UNIVERSAL UCLICK ALMANAC

(DEAR SUBSCRIBERS: Effective January 21, 2013, the name of this column has been changed to "Universal Uclick Almanac.")

Today is the 21st day of 2013 and the 32nd day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1793, King Louis XVI of France went to the guillotine in Paris.

In 1861, Jefferson Davis resigned from the U.S. Senate to lead the Confederacy during the Civil War.

In 1977, President Jimmy Carter pardoned nearly all Vietnam War draft evaders.

In 2003, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that for the first time, the largest minority group in the United States was Hispanics (who may be of any race).

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson (1824-1863), Confederate army general; Christian Dior (1905-1957), fashion designer; Telly Savalas (1924-1994), actor; Jack Nicklaus (1940- ), golfer; Placido Domingo (1941- ), opera singer; Geena Davis (1956- ), actress; Jam Master Jay (1965-2002), musician; Cat Power (1972- ), singer.

TODAY'S FACT: Though it was primarily in use during the French Revolution, the guillotine was used for executions in France as recently as 1977. The death penalty was abolished there in 1981.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1979, the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Dallas Cowboys 35-31 in Super Bowl XIII to become the first NFL team to win three Super Bowls.

TODAY'S QUOTE: " The patriot volunteer, fighting for country and his rights, makes the most reliable soldier on earth." -- Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson

TODAY'S NUMBER: 37.6 million -- Americans who primarily speak Spanish at home (more than 10 percent of the population).

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (Jan. 18) and full moon (Jan. 26).

Today is the 20th day of 2013 and the 31st day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1841, China ceded the island of Hong Kong to the British.

In 1885, LaMarcus Thompson patented the first roller coaster.

In 1981, the Iran hostage crisis ended as 52 American captives were released in Tehran, just after President Jimmy Carter left office.

In 2009, Barack Obama was sworn in as the first African-American president.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: George Burns (1896-1996), comedian; Federico Fellini (1920-1993), film director; Patricia Neal (1926-2010), actress; Buzz Aldrin (1930- ), astronaut; David Lynch (1946- ), director; Rainn Wilson (1968- ), actor; Ahmir Thompson aka Questlove (1971- ), musician.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1892, the first official basketball game was played in Springfield, Mass. The two nine-man teams used a soccer ball and peach baskets.

TODAY'S FACT: Digital music sales accounted for 50.3 percent of total music sales in 2011, surpassing physical music sales for the first time.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "America did not invent human rights. In a very real sense, it is the other way round. Human rights invented America." -- Jimmy Carter

TODAY'S NUMBER: 444 -- days the hostages were held in the U.S. embassy in Iran.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (Jan. 18) and full moon (Jan. 26).

Today is the 19th day of 2013 and the 30th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1783, William Pitt became the youngest prime minister in British history at age 24.

In 1966, Indira Gandhi became India's first woman prime minister.

In 1977, snow fell in Miami for the first time in recorded history.

In 2004, Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts won the Iowa Democratic presidential caucuses. Howard Dean finished third and gave an overly enthusiastic and much-maligned concession speech.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Robert E. Lee (1807-1870), Confederate general; Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849), short-story writer/poet; Paul Cezanne (1839-1906), artist; Tippi Hedren (1930- ), actress; Janis Joplin (1943-1970), singer; Dolly Parton (1946- ), singer; Paula Deen (1947- ), TV personality; Shawn Johnson (1992- ), gymnast; Logan Lerman (1992- ), actor.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1974, the Notre Dame men's basketball team defeated UCLA, snapping the Bruins' 88-game winning streak.

TODAY'S FACT: Robert E. Lee's U.S. citizenship was posthumously reinstated by an act of Congress in 1975.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream." -- Edgar Allan Poe

TODAY'S NUMBER: 24.6 -- percentage of the population of Texas that does not have health insurance (higher than any other U.S state).

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (Jan. 18) and full moon (Jan. 26).