The almanac

Today is Tuesday, July 16, the 197th day of 2013 with 168 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Cancer. They include English painter Joshua Reynolds in 1723; Mary Baker Eddy, founder of the Christian Science Church, in 1821; rights activist Ida Bell Wells-Barnett in 1862; Norwegian polar explorer Roald Amundsen in 1872; baseball great and "Black Sox" scandal figure "Shoeless" Joe Jackson in 1887; actor Percy Kilbride ("Pa Kettle") in 1888; vaudeville star Blossom Seeley in 1891; first U.N. Secretary-General Trygva Lie in 1896; popcorn tycoon Orville Redenbacher and actor Barbara Stanwyck, both in 1907; actor/dancer Ginger Rogers in 1911; actor Barnard Hughes in 1915; Bess Myerson, 1945's Miss America and TV personality, in 1924 (age 89); actor Corin Redgrave in 1939; tennis Hall of Fame member Margaret Court in 1942 (age 71); football Hall of Fame member Jimmy Johnson in 1943 (age 70); singer/actor Ruben Blades and violinist Pinchas Zukerman, both in 1948 (age 65); Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Stewart Copeland in 1952 (age 61); playwright Tony Kushner in 1956 (age 57); cyclist Miguel Indurain in 1964 (age 49); football Hall of Fame member Barry Sanders in 1968 (age 45); and actors Phoebe Cates in 1963 (age 50), Will Ferrell in 1967 (age 46), Rain Pryor in 1969 (age 44) and Corey Feldman in 1971 (age 42).

On this date in history:

In 1769, the first Roman Catholic mission in California was dedicated at the site of present day San Diego.

In 1790, the U.S. Congress designated the District of Columbia as the permanent seat of the U.S. government.

In 1918, Russian Czar Nicholas II and his family were killed by Bolsheviks who had held them captive for two months.

In 1935, the world's first parking meter was installed in Oklahoma City.

In 1945, the first test of the atom bomb was conducted at a secret base near Alamogordo, N.M.

In 1951, J.D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye" was published.

In 1959, Billie Holiday, considered one of the greatest jazz singers despite a tragic life, died of cardiac failure at age 44.

In 1969, Apollo 11, the first moon-landing mission, was launched from the Kennedy Space Center, carrying astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin and Michael Collins.

In 1980, Ronald Reagan was unanimously nominated as the Republican candidate for president at the GOP National Convention in Detroit. He chose George H.W. Bush as his running mate after former U.S. President Gerald Ford declined to join the ticket.

In 1990, Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev dropped his objections to a unified Germany in NATO.

In 1999, John F. Kennedy, Jr., his wife and her sister were killed in the crash of a single-engine plane in the Atlantic Ocean off the Massachusetts island of Martha's Vineyard. The son of former U.S. President John Kennedy was 39.

In 2004, TV personality and businesswoman Martha Stewart was sentenced to five months in prison and five months of house arrest after being found guilty of conspiracy, obstruction of an agency proceeding and making false statements to federal investigators.

In 2008, Taliban militants attacked a U.S. base in Afghanistan, killing nine U.S. soldiers and wounding at least 50 NATO troops in the most deadly assault against U.S. troops in three years.

In 2010, Pope Benedict XVI approved tougher Roman Catholic Church laws dealing with sexual-abuse charges against church officials in an effort to quell a scandal involving alleged pedophile priests.

In 2012, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the United States and Israel are on the "same page" when it comes to Iran and its nuclear program.

A thought for the day: From Ogden Nash: "The cow is of the bovine ilk; One end is moo, the other, milk."