The Almanac
Today is Wednesday, Feb. 1, the 32nd day of 2017 with 333 to follow.
The moon is waxing. Morning stars are Mercury and Venus. Evening stars
are Mars, Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune. Those born on the date
are under the sign of Aquarius. They include: Composer Victor Herbert
in 1859; Hattie Caraway of Arkansas, first woman elected to the U.S.
Senate, in 1878; film director John Ford in 1894; National Hockey
League executive Conn Smythe in 1895; actor Clark Gable in 1901; poet
Langston Hughes in 1902; humorist S.J. Perelman in 1904; cabaret singer
Hildegarde Loretta Sell in 1906; film and special effects director
George Pal in 1908; actor Stuart Whitman in 1928 (age 89); former
Russian President Boris Yeltsin in 1931; singer Don Everly in 1937;
comedian Garrett Morris in 1937 (age 80); actor Sherman Hemsley in
1938; actor/director Terry Jones ( Monty Python's Flying Circus ) in
1942 (age 75); journalist Fred Barnes in 1943 (age 74); journalist
Jessica Savitch in 1947; singer Rick James in 1948; actor Billy Mumy in
1954 (age 63); Princess Stephanie of Monaco in 1965 (age 52); actor
Sherilyn Fenn in 1965 (age 52); singer Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of
Elvis Presley, in 1968 (age 49); actor Michael C. Hall in 1971 (age
46); mixed martial artist Ronda Rousey in 1987 (age 30); singer Harry
Styles in 1994 (age 23). On this date in history: In 1790, the U.S.
Supreme Court convened in New York City for its first session. In 1861,
Texas seceded from the United States. In 1865, U.S. President Abraham
Lincoln signed the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery. In 1896,
Giacomo Puccini's opera La Boheme premiered in Turin, Italy. In 1946,
Norwegian Trygve Lie was selected to be the first U.N.
secretary-general. In 1947, members of the Jewish underground launched
pamphlet bombs throughout 'Tel Aviv', warning British military
authorities to expect further retaliation against its drive to suppress
violence in the Holy Land. In 1951, the Defense Department, responding
to needs to effectively execute its Korean War strategy, ordered
drafting of 80,000 men during April for assignment to the U.S. Army. In
1960, four African American students, later known as the Greensboro
Four, stage the first of a series of nonviolent protests at a Woolworth
lunch counter in Greensboro, NC. In 1968, the communist Viet Cong began
a major offensive in the Vietnam War with a fierce attack on the South
Vietnamese city of Hue. In 1978, famed director Roman Polanski escapes
to France after pleading guilty to charges of having sex with an
underage girl. In 1991, South African President F.W. De Klerk announced
he would seek repeal of key laws on which the apartheid system was
based. In 2003, the space shuttle Columbia broke apart during its
descent over the southwestern United States. All seven astronauts
aboard were killed. In 2006, Ben Bernanke became the U.S. Federal
Reserve chief, replacing Alan Greenspan, who held the position for 18
years. In 2009, Iceland swore in its first female prime minister,
Johanna Sigurdardottir. In 2011, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, with
hundreds of thousands of protesters demanding his departure after a
reign of nearly 30 years, announced he wouldn't seek re-election. In
2012, at least 73 people were killed and 200 hurt in a fight between
fans and players at a soccer match in Port Said, Egypt. In 2013, John
Kerry was sworn in as U.S. secretary of state, succeeding Hillary
Clinton. In 2014, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called
Syria's civil war the most urgent security challenge in the world
today. U.N. officials estimated more than 100,000 people had been
killed since the conflict began in March 2011. A thought for the day:
To be 70 years young is sometimes far more cheerful and hopeful than to
be 40 years old. -- Oliver Wendell Holmes .
