The moon is waning. The morning stars are Mars, Uranus, Mercury and Neptune. The evening stars are Jupiter, Venus and Saturn.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Leo. They include English poet Alfred Lord Tennyson in 1809; Hollywood gossip columnist Louella Parsons in 1881; Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of penicillin, also in 1881; movie cowboy star Hoot Gibson in 1892; silent film actress Clara Bow in 1905; comedian Lucille Ball in 1911; actor Robert Mitchum in 1917; former airline executive Freddie Laker in 1922; artist Andy Warhol in 1928; actress Catherine Hicks in 1951 (age 56); and film director M. Night Shyamalan in 1970 (age 37).

In 1890, the first execution by electric chair was carried out. William Kemmler was put to death at Auburn Prison in New York for the ax murder of his girlfriend.

In 1926, Gertrude Ederle of New York became the first American to swim the English Channel.

In 1940, Italy invaded British Somaliland, starting the Battle of North Africa in World War II.

In 1945, an atomic bomb was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Eight days later, after Nagasaki also was bombed, Japan surrendered, ending World War II.

In 1978, Pope Paul VI died at the age of 80 after a heart attack. He had led the Roman Catholic Church for 15 years.

In 1986, William Schroeder died of a stroke in Louisville, Ky., after 620 days with the Jarvik-7 mechanical heart. He was the longest-living permanent artificial heart patient.

In 1990, the U.N. Security Council voted to impose worldwide economic and military embargo on Iraq as punishment for its invasion of Kuwait.

In 1993, the U.S. Congress completed action on a $6.2 billion flood-relief package.

Also in 1993, Morihiro Hosokawa was elected prime minister of Japan.

In 1995, some 100,000 people attended a memorial service in Hiroshima, Japan, to mark the 50th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing that helped end World War II.

Also in 1995, police in Colombia captured Miguel Rodriguez Orejuela, the reputed co-leader of the Cali drug cartel.

In 1996, NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin announced the discovery of evidence of a primitive life form on Mars.

In 1997, the Dow Jones industrial average closed at an all-time high of 8,259.31.

In 2003, actor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced his candidacy for governor of California on NBC-TV's The Tonight Show.

In 2005, Cindy Sheehan, mother of a soldier killed in Iraq, set up camp outside U.S. President George W. Bush's Texas ranch, bitterly criticizing the war and demanding to see him.

Also in 2005, a Newsweek poll gave U.S. President George W. Bush his lowest ratings on his handling of the war in Iraq. Sixty-one percent of those surveyed disapproved of the president's actions and 34 percent approved.

In 2006, at least 200 people watching floods in Mardan, Pakistan, plunged into the water when the 30-foot-high bridge they were standing on was swept away.

Also in 2006, a U.N. report said a huge shipload of smuggled bomb-making uranium uncovered by customs officials in Tanzania was headed for Iran.

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Mars, Uranus, Mercury and Neptune. The evening stars are Jupiter, Venus and Saturn.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Leo. They include Carl Ritter, the German co-founder of modern geographical science, in 1779; the World War I Dutch spy and courtesan known as Mata Hari (Margaret Gertrude Zelle) in 1876; actress Billie Burke in 1885; British archaeologist and anthropologist Louis Leakey in 1903; American statesman and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ralph J. Bunche in 1904; film director Nicholas Ray in 1911; comedian/producer Stan Freberg in 1926 (age 81); actor Carl Switzer (Alfalfa in the Our Gang comedies) in 1927; singer B.J. Thomas and humorist Garrison Keillor (Prairie Home Companion), both in 1942 (age 65); and actors John Glover in 1944 (age 63), David Duchovny in 1960 (age 47) and Charlize Theron in 1975 (age 32).

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 the Earth from space.

In 1963, Jacqueline Kennedy became the first wife of a president since the days of Grover Cleveland to give birth while in the White House. The infant, a boy, died two days later.

In 1990, U.S. President George H.W. Bush sent U.S. troops and air power to protect Saudi Arabian oil fields from possible Iraqi attack.

