UPI Almanac for Monday, Sept. 16, 2024

Today is Monday, Sept. 16, the 260th day of 2023 with 106 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Virgo. They include England's King Henry V in 1386; department store founder James Cash Penney in 1875; artist Jean Arp in 1886; car designer Walter Bentley in 1888; writer/creator of "Curious George" H.A. Rey in 1898; actor Lauren Bacall in 1924; musician B.B. King in 1925; actor Peter Falk in 1927; actor Anne Francis in 1930; actor George Chakiris in 1932 (age 92); Basketball Hall of Fame member Elgin Baylor in 1934; musician Betty Kelley (Martha and the Vandellas) in 1944 (age 80); actor Susan Ruttan in 1948 (age 76); musician Kenney Jones (Small Faces/Who) in 1948 (age 76); actor Ed Begley Jr. in 1949 (age 75); actor Mickey Rourke in 1952 (age 72); actor Lenny Clarke in 1953 (age 71); actor Christopher Rich in 1953 (age 71); Baseball Hall of Fame member Robin Yount in 1955 (age 69); magician David Copperfield in 1956 (age 68); actor/poker player Jennifer Tilly in 1958 (age 66); Luc Frieden, prime minister of Luxembourg, in 1963 (age 61); musician Richard Marx (REO Speedwagon) in 1963 (age 61); comedian/actor Molly Shannon in 1964 (age 60); musician/actor Marc Anthony in 1968 (age 56); TV personality Tamron Hall in 1970 (age 54); comedian/actor Amy Poehler in 1971 (age 53); actor Olatokunbo "Toks" Olagundoye in 1975 (age 49); actor Michael Mosley in 1978 (age 46); musician Flo Rida, born Tramar Lacel Dillard, in 1979 (age 45); actor Alexis Bledel in 1981 (age 43); actor Fan Bingbing in 1981 (age 43); musician/actor Sabrina Bryan, born Reba Sabrina Hinojosa, (Cheetah Girls) in 1984 (age 40); actor Madeline Zima in 1985 (age 39); actor Kyla Pratt in 1986 (age 38); actor Chase Stokes in 1992 (age 32); actor/musician Nick Jonas (Jonas Brothers) in 1992 (age 32).

On this date in history:

In 1620, the Mayflower left Plymouth, England, with 102 passengers, bound for America.

In 1810, Mexico began its war of independence against Spain.

In 1940, Congress passed the first peacetime draft in U.S. history, requiring the registration of all men 21 to 36 years old.

In 1974, U.S. President Gerald Ford offered conditional amnesty to Vietnam draft evaders. He said they could return to the United States if they performed up to two years of public service.

In 1978, a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck northeastern Iran, killing more than 25,000 people.

In 1982 Lebanese Christian militiamen entered two Palestinian refugee camps in West Beirut, Lebanon, and began what became known as the Sabra and Shatila massacre. Hundreds of people were killed in the three-day rampage.

In 1986, fire and fumes in the Kinross mine killed 177 people in South Africa's worst gold mine disaster.

In 1994, a U.S. federal court jury in Anchorage, Alaska, ordered Exxon to pay $5 billion to the fishermen and natives whose lives were affected by the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989. There had never been a larger award in a pollution case.

In 1999, Congress doubled the U.S. presidential salary, from $200,000 a year to $400,000, effective in 2001.

In 2007, former NFL running back/actor O.J. Simpson was arrested and charged with robbery, assault, burglary and conspiracy in a Las Vegas armed robbery. He was sentenced to up to 33 years in prison.

In 2008, U.S. Army Gen. David Petraeus, who oversaw the surge of troops into Iraq, was chosen to become commander of the U.S. Central Command that covered all of the Middle East. He was succeeded in Iraq by U.S. Army Gen. Ray Odierno.

In 2011, a vintage P-51 Mustang fighter plane crashed into a crowd of onlookers at the National Championship Air Races and Air Show in Reno, Nev., killing 11 people, including the 74-year-old pilot, Jimmy Leeward, and injuring about 75 others.

In 2013, a gunman identified as Aaron Alexis of Texas killed 12 people and injured four at the Washington Navy Yard before he was shot to death by a U.S. Park Police officer. The FBI later said Alexis had written that he was under the control of "ultra low-frequency" electromagnetic waves and "to be perfectly honest that is what has driven me to this."

In 2018, Christine Blasey Ford accused Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault while they attended a party as teenagers in the 1980s. The accusation led to congressional hearings amid Kavanaugh's confirmation process to become a Supreme Court Justice. He was sworn in to the high court Oct. 6.

In 2021, scientists announced the discovery of the oldest evidence of humans making clothes -- bone tools between 90,000 years and 120,000 years old. The tools were found in the Contrebandiers Cave in Morocco.

"Authority without wisdom is like a heavy ax without an edge, fitter to bruise than polish," English poet Anne Bradstreet