The Almanac
Today is Sunday, Aug. 7, the 220th day of 2016 with 146 to follow. The
moon is waxing. Morning stars are Neptune and Uranus. Evening stars are
Venus, Mercury, Mars, Saturn and Neptune. Those born on this date are
under the sign of Leo. They include Carl Ritter, German co-founder of
modern geographical science, in 1779; World War I Dutch spy and
courtesan known as Mata Hari (Margaret Gertrude Zelle) in 1876; actor
Billie Burke in 1884; British archaeologist/anthropologist Louis Leakey
in 1903; American statesman/Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ralph J. Bunche
in 1904; film director Nicholas Ray in 1911; comedian/producer Stan
Freberg in 1926); actor Carl Switzer (Alfalfa in the Our Gang and
Little Rascals movie comedies) in 1927; basepall pitcher Don Larsen,
who had a perfect game in the 1956 World Series, in 1929 (age 87);
singer B.J. Thomas in 1942 (age 74); humorist Garrison Keillor in 1942
(age 74); former FBI Director Robert Mueller in 1944 (age 72); actor
John Glover in 1944 (age 72); Minnesota Supreme Court Justice/football
Hall of Fame member Alan Page in 1945 (age 71); actor Wayne Knight in
1955 (age 61); actor David Duchovny in 1960 (age 56); actor Charlize
Theron in 1975 (age 41). On this date in history: In 1782, the Order of
the Purple Heart was established by Gen. George Washington to honor
Americans who fought in the Revolutionary War. In 1942, U.S. Marines
launched America's first offensive in World War II, landing on the
Pacific island of Guadalcanal. In 1959, the satellite Explorer 6
transmitted man's first view of Earth from space. In 1998, terrorists'
bombs detonated within minutes of each other outside of U.S. embassy
buildings in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, killing 224
people. Authorities estimated another 4,000 were wounded. In 2001,
Uribe Velez was sworn in as president of Colombia in ceremonies
interrupted by rebel shelling that killed 15 people and wounded 60. In
2005, Peter Jennings, anchor and senior editor of ABC News World News
Tonight, who said in April he had lung cancer, died at his New York
home at age 67. In 2007, Barry Bonds hit his 756th major league home
run, breaking the record set by Hank Aaron. Bonds ended his career just
under seven weeks later with a total of 762 homers. In 2010, the
Taliban claimed responsibility for killing 10 members of a medical
charity team -- six of them Americans -- in a remote forest in
Afghanistan. In 2012, Jared Lee Loughner pleaded guilty to murder and
attempted murder in Tucson shootings that killed six people and wounded
13, including U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Under his plea agreement,
Loughner is imprisoned for life without parole and no opportunity to
appeal. In 2013, air travelers across Africa faced delays after a huge
fire ripped through the main airport in Nairobi, Kenya. No fatalities
were reported. In 2014, U.S. President Barack Obama said he authorized
targeted airstrikes as needed against Islamic militants in northern
Iraq. A thought for the day: All television ever did was shrink the
demand for ordinary movies. The demand for extraordinary movies
increased. -- Clive James .
