Today is the 176th day of 2012 and the fifth day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1821, Venezuelan revolutionaries under Simon Bolivar defeated the Spanish at the Battle of Carabobo and secured the nation's independence.

In 1901, the first major exhibition of Pablo Picasso's work opened in Paris.

In 1948, President Harry S. Truman signed the Selective Service Act, requiring all men between the ages of 18 and 25 to register for military service.

In 2011, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill into law that legalized same-sex marriage.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: John Ross (1777-1856), Arctic explorer; Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887), clergyman/abolitionist; Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914), writer/satirist; Gerrit Rietveld (1888-1964), architect; Jack Dempsey (1895-1983), boxer; Mick Fleetwood (1947- ), musician; Sherry Stringfield (1967- ), actress; Mindy Kaling (1979- ), actress/producer; Minka Kelly (1980- ), actress; Lionel Messi (1987- ), soccer player.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1995, South Africa defeated New Zealand in the finals of the Rugby World Cup as Nelson Mandela looked on. The event was dramatized in the 2009 film "Invictus."

TODAY'S FACT: Pablo Picasso was honored on his 90th birthday with an exhibition at the Louvre in Paris in 1971. It was the first time the Louvre had exhibited the work of a living artist.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination." -- Nelson Mandela

TODAY'S NUMBER: 16.5 million -- living U.S. wartime veterans, as of late 2011.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (June 19) and first quarter moon (June 26).

Today is the 175th day of 2012 and the fourth day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1894, the International Olympic Committee was founded in Paris.

In 1947, the Senate overrode President Harry S. Truman's veto of the Taft-Hartley Act.

In 1948, the Soviet Union began the Berlin Blockade.

In 1961, the Antarctic Treaty went into effect, demilitarizing the continent.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Alan Turing (1912-1954), mathematician; Bob Fosse (1927-1987), choreographer/director; June Carter Cash (1929-2003), singer; Wilma Rudolph (1940-1994), Olympic sprinter; Clarence Thomas (1948- ), U.S. Supreme Court justice; Randy Jackson (1956- ), musician/TV personality; Frances McDormand (1957- ), actress; LaDainian Tomlinson (1979- ), football player.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1963, Jimmy Piersall of the New York Mets celebrated his 100th career home run by running the bases backward.

TODAY'S FACT: Host country Greece won 47 medals, more than any other participating country, at the first modern Summer Olympics in 1896.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Within the first few months, I discovered that being a president is like riding a tiger. A man has to keep on riding or be swallowed." -- Harry S. Truman

TODAY'S NUMBER: 38 -- world records set at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (June 19) and first quarter moon (June 26).

Today is the 174th day of 2012 and the third day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1870, Congress created the Justice Department.

In 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed into law the GI Bill, providing benefits to veterans.

In 1970, President Richard Nixon signed a bill that lowered the federal voting age to 18.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Anne Morrow Lindbergh (1906-2001), aviator/author; Billy Wilder (1906-2002), director; Bill Blass (1922-2002), fashion designer; Dianne Feinstein (1933- ), U.S. senator; Kris Kristofferson (1936- ), singer/actor; Meryl Streep (1949- ), actress; Cyndi Lauper (1953- ), singer; Dan Brown (1964- ), author; Kurt Warner (1971- ), football player; Carson Daly (1973- ), TV personality; Dan Wheldon (1978-2011), race car driver.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1938, Joe Louis avenged an earlier defeat with a decisive first-round knockout of the German Max Schmeling in a heavyweight championship bout.

TODAY'S FACT: After 18- to 20-year-olds were enfranchised, the voter-participation rate fell to 55.2 percent for the 1972 presidential election, from 60.8 percent of eligible voters in 1968.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "To give without any reward, or any notice, has a special quality of its own." -- Anne Morrow Lindbergh

TODAY'S NUMBER: 49 -- percentage of U.S. college students who were war veterans in 1947, marking the peak year of the GI Bill education program.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (June 19) and first quarter moon (June 26).