The Almanac
Today is Saturday, Sept. 10, the 254th day of 2016 with 112 to follow.
The moon is waxing. Morning stars are Jupiter, Mars, Uranus and Venus.
Evening stars are Mercury, Neptune and Saturn. Those born on this date
are under the sign of Virgo. They include English scientist/clergyman
John Needham in 1713; physicist Arthur Holly Compton in 1892; dancer
Adele Astaire in 1896; English critic Cyril Connolly in 1903; film
director Robert Wise in 1914; Hall of Fame golfer Arnold Palmer in 1929
(age 86); television journalist Charles Kuralt in 1934; home
run-hitting baseball star Roger Maris in 1934; football Hall of Fame
member Buck Buchanan in 1940; science writer Stephen Jay Gould in 1941;
singer Jose Feliciano in 1945 (age 71); basketball Hall of Fame member
Bob Lanier in 1948 (age 68); political commentator Bill O'Reilly in
1949 (age 67); musician Joe Perry (Aerosmith) in 1950 (age 66), actor
Amy Irving in 1953 (age 63); actor Clark Johnson in 1954 (age 62); film
director Chris Columbus in 1958 (age 58); actor Colin Firth in 1960
(age 56); baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Randy The Big Unit Johnson in
1963 (age 53); film director Guy Ritchie in 1968 (age 48); actor Ryan
Phillippe in 1974 (age 42). On this date in history: In 1813, U.S.
naval units under the command of Capt. Oliver Perry defeated a British
squadron in the Battle of Lake Erie. In 1823, Simon Bolivar, who led
the wars for independence from Spain in Venezuela, Colombia, Peru and
Bolivia, was named president of Peru with dictatorial powers. In 1846,
Elias Howe received a patent for the sewing machine. In 1963, blacks
entered the white public schools of Birmingham, Tuskegee and Mobile in
Alabama after U.S. President John F. Kennedy federalized the state's
National Guard. In 2002, Switzerland and Timor-Leste joined the United
Nations, expanding the membership roll to 191. It eventually increased
to 193. In 2008, scientists in a Geneva lab activated the Large Hadron
Collider, the world's largest and most powerful subatomic particle
accelerator, built over a 14-year period and costing an estimated $8
billion. It had to be shut down after nine days for repairs. In 2009,
U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., shouted You lie! during President Barack
Obama's address on healthcare reform to a joint session of Congress.
Wilson's outburst brought sharp criticism from colleagues and he
apologized to Obama for inappropriate and regrettable behavior and
letting my emotions get the best of me. In 2010, a gas pipeline
explosion and fire leveled 37 houses in San Bruno, Calif. Eight people
were killed and more than 50 others injured. In 2011, nearly 200 people
died after an overloaded ferry capsized and sank off the coast of
Tanzania. More than 600 were rescued. In 2012, Chicago's first
teachers' strike in 25 years began after school officials and union
leaders failed to reach a contract agreement. The walkout, which
affected 675 schools with 350,000 students, lasted more than a week. In
2013, Thomas Bach of Germany was elected president of the International
Olympic Committee. Bach competed in fencing in the 1976 Games in
Montreal. In 2014, in a speech to the nation, President Barack Obama
said the United States and a broad coalition will degrade and
ultimately destroy Islamic State terrorists. A thought for the day: You
can't get spoiled if you do your own ironing. -- Meryl Streep .