In 1998, bombs detonated within minutes of each other outside U.S. embassy buildings in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, killing 224 people.

In 2001, Uribe Velez was sworn in as president of Colombia in ceremonies interrupted by rebel shelling that killed 15 and wounded 60.

In 2003, a car bomb exploded outside the Jordanian Embassy in Baghdad, killing 19 and injuring at least 65 others.

In 2004, Iraqi militants released a video reportedly showing the beheading of a U.S. citizen.

Also in 2004, two former top East German officials were convicted by a Berlin state court of failing to stop the killing of people trying to escape across the Berlin Wall.

In 2005, U.S. scientists announced they have successfully tested a vaccine to protect against bird flu.

Also 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 2006, the usually secretive North Korea government announced 549 people had been killed by recent flooding and 295 remained missing.

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Mars, Uranus, Mercury and Neptune. The evening stars are Jupiter, Venus and Saturn.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Leo. They include the United States' first professional architect, Charles Bulfinch in 1763; American black explorer Matthew Henson in 1866; Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata in 1879; poet Sara Teasdale in 1884; author Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (The Yearling) in 1896; film music composer/conductor Victor Young (Around The World in 80 Days) in 1900; musician Benny Carter in 1907; Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg in 1908; actress Sylvia Sidney in 1910; movie producer Dino De Laurentis in 1919 (age 88); actor Rory Calhoun in 1922; aquatic actress Esther Williams in 1922 (age 85); country singer Mel Tillis in 1932 (age 75); actor Dustin Hoffman in 1937 (age 70); singer Connie Stevens in 1938 (age 69); actor Keith Carradine in 1949 (age 58); writer/journalist Randy Shilts in 1951; TV personality Deborah Norville in 1958 (age 49); and Beatrice, Princess of York, in 1988 (age 19).

In 1911, the newsreel became a standard feature at U.S. movie screenings when the French film company Pathe began releasing weekly black-and-white features to theaters.

In 1940, the German Luftwaffe began a series of daylight air raids on Britain.

In 1945, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan, two days after the atom bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and seven days before Tokyo surrendered.

In 1968, Richard Nixon won the Republican nomination for president. He was elected in November, defeating Democrat Hubert Humphrey and independent George Wallace.

In 1974, facing expected impeachment over the Watergate scandal, Richard Nixon became the first U.S. president to announce his resignation. He left office the next day.

In 1990, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein annexed Kuwait.

In 1991, the U.N. Security Council unanimously approved membership applications from North and South Korea.

Also in 1991, British TV journalist John McCarthy was freed in Lebanon by the Islamic Jihad, a Shiite Muslim faction, after being held since 1986.

In 1995, the regime of Iraq's Saddam Hussein was shaken when his two eldest daughters, their husbands and other senior army officers defected.

In 2003, U.S. leaders of the Episcopal Church approved a landmark local option resolution on the thorny issue of same-sex marriages, leaving it up to local dioceses whether to bless unions of gay and lesbian couples. Church leaders earlier in the week approved their first openly gay bishop.

In 2005, U.S. President George Bush signed a major energy bill as oil and gas prices climbed to record levels. The measure sought to stimulate domestic production in traditional and alternative energy sources.

In 2006, Israel announced the evacuation of 15,000 civilians in the northernmost part of the country. About 250,000 had fled their homes because of the fighting with Hezbollah troops.

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Mars, Uranus, Mercury and Neptune. The evening stars are Jupiter, Venus and Saturn.

Those born on this day are under the sign of Leo. They include English author and angler Izaak Walton in 1593; pioneer Swiss child psychologist Jean Piaget in 1896; violinist Zino Francescatti in 1902; English actor/playwright Robert Shaw in 1927; Hall of Fame basketball player Bob Cousy in 1928 (age 79); Australian tennis star Rod Laver in 1938 (age 69); comedian David Steinberg in 1942 (age 65); actor Sam Elliot in 1944 (age 63); heavyweight boxer Ken Norton in 1945 (age 62); actresses Melanie Griffith in 1957 (age 50) and Amanda Bearse in 1958 (age 49); pop singer Whitney Houston in 1963 (age 44); and actress Gillian Anderson (The X-Files) in 1968 (age 39).

