The almanac

Today is Monday, Nov. 18, the 322nd day of 2013 with 43 to follow.

The moon is waning. 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 French philosopher and writer Pierre Bayle in 1647; German composer Carl von Weber and English composer Henry Bishop ("Home Sweet Home"), both in 1786; French physicist Louis Daguerre, inventor of daguerreotype photography, in 1787; English playwright W.S. Gilbert, libretto writer for the comic operas of composer Arthur Sullivan, in 1836; Polish composer Ignacy Paderewski in 1860; journalist Dorothy Dix in 1861; conductor Eugene Ormandy in 1899; pollster George Gallup in 1901; comedic actor Imogene Coca in 1908; songwriter Johnny Mercer in 1909; astronaut Alan Shepard, the first American in space, in 1923; actors Brenda Vaccaro in 1939 (age 74), David Hemmings in 1941, Linda Evans in 1942 (age 71), Jameson Parker in 1947 (age 66), Kevin Nealon in 1953 (age 60) and Elizabeth Perkins in 1960 (age 53); writer Alan Dean Foster in 1946 (age 67); football Hall of Fame member Jack Tatum in 1948; actor Owen Wilson in 1968 (age 45); and television news commentator Megyn Kelly in 1970 (age 43).

On this date in history:

In 1477, "The Sayings of the Philosophers" was published. It was the earliest known book printed in England to carry a date.

In 1883, the United States adopted Standard Time and set up four zones -- Eastern, Central, Mountain and Pacific.

1928, Mickey Mouse made his screen debut in the landmark "Steamboat Willie" at the Colony Theater in New York City. The Walt Disney cartoon, with Disney doing the voice of Mickey, was the first with synchronized sound.

In 1963, push-button telephones made their debut.

In 1978, more than 900 people died in a mass suicide-murder led by the Rev. Jim Jones at the People's Temple commune in Guyana following the slaying of U.S. Rep. Leo Ryan, D-Calif. It was the largest mass suicide in modern history.

In 1991, the Lebanese Shiite Muslim faction Islamic Jihad freed Church of England envoy Terry Waite and U.S. professor Thomas Sutherland. Waite had been held for nearly five years, Sutherland for more than six.

In 1999, 12 people died in the collapse of the Aggie Bonfire at Texas A&M University. It was a tradition at the school to construct the bonfire before A&M played Texas in football.

In 2004, Britain outlawed fox hunting in England and Wales.

In 2006, a Connecticut woman who pleaded guilty to sending cookies loaded with rat poison to the U.S. Supreme Court was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

In 2009, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., introduced a healthcare package he said could extend coverage to more than 30 million Americans.

In 2010, a U.N. report said the bill for global food imports would top $1 trillion for the second time, putting the world "dangerously close" to a new food crisis.

In 2011, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it was revoking its approval of the use of Avastin for women with breast cancer after concluding that safety and effectiveness had not been proven for that use. Avastin remained on the market as treatment for other types of cancer.

In 2012, U.N. Secretary Ban-Ki-moon called for an immediate truce to end six days of clashes between Israelis and Palestinians. Many deaths had been reported.

A thought for the day: "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson