UPI Almanac for Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Today is Wednesday, March 22, the 81st day of 2017 with 284 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Aries. They include Flemish painter Anthony van Dyck in 1599; author Louis L'Amour in 1908; actor Leonard "Chico" Marx of the Marx Brothers comedy team in 1887; actor Karl Malden in 1912; actor Werner Klemperer in 1920; actor Ross Martin in 1920; French mime Marcel Marceau in 1923; newspaper executive Allen Neuharth in 1924; composer Stephen Sondheim in 1930 (age 87); televangelist Pat Robertson in 1930 (age 87); actor William Shatner in 1931 (age 86); U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, in 1934 (age 83); actor M. Emmet Walsh in 1935 (age 82); singer George Benson in 1943 (age 74); British composer Andrew Lloyd Webber in 1948 (age 69); television journalist Wolf Blitzer in 1948 (age 69); sportscaster Bob Costas in 1952 (age 65); actor Lena Olin in 1955 (age 62); actor Matthew Modine in 1959 (age 58); Canadian skater Elvis Stojko in 1972 (age 45); actor Reese Witherspoon in 1976 (age 41).

On this date in history:

In 1765, the Stamp Act was passed by Britain's Parliament, introducing a tax on printed materials in the American colonies. Colonists believed this to be a violation of their rights and was a major grievance listed in the Declaration of Independence.

In 1791, the U.S. Congress enacted legislation forbidding slave trading with foreign nations.

In 1941, the Grand Coulee Dam on the Columbia River began producing electrical power for the Pacific Northwest.

In 1945, representatives from Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Transjordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Yemen met in Cairo to establish the Arab League.

In 1963, Please Please Me, the debut album from The Beatles, is released in Britain.

In 1968, U.S. President Lyndon Johnson recalled Army Gen. William Westmoreland as commander of U.S. troops in Vietnam and made him Army chief of staff. Gen. Creighton Abrams took over in Saigon.

In 1992, a USAir plane skidded off a runway at New York's LaGuardia Airport during a snowstorm and landed in Flushing Bay. Twenty-seven people died.

In 2003, a U.S. Army maintenance convoy in Iraq made a wrong turn and was ambushed. Eleven soldiers were killed and seven, including Pfc. Jessica Lynch, were captured. Lynch later said she was erroneously praised for heroism: "I'm not a hero. I'm just a survivor."

In 2004, the founder and spiritual leader of the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas, Ahmed Yassin, was killed in an Israeli missile strike in the Gaza Strip.

In 2006, Basque separatists who live mostly in Spain declared a cease-fire, saying they would end their long struggle for independence.

In 2010, the largest U.S. community organizing group, known as ACORN, announced it was disbanding because of declining revenues.

In 2011, an Israeli court sentenced former President Moshe Katsav to seven years in prison for rape and sexual harassment.

In 2012, a group of military officers seized control of the Mali government and ousted President Amadou Toumani Toure, even though he had planned to step down the following month.

In 2013, U.S. President Barack Obama, visiting Israel's memorial to Holocaust victims, said bigotry and hatred have no place in a civilized world.

In 2014, tens of thousands of people demonstrated in Madrid against austerity measures and high unemployment, demanding improved healthcare, housing and educational facilities and an end to the Spanish government's "empty promises." Many of the protesters clashed with police, with dozens of injuries reported on both sides.

A thought for the day: George McGovern said, "I'm fed up to the ears with old men dreaming up wars for young men to die in."