In 480 B.C., after one of history's most famous battles, Persian forces overran the heavily outnumbered Spartan defenders of the narrow pass at Thermopylae in Greece.

In 1936, American Jesse Owens won his fourth Olympic gold medal in Berlin.

In 1945, a U.S. B-29 bomber dropped an atomic bomb nicknamed Fat Man on the Japanese city of Nagasaki.

In 1969, actress Sharon Tate and four other people were slain by the followers of Charles Manson in the first of two nights of bizarre killings.

In 1974, U.S. President Richard Nixon's resignation became effective at noon and Vice President Gerald Ford was sworn in as the nation's 38th chief executive.

In 1991, Vietnamese Prime Minister Do Muoi resigned. He was succeeded by Vo Van Kiet, who vowed to transform Vietnam into a market economy.

In 1995, the 50th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of Nagasaki was observed in the Japanese city.

In 1996, a Florida jury ordered $750,000 be paid to lung cancer patient Gracy Carter, whose suit against the maker of Lucky Strikes was based on company memos indicating knowledge of tobacco's addictiveness when the company said otherwise in public.

Also in 1996, an ill-looking Boris Yeltsin attended a brief swearing-in ceremony for his new term as president of Russia.

In 1997, Elvis Week began in Memphis as fans commemorated the 20th anniversary of the death of Elvis Presley.

In 2001, U.S. President George W. Bush announced he would allow federal funding for limited stem-cell research using human embryos.

In 2003, more than 150 candidates signed up to try to replace California Gov. Gray Davis if he lost his recall vote. Davis was voted out of office and replaced by actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, an Austrian-born Republican.

In 2004, Terry Nichols was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole for his role in the Oklahoma City federal building bombing, worst act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history.

In 2005, hundreds of Iraqi women staged a sit-in in a central Baghdad square to press for political rights in Iraq's new constitution.

In 2006, British authorities reported the arrest of 25 people believed involved in a major terrorist plot to blow up airplanes flying from Britain to the United States.

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Mars, Uranus, Mercury and Neptune. The evening stars are Jupiter, Venus and Saturn.

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 Tin Woodsman in The Wizard of Oz) in 1898; actresses Norma Shearer in 1902 and Rhonda Fleming in 1923 (age 84); guitar maker Leo Fender in 1909; singers Jimmy Dean and Eddie Fisher, both in 1928 (age 79); rock musician Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull in 1947 (age 60); and actors Rosanna Arquette in 1959 (age 48) and Antonio Banderas in 1960 (age 47).

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 1821, Missouri entered the United States as the 24th state and the first located entirely west of the Mississippi River.

In 1977, the United States and Panama reached agreement in principle to transfer the Panama Canal to Panama by the year 2000.

Also 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.

In 1984, Nevada's chief U.S. district judge, Harry Claiborne, was convicted on tax evasion charges. It was the first conviction of a sitting federal judge.

In 1990, Washington, D.C., Mayor Marion Barry was convicted on one misdemeanor cocaine possession charge and acquitted on another. The jury deadlocked on the 12 other counts and a mistrial was declared.

In 1991, China agreed in principle to sign the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

In 1993, Ruth Bader Ginsburg was sworn in as the U.S. Supreme Court's 107th justice and second female member.

Also in 1993, U.S. President Bill Clinton signed a bill designed to reduce the federal budget deficit by $496 billion dollars over five years.

In 1994, lawyers for U.S. President Bill Clinton sought the dismissal, for the duration of his presidency, of a sexual harassment lawsuit brought against him by a former Arkansas state worker.

In 1996, Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole selected former congressman, Cabinet secretary and NFL quarterback Jack Kemp as his running mate.

In 1999, a white supremacist gunman wounded five people, including three children, when he opened fire in the lobby of a Los Angeles Jewish community center. Police said Buford Furrow Jr. killed a letter carrier as he fled, surrendering the next day in Las Vegas.

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 prisoners tunneled their way out of Brazil's Joao Pessoa prison, one of the nation's top security facilities.

