John Muir was born on this day at Dunbar, Scotland, in 1838. He emigrated to the U.S. in 1849. From 1876 to 1879, he was a member of the United States Geodetic Survey in the Great Basin and while in Alaska he sighted the glacier that now bears his name. An authority on forestry and forest management, he visited Russia, Siberia, India, Australasia, and the Philippines to study their forests, and later urged the establishment of U.S. national parks, which began to happen in the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt at the turn of the century. Muir had a profound influence on U.S. forest conservation. The 550-acre Muir Woods National Monument north of San Francisco was named after him in 1908. In 1892, Muir founded the Sierra Club, a nonprofit conservation and outdoors organization, dedicated to the exploration and preservation of the nation's wilderness and wildlife. The club sponsors an extensive outings or hiking program throughout the country, as well as public talks, films, and exhibitions. In addition to publishing many books notable for their color photographs, the club issues a monthly periodical, Sierra; a weekly newsletter, The National News Report; calendars; and films. The club's headquarters is in San Francisco. [Phil or Rob, it would be good to find the Sierra Club's address on the Web and lay it in here.]

MODEL: Muir's profound respect for the world's forests and rivers, which are far more important to the overall health of the planet than anyone realized back at the end of the last century.

Work and play. If you were born on April 21, you are committed to your profession and your integrity, but are also a sucker for life's many sensual pleasures. For these reasons, you are usually successful in business, not so successful in marriage. Ruled by the number 3 and the planet Jupiter, you are good with style, bad with money.

Recipe for success. You can be very prosperous in your profession for several reasons. First, you know what the public wants and are a noted trendsetter. Second, you can wield power without letting it get the best of you. Thirdly, your integrity makes you a trustworthy business partner. When you give your word, you mean it.

Your Achilles' Heel? Image is everything to you, especially in business. So if you are slandered, scandalized, or rejected, you take it very hard, and become extremely depressed. Your instinct for survival is the only thing that saves you.

A stormy personal life. You may have many doomed marriages and love affairs. A very sensual person, you just can't turn down food, sex, sleep and other pleasures. Women born on this day tend to be accepting and generous to a fault, expressing their independence later in life. Men tend to value their self-sufficiency too much and need to learn to accept help from others. Both sexes are very giving with loved ones.

Some advice: Giving is good but not when used to control someone (especially children). Don't always try to help; others may not want you sticking your nose in. Don't be a slave to comfort.

Also born on this day: Anthony Quinn (actor) Rollo May (psychoanalyst, writer) Max Weber (German sociologist) John Muir (naturalist, explorer, conservationist) Catherine the Great (German-born Russian empress) Queen Elizabeth II (20th c. British monarch) Iggy Popp (singer, songwriter) Patti Lupone (stage actress, singer) Slide Hampton (jazz trombonist) Pat Brown (CA governor) Tony Danza (actor) Elaine May (comedienne)