The almanac

Today is Thursday, Nov. 14, the 318th day of 2013 with 47 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Scorpio. They include Robert Fulton, inventor of the steamboat, in 1765; French Impressionist painter Claude Monet, in 1840; Indian statesman Jawaharlal Nehru in 1889; U.S. composer Aaron Copland in 1900; singers Morton Downey in 1901 and Johnny Desmond in 1919; actor/singer Dick Powell in 1904; Swedish writer Astrid Lindgren in 1907; U.S. Sen. Joseph McCarthy, R-Wis., in 1908; former U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali in 1922 (age 91); actors Brian Keith in 1921, Veronica Lake in 1922 and McLean Stevenson in 1927; astronaut Edward White, killed in a 1967 Apollo I launch-pad fire, in 1930; King Hussein of Jordan in 1935; writer P.J. O'Rourke and musician Buckwheat Zydeco, both in 1947 (age 66); Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, in 1948 (age 65); former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and New Age singer/songwriter Yanni in 1954 (age 59); actors D.B. Sweeney in 1961 (age 52), Laura San Giacomo in 1962 (age 51) and Patrick Warburton in 1964 (age 49); and television newscaster Bill Hemmer, also in 1964 (age 49).

On this date in history:

In 1666, the first blood transfusion took place in London. Blood from one dog was transfused into another.

In 1832, the first horse-drawn streetcar made its appearance in New York City.

In 1889, newspaper reporter Nellie Bly set off to break the fictional record of voyaging around the world in 80 days set by Jules Verne's character Phileas Fogg. She made the trip in 72 days, 6 hours, 11 minutes and 14 seconds.

In 1926, the NBC radio network made its debut.

In 1940, German planes bombed Coventry, England, destroying or damaging 69,000 buildings.

In 1972, for the first time in its 76-year history, the Dow Jones industrial average closed at more than 1,000.

In 1986, the White House acknowledged the CIA's role in secretly shipping weapons to Iran.

In 1988, the PLO proclaimed an independent state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, endorsing a renunciation of terrorism and an implicit recognition of Israel.

In 1993, residents of Puerto Rico voted in favor of continuing their U.S. commonwealth status.

In 1994, the 31-mile Chunnel Tunnel under the English Channel opened to passenger traffic between England and France.

In 2005, private U.S. donations to victims of Hurricane Katrina were reported to be near the $2.7 billion mark in 11 weeks, close to the record $2.8 billion said to have gone to Sept. 11, 2001, charities.

In 2009, NASA scientists reported finding at least 26 gallons of water on the moon after studying results of their L-cross satellite mission, demonstrating what they called the possibility of sustaining life there.

In 2010, the death toll from Haiti's cholera epidemic reached 917, rising by 121 in two days, the health ministry said.

In 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a challenge by 26 states to President Barack Obama's landmark healthcare reform law.

In 2012, the Pew Hispanic Center said it analyzed Census Bureau data, Election Day exit polls and a new nationwide survey of Hispanics and concluded that the record number of Latinos who voted for U.S. president this year is likely to double in a generation.

A thought for the day: "Conceit is bragging about yourself. Confidence means you believe you can get the job done." -- Johnny Unitas