The almanac

Today is Monday, Sept. 16, the 259th day of 2013 with 106 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Virgo. They include England's King Henry V in 1386; historian Francis Parkman in 1823; railroad magnate James Jerome "J.J." Hill in 1838; department store founder James Cash Penney in 1875; artist Jean Arp in 1886; British car designer Walter Bentley in 1888; children's author and creator of "Curious George" H.A. Rey in 1898; entertainer Allen Funt in 1914; writer Laurence J. Peter in 1919; actor Lauren Bacall in 1924 (age 89); blues musician B.B. King in 1925 (age 88); actors Peter Falk and Jack Kelly, both in 1927, and Anne Francis in 1930; basketball Hall of Fame member Elgin Baylor in 1934 (age 79); actors Susan Ruttan in 1948 (age 65), Ed Begley Jr. in 1949 (age 64) and Mickey Rourke in 1952 (age 61); Rock and Rool Hall of Fame member Kenney Jones (Small Faces, Faces) in 1948 (age 65); baseball Hall of Fame member Robin Yount in 1955 (age 58); magician David Copperfield in 1956 (age 57); actor and poker player Jennifer Tilly in 1958 (age 55); comedians Molly Shannon in 1964 (age 49) and Amy Poehler in 1971 (age 42); singer/actor Marc Anthony in 1968 (age 45); and Jonas Brothers band member Nick Jonas in 1992 (age 21).

On this date in history:

In 1620, the Mayflower left Plymouth, England, with 102 passengers, bound for America.

In 1810, Mexico began its war of independence against Spain.

In 1893, more than 100,000 people rushed to the Cherokee Strip as a large area of the Indian Territory, now Oklahoma, was opened to homesteaders.

In 1974, U.S. President Gerald Ford offered conditional amnesty to Vietnam draft evaders. He said they could return to the United States if they performed up to two years of public service.

In 1977, celebrated soprano Maria Callas died in Paris at the age of 53.

In 1982, hundreds of people were killed after Christian militiamen entered two Palestinian refugee camps in West Beirut, Lebanon. Survivors said Israeli forces had sealed off the camps.

In 1986, fire and fumes in the Kinross mine killed 177 people in South Africa's worst gold mine disaster.

In 1994, a U.S. federal court jury in Anchorage, Alaska, ordered Exxon to pay $5 billion to the fishermen and natives whose lives were affected by the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989, largest award ever in a pollution case.

In 1999, Congress doubled the U.S. presidential salary, from $200,000 a year to $400,000, effective in 2001.

In 2004, Hurricane Jeanne killed an estimated 1,500 people in Haiti.

In 2007, former NFL running back and actor O.J. Simpson was arrested and charged with robbery, assault, burglary and conspiracy in a Las Vegas armed robbery.

In 2008, U.S. Army Gen. David Petraeus, who oversaw the surge of troops into Iraq, was chosen to become commander of the U.S. Central Command that covered all of the Middle East. He was succeeded in Iraq by U.S. Army Gen. Ray Odierno.

In 2009, the U.S. Congress voted to officially rebuke Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., for yelling, "You lie!" at U.S. President Barack Obama during a speech on healthcare reform.

In 2010, the U.S. Census Bureau reported the percentage of Americans living below the poverty line in 2009 reached a 15-year high of 14.3 percent -- about 43.67 million people -- up from 39.8 million or 13.2 percent a year earlier. The poverty level represented $10,830 in pretax cash income for a single adult and $22,050 for a family of four.

In 2011, a vintage P-51 Mustang fighter plane crashed into a crowd of onlookers at the National Championship Air Races and Air Show in Reno, Nev., killing 11 people, including the 74-year-old pilot, Jimmy Leeward, and injuring about 75 others.

In 2012, the Occupy Wall Street protest marked its first anniversary with a noisy outburst in New York's Lower Manhattan.

A thought for the day: Bertrand Russell argued that "Boredom is a vital problem for the moralist, since at least half the sins of mankind are caused by the fear of it."