The almanac

Today is Thursday, Jan. 30, the 30th day of 2014, with 335 to follow.

The moon is new. 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 Aquarius. They include Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32nd president of the United States and only one elected to four consecutive terms, in 1882; historian Barbara Tuchman in 1912; comedian Dick Martin in 1922; Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme, who was assassinated in 1986, in 1927; theatrical producer Hal Prince in 1928 (age 86); actors Gene Hackman in 1930 (age 84) and Vanessa Redgrave in 1937 (age 77); chess champion Boris Spassky in 1937 (age 77); former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney and author Gregory Benford, both in 1941 (age 73); Rock and Roll Hall of Fame members Marty Balin (Jefferson Airplane) in 1942 (age 72), Steve Marriott (Small Faces) in 1947 and Phil Collins (Genesis) in 1951 (age 63); actor Charles Dutton, also in 1951 (age 63); golfer Hall of Fame members Curtis Strange in 1955 (age 59) and Payne Stewart in 1957; and actor Christian Bale in 1974 (age 40).

On this date in history:

In 1649, English King Charles I was beheaded by order of Parliament.

In 1798, the first fight to break out on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives began when one congressman spat in another's face.

In 1835, a gunman fired twice on President Andrew Jackson, the first attempt on the life of a U.S. president. Jackson wasn't injured.

In 1933, Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany.

In 1943, the British air force bombed Berlin in a daylight raid timed to coincide with a speech by Joseph Goebbels marking Adolf Hitler's 10th year in power.

In 1948, Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated by a Hindu extremist.

In 1969, the Beatles staged an impromptu concert on the roof of Apple Records in London. The event, which became part of the documentary film "Let It Be," was the last public appearance by the band.

In 1972, in what became known as "Bloody Sunday," 13 Roman Catholics were killed by British troops during a banned civil rights march in Londonderry, Northern Ireland.

In 1979, the Iranian government announced it would let Shiite Muslim leader Ayatollah Khomeini return from exile. Washington responded by ordering the evacuation of all U.S. dependents from Iran.

In 1993, parents donated portions of their own lungs to their daughter with cystic fibrosis in pioneering transplant surgery in Los Angeles.

In 2003, a U.S. judge sentenced Richard Reid to life in prison for trying to set off plastic explosives in his shoes on a trans-Atlantic flight in 2001.

In 2009, U.S. stock exchanges reported their weakest January in more than a century, with the Dow Jones industrial average showing a one-month decline of 8.8 percent, closing at 8,000.86.

In 2011, international aid groups said red tape and corruption in Haiti were withholding a massive array of supplies a year after a major earthquake ravaged the country.

In 2013, U.S. President Obama's favorability rating was 60 percent in a Washington Post-ABC News poll as he began his second term.

A thought for the day: "Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend." -- Albert Camus