UNIVERSAL UCLICK ALMANAC

Today is the 99th day of 2013 and the 21st day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1865, Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House in Virginia, effectively ending the Civil War.

In 1940, Germany launched Operation Weserubung, invading Norway and Denmark.

In 1959, NASA announced the selection of the first seven astronauts, whom the media dubbed the "Mercury Seven."

In 2003, Iraqis celebrating the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime pulled down and tore to pieces a 20-foot statue of Hussein in Baghdad's Firdaus Square.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867), poet; Paul Robeson (1898-1976), athlete/actor/singer; Hugh Hefner (1926- ), publisher; Peter Gammons (1945- ), sportswriter; Dennis Quaid (1954- ), actor; Joe Scarborough (1963- ), TV personality; Jeffrey Zucker (1965- ), television executive; Cynthia Nixon (1966- ), actress; Jay Baruchel (1982- ), actor; Leighton Meester (1986- ), actress; Kristen Stewart, (1990- ), actress.

TODAY'S FACT: The "Mercury Seven," selected on this day in 1959, were Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Gus Grissom, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard and Donald Slayton.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 2005, light heavyweight mixed martial artist Forrest Griffin was awarded the first "Ultimate Fighter" title after winning a 29-28 decision over Stephan Bonnar on the UFC reality show's season finale.

TODAY'S QUOTE: " Genius is nothing more nor less than childhood recaptured at will." -- Charles Baudelaire

TODAY'S NUMBER: $384 million -- estimated cost of the Mercury program (1959-1963), NASA's first human spaceflight project.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (April 2) and new moon (April 10).

UNIVERSAL UCLICK ALMANAC

Today is the 98th day of 2013 and the 20th day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1904, Britain and France signed the Entente Cordiale, an agreement that formalized peace between the two countries.

In 1935, Congress approved the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act, establishing the Works Progress Administration (WPA).

In 2010, President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitri Medvedev signed the New START nuclear arms control treaty.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Harvey Cushing (1869-1939), surgeon; Mary Pickford (1892-1979), actress; Sonja Henie (1912-1969), ice skater; Betty Ford (1918-2011), former first lady; Shecky Greene (1926- ), comedian; Kofi Annan (1938- ), diplomat; Gary Carter (1954-2012), baseball player/sportscaster; Robin Wright (1966- ), actress; Patricia Arquette (1968- ), actress; Felix Hernandez (1986- ), baseball player.

TODAY'S FACT: Florida did not formally become part of the United States until Spain surrendered it in a treaty in 1819. It became a state in 1845.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1974, Hank Aaron hit his 715th home run, breaking Babe Ruth's record for career home runs.

TODAY'S QUOTE: " I never doubted my ability, but when you hear all your life you're inferior, it makes you wonder if the other guys have something you've never seen before. If they do, I'm still looking for it." -- Hank Aaron

TODAY'S NUMBER: 129 -- nations visited by Pope John Paul II (buried at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome on this day in 2005) during his papacy.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (April 2) and new moon (April 10).

UNIVERSAL UCLICK ALMANAC

Today is the 97th day of 2013 and the 19th day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1712, slaves in New York City launched a revolt, killing nine white slave holders.

In 1862, Union forces under Ulysses S. Grant defeated Confederate troops in the Battle of Shiloh.

In 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower suggested during a press conference that the fall of French Indochina to communism could create a "domino" effect in Southeast Asia.

In 1994, civil war and ethnic genocide began in Rwanda, claiming an estimated 500,000 to one million lives over the next several months.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: William Wordsworth (1770-1850), poet; Billie Holiday (1915-1959), jazz singer; Ravi Shankar (1920-2012), musician; James Garner (1928- ), actor; Francis Ford Coppola (1939- ), filmmaker; Stan Winston (1946-2008), special effects artist; Jackie Chan (1954- ), actor; James "Buster" Douglas (1960- ), boxer; Russell Crowe (1964- ), actor; Tiki and Ronde Barber (1975- ), football players.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1963, at age 23, golfer Jack Nicklaus won the first of his six Masters titles.

TODAY'S FACT: In a 2013 Pew Research survey, 48 percent of gun owners cited "protection" as their top reason for owning a gun, an increase from 26 percent in 1999.

TODAY'S QUOTE: " And yet the wiser minds mourns less for what age takes away than what it leaves behind." -- William Wordsworth, from "The Fountain"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 1,925 -- performances of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "South Pacific" during its original Broadway run, which began on this day in 1949.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (April 2) and new moon (April 10).