UNIVERSAL UCLICK ALMANAC

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

Today is the 26th day of 2013 and the 37th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1802, Congress passed a bill that established the position of Librarian of Congress.

In 1950, the Indian Constitution went into effect, marking the birth of the Republic of India.

In 2005, the U.S. Senate voted to confirm Condoleezza Rice as secretary of state.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Douglas MacArthur (1880-1964), military leader; Maria von Trapp (1905-1987), matriarch of singing family/memoirist; Paul Newman (1925-2008), actor; Jules Feiffer (1929- ), cartoonist/writer; Ellen DeGeneres (1958- ), TV personality; Wayne Gretzky (1961- ), hockey player.

TODAY'S FACT: The first Library of Congress burned (along with the rest of the Capitol building) in 1814 and its 3,000 books were destroyed. The library was rebuilt in part through the purchase of President Thomas Jefferson's personal library of 6,487 books in 1815.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1986, Chicago crushed New England 46-10 in Super Bowl XX, as the Bears' renowned defense held the Patriots to seven yards rushing.

TODAY'S QUOTE: " Music acts like a magic key, to which the most tightly closed heart opens." -- Maria von Trapp

TODAY'S NUMBER: 67 -- U.S. secretaries of state who have served since 1790. Six went on to become president.

TODAY'S MOON: Full moon (Jan. 26).

UNIVERSAL UCLICK ALMANAC

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

Today is the 25th day of 2013 and the 36th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1533, King Henry VIII of England married Anne Boleyn.

In 1787, Shay's Rebellion broke out in Massachusetts.

In 1915, Alexander Graham Bell made the first transcontinental telephone call from New York to San Francisco.

In 1961, a few days after his inauguration, President John F. Kennedy held the first televised presidential news conference.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Robert Burns (1759-1796), poet; W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1964), novelist; Virginia Woolf (1882-1941), novelist/essayist; Etta James (1938-2012), singer; Paul Nurse (1949- ), biochemist/Nobel laureate; Alicia Keys (1981- ), singer.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1924, the first Winter Olympic Games began in Chamonix, France.

TODAY'S FACT: In the first Winter Olympics, the Canadian ice hockey team trounced its opponents, winning all five games and outscoring the competition 110-3.

TODAY'S QUOTE: " One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well." -- Virginia Woolf

TODAY'S NUMBER: 6 -- wives of King Henry VIII. He ordered two, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Parr, executed by beheading.

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

UNIVERSAL UCLICK ALMANAC

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

Today is the 24th day of 2013 and the 35th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1848, gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill, setting off the California Gold Rush.

In 1995, the O.J. Simpson murder trial began as the prosecution made its opening statement.

In 2003, former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge was sworn in as the first secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

In 2011, Jared Loughner pleaded not guilty to federal charges related to the attempted assassination of Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona and the killing of six bystanders.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Pierre de Beaumarchais (1732-1799), playwright; Edith Wharton (1862-1937), novelist; Robert Motherwell (1915-1991), artist; Ernest Borgnine (1917-2012), actor; Oral Roberts (1918-2009), evangelist; Neil Diamond (1941- ), singer/songwriter; John Belushi (1949-1982), actor; Nastassja Kinski (1961- ), actress; Mary Lou Retton (1968- ), Olympic gymnast; Ed Helms (1974- ), actor; Mischa Barton (1986- ), actress.

TODAY'S FACT: Since 2007, China has produced more gold than any other country.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1980, Fred Wilpon and Nelson Doubleday bought the New York Mets for an estimated $21.1 million, at the time the most ever paid for a baseball franchise.

TODAY'S QUOTE: " Life is always a tightrope or a feather bed. Give me the tightrope." -- Edith Wharton

TODAY'S NUMBER: 2,558 -- Barry Bonds' record number of career walks, more than Hank Aaron (1,402) or Babe Ruth (2,062).

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