ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC
Today is the 38th day of 2018 and the 49th day of winter.
TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1904, the Great Fire of Baltimore began, resulting in the destruction of more than 1,500 buildings in 30 hours.
In 1917, a German U-boat sank the British ship California off the Irish coast.
In 1962, a near-total embargo on all trade between the United States and Cuba took effect at 12:01 a.m. EST.
In 1964, the "British Invasion" began as the Beatles arrived in New York for their first U.S. tour.
In 1995, the mastermind of the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center was arrested in Pakistan.
TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: John Deere (1804-1886), businessman; Charles Dickens (1812-1870), author; Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867-1957), author; Sinclair Lewis (1885-1951), author/playwright; Eubie Blake (1887-1983), composer/pianist; Pete Postlethwaite (1946-2011), actor; James Spader (1960- ), actor; Garth Brooks (1962- ), singer-songwriter; Eddie Izzard (1962- ), actor/comedian; Chris Rock (1965- ), actor/comedian; Steve Nash (1974- ), basketball player; Ashton Kutcher (1978- ), actor.
TODAY'S FACT: Baltimore's population was estimated at 614,664 in 2016, making it the 30th-most populous city in the United States.
TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1969, Diane Crump became the first female jockey to ride in a thoroughbred race in the United States at the Hialeah Park race track in Florida.
TODAY'S QUOTE: "To conceal anything from those to whom I am attached, is not in my nature. I can never close my lips where I have opened my heart." -- Charles Dickens, "Master Humphrey's Clock"
TODAY'S NUMBER: 178 million -- albums sold by the Beatles in the U.S., as certified by the Recording Industry Association of America.
TODAY'S MOON: Last quarter moon (Feb. 7).