UPI Almanac for Tuesday, June 18, 2019

Today is Tuesday, June 18, the 169th day of 2019 with 196 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Gemini. They include Cyrus Curtis, founder/publisher of the Ladies' Home Journal, in 1850; journalist/publisher Edward W. Scripps in 1854; British mountain climber George Mallory in 1886; Russian Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna in 1901; singer/actor Jeanette MacDonald in 1903; actor Keye Luke in 1904; vintner Robert Mondavi in 1913; financial journalist Sylvia Porter in 1913; actor Richard Boone in 1917; author Gail Godwin in 1937 (age 82); baseball Hall of Fame member Lou Brock in 1939 (age 80); film critic Roger Ebert in 1942; former South African President Thabo Mbeki in 1942 (age 77); singer/composer Paul McCartney in 1942 (age 77); actor Carol Kane in 1952 (age 67); actor Isabella Rossellini in 1952 (age 67); actor Kim Dickens in 1965 (age 54); country singer Blake Shelton in 1976 (age 43); actor Richard Madden in 1986 (age 33); actor Willa Holland in 1991 (age 28).

On this date in history:

In 1812, the United States declared war on Britain, beginning the War of 1812.

In 1815, England's Duke of Wellington and Prussian Field Marshal Gebhard von Blucher defeated Napoleon at Waterloo in Belgium.

In 1975, Saudi Arabian Prince Museid was publicly beheaded in Riyadh for the assassination of King Faisal.

In 1979, U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev signed a strategic arms control treaty (SALT II) in Vienna.

In 1983, Sally Ride became the first American woman in space after the shuttle Challenger was launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla.

In 1990, gunman James Edward Pough, 42, whose car had been repossessed, killed nine people and wounded four before killing himself at a General Motors Acceptance Corp. loan office in Jacksonville, Fla. Investigators said he had killed two people and injured two others a day earlier.

In 1997, Turkish Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan resigned under pressure after his governing coalition lost its majority in Parliament.

In 2004, U.S. hostage Paul Johnson Jr., 49, was killed by his Saudi captors despite pleas from senior Muslim clerics.

In 2014, Spanish King Juan Carlos abdicated the throne amid scandal, massive unemployment and regional separatism. His son was crowned King Felipe VI one day later.

In 2018, President Donald Trump directed the Department of Defense to create a sixth branch of the military -- a Space Force.

A thought for the day: "Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumblebee, the small child and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams." -- Atlanta hostage heroine Ashley Smith