UPI Almanac for Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019

Today is Monday, Feb. 19, the 50th day of 2019 with 315 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Pisces. They include Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus in 1473; Romanian sculptor Constantin Brancusi in 1876; actor Merle Oberon in 1911; novelist Carson McCullers in 1917; actor Lee Marvin in 1924; television/movie director John Frankenheimer in 1930; singer William "Smokey" Robinson in 1940 (age 79); singer Lou Christie in 1943 (age 76); author Amy Tan in 1952 (age 67); former Argentine President Cristina Fernandez in 1953 (age 66); actor Jeff Daniels in 1955 (age 64); NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in 1959 (age 60); Britain's Prince Andrew in 1960 (age 59); singer Seal, born Henry Olusegun Adeola Samuel, in 1963 (age 56); actor Justine Bateman in 1966 (age 53); actor Benicio Del Toro in 1967 (age 52); actor Bellamy Young in 1970 (age 49); actor Eric Lange in 1973 (age 46); actor Haylie Duff in 1985 (age 34); tennis player Katharina Gerlach in 1998 (age 21); actor David Mazouz in 2001 (age 18); actor Millie Bobby Brown in 2004 (age 15).

On this date in history:

In 1878, Thomas Edison patented the first gramophone.

In 1922, vaudeville star Ed Wynn became the first big name in show business to sign for a regular radio show.

In 1942, as a security measure during World War II, the U.S. government began relocating Japanese-Americans living in coastal Pacific areas to internment camps in remote areas of several states. They were allowed to return to their homes in January 1945.

In 1945, U.S. Marines landed on the island of Iwo Jima, opening one of the major battles in the Pacific during World War II.

In 1981, the United States blamed insurgency in El Salvador on communist powers arming leftist guerrillas.

In 1986, the Soviet Union launched the Mir space station. It was occupied for 10 of its 15 years in orbit.

In 1997, China's "paramount leader" Deng Xiaoping died at age 92.

In 2003, all 289 people aboard an Iranian military transport plane were killed when it crashed in a mountainous region of southeastern Iran.

In 2005, U.S. Roman Catholic officials said they received 1,092 charges of clergy sex abuse, most involving boys.

In 2008, Cuban President Fidel Castro, 81, who temporarily handed power to his brother, Raul, in July 2006, because of illness, stepped down permanently after 49 years in power. Raul, 76, then formally succeeded him.

In 2012, 44 inmates died and 30 escaped during a prison riot in northern Mexico.

In 2013, Tunisian Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali, unable to forge a new government amid mounting citizen protests, announced his resignation.

In 2018, Syrian government forces began two days of air and ground attacks on the enclave of Eastern Ghouta, ultimately killing some 150 civilians.

A thought for the day: "When morality comes up against profit, it is seldom that profit loses. -- Shirley Chisholm