The Almanac
Today is Wednesday, Aug. 10, the 223rd day of 2016 with 143 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 day
are under the sign of Leo. They include Edmund Jennings Randolph, the
first U.S. attorney general, in 1753; Herbert Hoover, 31st president of
the United States, in 1874; actor Jack Haley (the tinman in The Wizard
of Oz ) in 1898; actor Norma Shearer in 1902; actor Noah Beery Jr. in
1913; actor Rhonda Fleming in 1923 (age 93); guitar maker Leo Fender in
1909; singer/businessman Jimmy Dean in 1928; singer Eddie Fisher in
1928; singer Bobby Hatfield (the Righteous Brothers) in 1940; singer
Ronnie Spector in 1943 (age 73); rock musician Ian Anderson of Jethro
Tull in 1947 (age 69); actor Rosanna Arquette in 1959 (age 57); actor
Antonio Banderas in 1960 (age 56); actor Angie Harmon in 1972 (age 44);
writer Suzanne Collins in 1962 (age 54); political commentator Andrew
Sullivan in 1963 (age 53). On this date in history: In 1776, a
committee of Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson
suggested the United States adopt E pluribus unum -- Out of many, one
-- as the motto for its Great Seal. In 1920, Francisco Pancho Villa
surrendered to Mexican authorities -- and drowned his sorrows in a
bottle of cognac. In 1962, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and three
other civil rights leaders were found guilty of disorderly conduct
charges in Albany, Ga. Judge Adie Durden fined each $200 and sentenced
them to 60 days in jail, but immediately suspended the sentences and
placed King and his associates on probation. In 1977, 24-year-old
postal employee David Berkowitz was arrested and charged with being the
Son of Sam, the serial killer who terrorized New York City for more
than a year, killing six young people and wounding seven others.
Berkowitz was sentenced to life in prison. In 1991, China agreed in
principle to sign the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty. In 1993, Ruth
Bader Ginsburg was sworn in as the U.S. Supreme Court's 107th justice.
In 1996, Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole selected former
congressman, Cabinet secretary and NFL quarterback Jack Kemp as his
running mate. In 2001, about 250 people were killed in a train wreck in
Albania caused by a mine set on the tracks by rebels. In 2003, more
than 80 inmates tunneled their way out of Brazil's Joao Pessoa prison,
one of the nation's top security facilities. In 2008, soul music icon
Isaac Hayes, an Oscar- and Grammy-winning singer, composer and
producer, died at his home in Shelby County, Tenn. He was 65. In 2011,
in the most volatile week in the history of the Dow Jones industrial
average, U.S. stocks took a second big fall in three days. The Dow lost
nearly 520 points, more than wiping out the 429 points regained the
previous day. It had started the week with a 634-point dive after
downgrading of the nation's credit rating. In 2012, Army Pfc. Naser
Jason Abdo was sentenced to two life-in-prison terms for plotting to
blow up a Fort Hood, Texas, restaurant crowded with soldiers. In 2013,
a series of car bombings across Iraq killed about 70 people during
celebrations on the last day of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month. In
2014, Rory McIlroy won the PGA Championship at the Valhalla Golf Club
in Kentucky. It was the second major victory of the year (fourth
overall) and third straight win on tour for the 25-year-old star from
Northern Ireland. A thought for the day: I push myself to be the best I
can be. I don't worry about what other people are doing, and I don't
think about things I can't control. -- Annika Sorenstam .
