UNIVERSAL UCLICK ALMANAC

Today is the 34th day of 2012 and the 45th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1913, the federal income tax was authorized with ratification of the 16th Amendment to the Constitution.

In 1959, rock pioneers Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. "Big Bopper" Richardson died in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa.

In 1962, President John Kennedy banned trade with Cuba.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847), composer; Horace Greeley (1811-1872) activist/newspaper editor; Gertrude Stein (1874-1946), writer; Norman Rockwell (1894-1978), artist/illustrator; James Michener (1907-1997), novelist; Blythe Danner (1943- ), actress; Morgan Fairchild (1950- ), actress; Nathan Lane (1956- ), actor; Maura Tierney (1965- ), actress.

TODAY'S FACT: Norman Rockwell's body of work is estimated at more than 4,000 original pieces.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1990, legendary jockey Willie Shoemaker rode the 40,350th and final race of his career.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Fame is a vapor, popularity an accident, and riches take wings. Only one thing endures, and that is character." -- Horace Greeley

TODAY'S NUMBER: 17 -- age at which Felix Mendelssohn wrote his overture to Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

TODAY'S MOON: Last quarter moon (Feb. 3).

UNIVERSAL UCLICK ALMANAC

Today is the 33rd day of 2013 and the 44th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1626, Charles I was crowned king of England.

In 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed, ending the war between the United States and Mexico.

In 1943, the Russian victory at Stalingrad was concluded when German forces surrendered to the Soviets.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: James Joyce (1882-1941), author; George Halas (1895-1983), football coach/team owner; Elaine Stritch (1925- ), actress/comedian; Stan Getz (1927-1991), jazz musician; Farrah Fawcett (1947-2009), actress; Christie Brinkley (1954- ), model; Shakira (1977- ), singer.

TODAY'S FACT: Since the release of the popular movie "Groundhog Day" in 1993, crowds of up to 30,000 have visited Gobbler's Knob in Pennsylvania each year on Feb. 2 to see whether Punxsutawney Phil observes his shadow.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1876, the National League of Professional Baseball Clubs was established.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "If you live long enough, lots of nice things happen." -- George Halas

TODAY'S NUMBER: 100 -- times in the 126-year history of Groundhog Day ceremonies that Punxsutawney Phil has seen his shadow and predicted six more weeks of winter.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (Jan. 26) and last quarter moon (Feb. 3).

UNIVERSAL UCLICK ALMANAC

Today is the 32nd day of 2013 and the 43rd day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1861, a Texas state convention voted 166-8 in favor of a measure to secede from the Union.

In 1965, Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested, along with more than 700 other demonstrators, at a protest in Selma, Ala.

In 2003, the U.S. space shuttle Columbia broke apart shortly after entering the atmosphere over Texas, killing its seven-member crew.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: John Ford (1895-1973), film director; Clark Gable (1901-1960), actor; Langston Hughes (1902-1967), poet; Renata Tebaldi (1922-2004), opera singer; Boris Yeltsin (1931-2007), Russian president; Princess Stephanie of Monaco (1965- ); Andrew Breitbart (1968-2012), publisher/political commentator; Michael C. Hall (1971- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: Harvard scholar Carter G. Woodson pioneered "Negro History Week" in 1926 and designated the second week in February for its celebration, to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. Negro History Week was later expanded to include all of February and renamed "Black History Month."

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 2004, a "wardrobe malfunction" during the Super Bowl halftime show resulted in the exposure of singer Janet Jackson's breast on live national television during a duet with Justin Timberlake.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Hold fast to dreams. For if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly." -- Langston Hughes

TODAY'S NUMBER: 12,345,678,987,654,321 -- product of multiplying 111,111,111 by 111,111,111.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (Jan. 26) and last quarter moon (Feb. 3).