In 2004, U.S. Rep. Porter Goss, R-Fla., a former CIA clandestine operative, was nominated by U.S. President George Bush to head the spy agency.

In 2005, U.S. President George Bush signed a 6-year, $286.4 billion transportation bill to build highways, bridges and other public works and contains also a reported $24 billion in pork barrel projects.

Also in 2005, the head of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said he supports pre-screening airline passengers and providing them with special identification cards.

In 2006, Britain and the United States strengthened security after foiling an alleged plot to blow up airplanes flying between the two countries with liquid explosives. Police said as many as 10 aircraft had been targeted. U.S. officials banned the transportation of liquids and gel in carry-on luggage.

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Mars, Uranus, Mercury and Neptune. The evening stars are Jupiter, Venus and Saturn.

Those born on this day are under the sign of Leo. They include author Robert Ingersoll in 1833; songwriter Carrie Jacobs Bond (I Love You Truly) in 1862; art collector Joseph Hirshhorn in 1899; actor Lloyd Nolan in 1902; author Alex Haley in 1921; singer June Hutton in 1920; TV host Mike Douglas in 1925; actress Arlene Dahl in 1928 (age 79); columnist Marilyn vos Savant, listed in the Guinness Book of Records as having the world's highest IQ, in 1946 (age 61); pop singer Eric Carmen, formerly of the Raspberries, in 1949 (age 58); Apple computer co-founder Stephen Wozniak in 1950 (age 57); and professional wrestler/actor Hulk Hogan, born Terry Gene Bollea, in 1953 (age 54).

In 1877, Thomas Edison described the fundamentals of the phonograph to an assistant and instructed him to build the first one.

Also in 1877, American astronomer Asaph Hall discovered the two moons of Mars, which he named Phobos and Deimos.

In 1934, the first group of federal prisoners classified as most dangerous arrived at Alcatraz Island, a 22-acre rocky outcrop 1.5 miles offshore in San Francisco Bay.

In 1954, a formal announcement ended the seven-year war in Indochina between France and forces of the communist Viet Minh.

In 1965, riots began in the Watts section of Los Angeles. In six days of violence, 34 people were killed.

In 1984, in an off-air radio voice check picked up by TV cameras, U.S. President Ronald Reagan joked, My fellow Americans, I'm pleased to tell you today that I've signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes. The Kremlin was not amused.

In 1991, a Lebanese terrorist group, the Revolutionary Justice Organization, released U.S. hostage Edward Tracy, held captive since October 1986.

In 1992, Texas businessman Ross Perot told a Senate committee that North Vietnam plotted to kill him in the 1970s because of his work on behalf of POWs in Indochina.

Also in 1992, an electrical fire in the 62-story John Hancock office tower forced more than 3,000 workers in Boston's tallest building to flee down smoky, darkened stairwells.

In 1993, U.S. President Bill Clinton endorsed the Brady Bill handgun control measure and signed an executive order banning the import of semiautomatic assault-style handguns.

Also in 1993, U.S. President Bill Clinton named Army Gen. John Shalikashvili to be the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, succeeding the retiring Gen. Colin Powell.

In 1994, major league baseball players went on strike following the conclusion of the day's games.

In 1995, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a request by The Citadel to overturn a federal appeals court ruling that ordered the all-male South Carolina military college to admit female students.

Also in 1995, U.S. President Bill Clinton vetoed a bill passed by Congress that would have ended U.S. participation in the arms embargo against the Bosnian government.

In 1997, U.S. President Bill Clinton became the first president to use the line-item veto, a power granted by Congress the year before.

In 1998, two boys were found to be delinquent, or guilty, of murder in the fatal March shootings of four students and a teacher at their middle school in Jonesboro, Ark.

Also in 1998, British Petroleum announced it would merge with Amoco Corp. in what would be the largest takeover of an American company by a foreign company.

In 1999, U.S. President Bill Clinton offered to commute the prison sentences of 16 Puerto Rican terrorists if they agreed to renounce violence and comply with other parole requirements.

