The almanac

Today is Wednesday, Jan. 8, the eighth day of 2014 with 357 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Capricorn. They include financier Nicholas Biddle in 1786; educator and hymn writer Lowell Mason ("Nearer My God To Thee") in 1792; James Longstreet, Confederate general in the Civil War, in 1821; publisher Frank Doubleday in 1862; reading teacher Evelyn Wood in 1909; actor Jose Ferrer in 1912; comic actor Larry Storch in 1923 (age 91); comedian Soupy Sales in 1926; music impresario Bill Graham in 1931; newsman Charles Osgood in 1933 (age 81); Elvis Presley, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's "undisputed king," in 1935; singer Shirley Bassey in 1937 (age 77); game show host Bob Eubanks in 1938 (age 76); British comedian Graham Chapman in 1941; actor Yvette Mimieux and British physicist and author Stephen Hawking, both in 1942 (age 72); author Terry Brooks in 1944 (age 70); radio talk show host Kojo Nnamdi in 1945 (age 69); Rock and Roll Hall of Fame members Robby Krieger (The Doors) in 1946 (age 68) and David Bowie and Terry Sylvester (Hollies), both in 1947 (age 67); and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in 1983 (age 31).

On this date in history:

In 1790, U.S. President George Washington gave the first State of the Union address.

In 1815, the forces of U.S. Gen. Andrew Jackson decisively defeated the British in the Battle of New Orleans, the closing engagement of the War of 1812.

In 1867, the U.S. Congress approved legislation that allowed blacks to vote in the District of Columbia.

In 1916, Allied forces staged a full retreat from the shores of the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey, ending a disastrous invasion of the Ottoman Empire that resulted in 250,000 Allied casualties.

In 1918, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson delivered his "Fourteen Points" speech to a joint session of the U.S. Congress.

In 1976, Chinese Premier Chou En-lai died in Beijing.

In 1987, Kay Orr was inaugurated in Lincoln, Neb., as the nation's first woman Republican governor.

In 1991, Pan American World Airways filed for bankruptcy.

In 1993, thousands gathered at Elvis Presley's Graceland mansion in Memphis to purchase the first issue of a stamp honoring the "King of Rock 'n' Roll" on what would have been his 58th birthday.

In 1997, a report by University of Texas scientists concluded that exposure to a combination of chemicals was linked to Gulf War Syndrome, responsible for the various ailments reported by veterans of the 1991 conflict.

In 2002, U.S. President George W. Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act.

In 2007, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced he would nationalize the nation's telecommunications and electric power industries controlled by U.S. companies.

In 2011, six people were killed and 13 others, including U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., were wounded when a gunman armed with a semiautomatic pistol opened fire at a political meeting in Tucson. (The shooter, Jared Loughner, 22, was sentenced to life in prison.)

In 2013, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration reported that 2012 was the warmest year on record for the contiguous United States.

A thought for the day: William Feather said, "Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go."