The almanac

Today is Friday, Jan. 17, the 17th day of 2014 with 348 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Capricorn. They include American statesman, scientist and author Benjamin Franklin in 1706; British statesman David Lloyd George in 1863; Mack Sennett, director of slapstick silent films, in 1880; U.S. gangster Al Capone and English novelist Nevil Shute, both in 1899; actor Betty White in 1922 (age 92); singer Eartha Kitt in 1927; beauty specialist Vidal Sassoon in 1928; actors James Earl Jones in 1931 (age 83) and Sheree North in 1932; puppeteer Shari Lewis in 1933; talk show host Maury Povich in 1939 (age 75); Olympic gold medal-winning runner Kipchoge Keino in 1940 (age 74); heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali in 1942 (age 72); comedian Andy Kaufman in 1949; former Rolling Stones member Mick Taylor, also in 1949 (age 65); musician Steve Earle in 1955 (age 59), comedian Steve Harvey in 1957 (age 57); comic actor Jim Carrey and writer Sebastian Junger, both in 1962 (age 52); singer Kid Rock in 1971 (age 43); U.S. first lady Michelle Obama in 1964 (age 50); actor Zooey Deschanel in 1980 (age 34); and pro basketball star Dwyane Wade in 1982 (age 32).

On this date in history:

In 1605, "Don Quixote" was published.

In 1806, the first baby was born in the White House. He was the grandson of U.S. President Thomas Jefferson.

In 1871, Andrew Hallikie received a patent for a cable car system that went into service in San Francisco in 1873.

In 1893, Queen Liliuokalani of Hawaii was deposed in a bloodless revolution and a provisional government was established, with annexation by the United States as its aim.

In 1917, the United States bought 50 of the Virgin Islands in the West Indies from Denmark for $25 million.

In 1946, the U.N. Security Council met for the first time.

In 1950, an 11-member gang staged a $1.5 million robbery of a Brink's armored car in Boston.

In 1966, a U.S. B-52 bomber carrying four hydrogen bombs collided with its refueling plane over Palomares, Spain, scattering radioactive plutonium over the area.

In 1977, convicted killer Gary Gilmore was executed by firing squad in Utah. It was the first execution since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty the previous year.

In 1991, Harald V became king of Norway.

In 1994, a pre-dawn earthquake struck the Los Angeles area, claiming 61 lives and causing widespread damage.

In 1995, a powerful earthquake rocked Kobe, Japan, and the surrounding area, killing more than 5,000 people.

In 1996, Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman was sentenced to life in prison and 16 others were also sentenced for plotting to bomb the United Nations.

In 1998, U.S. President Bill Clinton denied in a sworn deposition that he had an affair with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

In 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Oregon's assisted-suicide law by a 6-3 vote. It allowed doctors to help mentally competent terminally ill patients end their lives.

In 2010, Sebastian Pinera, a 60-year-old billionaire, won Chile's presidential election.

In 2013, U.S. cyclist Lance Armstrong, in an interview broadcast on OWN (the Oprah Winfrey Network), said he used banned substances and blood transfusions in all of his Tour de France wins.

A thought for the day: "Sometimes the heart sees what is invisible to the eye." -- H. Jackson Brown Jr.