Also in 1999, the Kansas State Board of Education voted to drop the theory of evolution from the public school curriculum.

In 2002, US Airways, the nation's sixth-largest airline, filed for bankruptcy.

In 2003, as peacekeepers entered the capital to try to stop fighting between government and rebel troops, Liberian President Charles Taylor stepped down and flew into exile in Nigeria, ending a bloody chapter of African history. He vowed he would return.

In 2004, fighting in the holy Iraqi city of Najaf raged for the sixth straight day between forces loyal to radical Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr and U.S.-backed Iraqi troops.

In 2005, right-wing activists staged one of the biggest demonstrations in Israel's history at Tel Aviv. An estimated 350,000 people protested the impending withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and the evacuation of four settlements in the northern West Bank.

Also in 2005, Salva Kit Mayandit was sworn in as Sudan vice president succeeding John Garang, whose death in a helicopter crash touched off violent rioting in which 130 people were killed.

In 2006, the U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution calling for full cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah forces in Lebanon.

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Mars, Uranus, Mercury and Neptune. The evening stars are Jupiter, Venus and Saturn.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Leo. They include English poet laureate Robert Southey in 1774; American painter Abbott Thayer, credited with noting camouflage in the animal world, in 1849; educator and poet Katherine Lee Bates, who wrote America the Beautiful, in 1859; mystery writer Mary Roberts Rinehart in 1876; Christy Mathewson, baseball Hall of Fame pitcher, in 1878; moviemaker Cecil B. DeMille in 1881; Mexican comic actor Cantinflas, born Mario Moreno Reyes, in 1911; actress Jane Wyatt in 1911; actor John Derek in 1926; country singer Buck Owens in 1929; country singer Porter Wagoner in 1927 (age 80); author William Goldman in 1931 (age 76); former national security adviser John Poindexter in 1936 (age 71); actor George Hamilton in 1939 (age 68); author Ann Martin (The Babysitter's Club series) in 1955 (age 52); and tennis star Pete Sampras in 1971 (age 36).

In 1851, Isaac Singer was granted a patent for his sewing machine. He set up business in Boston with $40 in capital.

In 1898, a peace protocol was signed, ending the Spanish-American War. The United States acquired Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines and annexed Hawaii.

In 1966, as the Beatles were beginning their last tour, John Lennon apologized for saying the Beatles were more popular than Jesus Christ.

In 1984, the 23rd Olympic Games ended in Los Angeles with a record attendance of 5.5 million people despite a Soviet-led boycott.

In 1985, in aviation's worst single-plane disaster, 520 people died when a Japan Air Lines Boeing 747 slammed into a mountain in central Japan. Four passengers survived.

In 1987, U.S. President Ronald Reagan, in his first television address since the Iran-Contra hearings, said he had been stubborn in pursuing a policy that went astray.

In 1973, Jack Nicklaus won the Professional Golfers' Association championship for his 14th major title, surpassing Bobby Jones' record of 13 major championships.

In 1992, U.S. President George H.W. Bush signed a free trade pact with Mexico and Canada, creating the world's largest free trade bloc.

In 1997, Hudson Foods, Inc., a meat processor in Rogers, Ark., announced it was recalling 20,000 pounds of beef due to possible contamination by the E.coli bacterium. The recall ultimately was expanded to 25 million pounds of beef.

In 1998, the two largest Swiss banks and representatives of Holocaust survivors and their heirs agreed on a settlement of claims against the banks.

In 2002, monsoons in Asia claimed more than 1,600 lives while floodwaters tore through central Europe and in southwestern Russia, killing 58.

In 2003, a U.N. report said Afghanistan has re-emerged as the world's leading source for opium and heroin.

In 2004, New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey announced his resignation after revealing a homosexual affair.

Also in 2004, the California Supreme Court invalidated more than 4,000 same-sex marriage licenses issued earlier in San Francisco.

In 2005, Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga imposed a state of emergency following the assassination of Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar.

In 2006, the Lebanese Cabinet voted unanimously to accept a U.N. resolution aimed at ending the fighting between Hezbollah and Israel.