UPI Almanac for Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2015

Today is Tuesday, Sept. 15, the 258th day of 2015 with 107 to follow.

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

Those born on this date in history are under the sign of Virgo. They include Italian explorer Marco Polo in 1254; novelist James Fenimore Cooper in 1789; William Howard Taft, 27th president of the United States, in 1857; humorist Robert Benchley in 1889; British mystery writer Agatha Christie in 1890; country music star Roy Acuff in 1903; actor Fay Wray in 1907; actor Jackie Cooper in 1922; golf entrepreneur Karsten Solheim in 1911; writer Orhan Kemal in 1914; comedian Nipsey Russell in 1918; singer/pianist Bobby Short in 1924; comedian Norm Crosby in 1927 (age 88); jazz saxophone player Julian "Cannonball" Adderley in 1928; baseball Hall of Fame member Gaylord Perry in 1938 (age 77); football Hall of Fame member/actor Merlin Olsen in 1940; soprano Jessye Norman in 1945 (age 70); filmmaker Oliver Stone in 1946 (age 69); actor Tommy Lee Jones in 1946 (age 69); football Hall of Fame member Dan Marino in 1961 (age 54); Prince Henry, called "Harry," second son of Britain's Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana, in 1984 (age 31).

On this date in history:

In 1812, Russians set fire to Moscow in an effort to keep out Napoleon and his invading French troops.

In 1942, the armies of Nazi Germany began their siege of the Russian city of Stalingrad.

In 1954, the famous scene in which Marilyn Monroe is shown laughing as her skirt is blown up by a blast of air from a subway vent was shot during the filming of "The Seven Year Itch." The scene infuriated her husband, Joe DiMaggio, who felt it was exhibitionist. (The couple divorced a short time later.)

In 1963, four black girls were killed in the bombing of a church in Birmingham, Ala. Two black teenage boys were shot to death later that day as citywide rioting broke out.

In 1971, the environmental organization Greenpeace was founded by 12 members of the Don't Make A Wave committee of Vancouver, British Columbia.

In 1993, Katherine Ann Power, a Vietnam War opponent and a fugitive for more than 20 years in the death of a police officer during a bank robbery in Boston, surrendered. (She pleaded guilty and spent six years in prison.)

In 1999, a 47-year-old man opened fire during a youth service at the Wedgwood Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas, killing seven people and wounding seven before killing himself.

In 2000, the 27th Summer Olympic Games opened in Sydney, with a record number of female athletes participating -- and with North and South Korea marching together in the opening procession.

In 2003, more than 100 prisoners were killed in a fire at a maximum-security prison outside the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh.

In 2009, U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the recession, which began in December 2007, was "very likely over" but the economy would appear weak "for some time."

In 2012, an attack by the Taliban killed two U.S. Marines and destroyed several planes at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan. The militants said one of their reasons for the attack was to assassinate Britain's Prince Harry, a helicopter pilot stationed at the base, but officials said he was not in danger. NATO said 18 attackers were killed.

In 2013, authorities said six people had been killed and dozens were stranded in Colorado after a week of flooding caused by record-breaking rains.

In 2014, representatives of 26 countries, meeting in Paris, agreed to support the new Iraqi government against Islamic State extremists "by any means necessary, including appropriate military assistance."

A thought for the day: California Gov. Jerry Brown said, "Too often I find that the volume of paper expands to fill the available briefcases."