UPI Almanac for Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2018

Today is Tuesday, Sept. 4, the 247th day of 2018 with 118 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Virgo. They include French novelist/politician Francois Rene de Chateaubriand in 1768; architect Daniel Burnham in 1846; engineer/inventor Lewis Latimer in 1848; French composer Darius Milhaud in 1892; bandleader Jan Savitt in 1907; novelist/essayist Richard Wright in 1908; radio news commentator Paul Harvey in 1918; actor Dick York in 1928; dancer/actor Mitzi Gaynor in 1931 (age 87); golf Hall of Fame member Raymond Floyd in 1942 (age 76); golf Hall of Fame member Tom Watson in 1949 (age 69); actor Judith Ivey in 1951 (age 67); comedian Damon Wayans in 1960 (age 58); actor Phill Lewis in 1968 (age 50); actor Noah Taylor in 1969 (age 49); actor Ione Skye in 1970 (age 48); music producer Mark Ronson in 1975 (age 43); actor Wes Bentley in 1978 (age 40); actor Max Greenfield in 1980 (age 38); singer Beyonce Knowles in 1981 (age 37); singer James Bay in 1990 (age 28); actor Talitha Bateman in 2001 (age 17).

On this date in history:

In 1609, navigator Henry Hudson discovered the island of Manhattan.

In 1957, Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus called out the National Guard to prevent nine African-American students from entering Central High School in Little Rock.

In 1972, U.S. swimmer Mark Spitz became the first athlete to win seven gold medals in a single Olympic Games. The record stood until American swimmer Michael Phelps won eight golds at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

In 1982, a fire in a Los Angeles apartment house killed 25 people after Humberto Diaz de la Torre set the building on fire amid a dispute with the apartment's manager. He pleaded guilty to murder and received a 625-year prison sentence.

In 1991, South African President F.W. de Klerk proposed a new Constitution. It provided for universal voting rights and opened Parliament to all races.

In 2002, U.S. President George W. Bush said he would seek congressional approval for any military move on Iraq. He also promised to consult with allies, some of whom were opposed to his "regime change" plan.

In 2006, Steve Irwin, Australia's internationally renowned "Crocodile Hunter" TV star, was killed by a stingray barb to the heart while he was filming underwater.

In 2014, caustic comedienne Joan Rivers, whose cutting barbs were often aimed at celebrities, including herself, died at the age of 81 at a hospital in New York City. Her daughter, Melissa, said, "My mother's greatest joy in life was to make people laugh."

In 2016, Mother Teresa was declared a saint by Pope Francis nearly 20 years after her death.

A thought for the day: "The mark of great sportsmen is not how good they are at their best, but how good they are their worst." -- Martina Navratilova