The first requisite of a good citizen in this Republic of ours is that he shall be able and willing to pull his own weight."