The almanac

Today is Monday, March 17, the 76th day of 2014 with 289 to follow.

This is St. Patrick's Day.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Pisces. They include German engineer Gottlieb Daimler, inventor of the gasoline-burning internal combustion engine, in 1834; children's author and illustrator Kate Greenaway in 1846; composer Alfred Newman in 1900; golf legend Bobby Jones in 1902; football Hall of Fame member Sammy Baugh in 1914; singer/pianist Nat "King" Cole in 1919; ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev in 1938; Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Paul Kantner in 1941 (age 73); writer William Gibson in 1948 (age 66); actors Patrick Duffy in 1949 (age 65), Kurt Russell in 1951 (age 63), Lesley-Anne Down in 1954 (age 60), Gary Sinise in 1955 (age 59), Vicki Lewis in 1960 (age 54) and Rob Lowe in 1964 (age 50); soccer star Mia Hamm in 1972 (age 42); and Caroline Corr of the Irish pop band The Corrs in 1973 (age 41).

On this date in history:

In 1762, New York City staged the first parade honoring the Roman Catholic feast day of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. It was led by Irish soldiers serving in the British army.

In 1776, the Continental Army under Gen. George Washington forced British troops to evacuate Boston.

In 1901, 71 paintings by the late Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh were shown at the Bernheim-Jeune gallery in Paris and caused a sensation across the art world.

In 1945, the World War II battle against Japanese forces for the Pacific island of Iwo Jima ended in victory for the United States.

In 1958, the U.S. Navy launched the satellite Vanguard 1 into orbit around Earth.

In 1978, the tanker Amoco Cadiz ran aground on the coast of Brittany in France, spilling 220,000 tons of crude oil.

In 1992, South African whites voted to end minority rule.

In 2003, as war with Iraq seemed a certainty, U.S. President George W. Bush gave Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and his sons 48 hours to leave the country. (The ultimatum was rejected.)

In 2008, Iraqi officials reported a female suicide bomber, apparently targeting Shiite worshipers, killed at least 42 people and wounded 58 others in Karbala.

In 2009, General Motors and Chrysler asked for an additional $14 billion from the government to keep from going bankrupt. That made their total request $39 billion.

In 2012, John Demjanjuk, 91, onetime Ohio autoworker, died in Germany, where he was convicted in 2011 of assisting in mass murder as a Nazi death camp guard during World War II.

In 2013, a judge found two Steubenville, Ohio, teenage football players guilty of raping an intoxicated 16-year-old girl.

A thought for the day: "I never liked being called the 'most decorated' soldier. There were so many guys who should have gotten medals and never did -- guys who were killed." -- Audie Murphy