The almanac

Today is Friday, Aug. 16, the 228th day of 2013 with 137 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 Leo. They include the French physicist Gabriel Lippmann, inventor of color photography, in 1845; Amos Alonzo Stagg, basketball and football Hall of Fame coach, in 1862; British soldier and writer T.E. Lawrence ("Lawrence of Arabia") in 1888; labor leader George Meany in 1894; former Israeli Prime Minister and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Menachem Begin in 1913; actors Fess Parker in 1924, Ann Blyth in 1928 (age 85), Robert Culp in 1930 and Julie Newmar in 1933; singer Eydie Gorme in 1928; football Hall of fame member and sports commentator Frank Gifford in 1930 (age 83), TV personality Kathie Lee Gifford in 1953 (age 60); actors Julie Newmar in 1933 (age 80), Lesley Ann Warren in 1946 (age 67) and Reginald VelJohnson in 1952 (age 61); film director James Cameron ("Titanic," "Avatar") in 1954 (age 59); actor Jeff Perry in 1955 (age 58); actor Angela Bassett and singer Madonna, whose full name is Madonna Louise Ciccone, both in 1958 (age 55); and actors Laura Innes in 1957 (age 56), Timothy Hutton in 1960 (age 53) and Steve Carell in 1962 (age 51); and Dixie Chicks singer Emily Robison in 1972 (age 41).

On this date in history:

In 1812, British forces foiled plans for a U.S. invasion of Canada by capturing the city of Detroit.

In 1896, the North Country gold rush began with the discovery of gold in the Klondike region of Canada's Yukon Territory.

In 1948, baseball legend Babe Ruth died in New York of cancer at age 53.

In 1954, the first edition of Sports Illustrated was published.

In 1977, Elvis Presley, the king of rock 'n' roll, died of heart failure at his home in Memphis at age 42.

In 1987, a Northwest Airlines jet bound for Phoenix crashed on takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, killing 156 people. A 4-year-old girl was the sole survivor.

In 2007, Jose Padilla, accused of plotting to explode a "dirty" bomb in the United States, was convicted by a federal jury of conspiracy to commit terror and giving material support to al-Qaida.

In 2008 sports, American swimmer Michael Phelps won his record eighth gold medal in the Summer Olympic Games at Beijing.

In 2009, John Yettaw, a Missouri man convicted in Myanmar of illegally visiting political opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, serving a lengthy house-arrest sentence, was allowed to leave the country.

In 2010, off-road derby supporters and opponents criticized a lack of safety precautions after a crash during a 200-mile nighttime race in California's Mojave Desert killed eight spectators in a crowd ringing the raceway.

In 2012, the Ecuadorean government said it would grant political asylum in its London embassy to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, trying to avoid extradition to Sweden to face questioning in a sexual assault investigation.

A thought for the day: Robert F. Kennedy said, "I believe as long as there is plenty, poverty is evil."