UNIVERSAL UCLICK ALMANAC

Today is the 133rd day of 2013 and the 55th day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1940, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill gave his "blood, toil, tears and sweat" speech to the British Parliament as Germany's conquest of France began.

In 1981, Pope John Paul II was shot and critically injured by would-be assassin Mehmet Ali Agca in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican.

In 1985, two blocks of Philadelphia were destroyed by fire after police dropped an incendiary device on the headquarters of MOVE, a black liberation group.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Joe Louis (1914-1981), boxer; Bea Arthur (1922-2009), actress; Harvey Keitel (1939- ), actor; Ritchie Valens (1941-1959), singer; Stevie Wonder (1950- ), singer/musician; Stephen Colbert (1964- ), TV personality; Darius Rucker (1966- ), singer/songwriter; Barry Zito (1978- ), baseball player; Robert Pattinson (1986- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: Two women were also wounded in the assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II on this date in 1981.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1958, Stan Musial of the St. Louis Cardinals became the eighth baseball player to reach 3,000 hits.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Just because a man lacks the use of his eyes doesn't mean he lacks vision." -- Stevie Wonder

TODAY'S NUMBER: 142,500 -- total salary (in pounds) of the British prime minister in 2011 (around $221,000). The salary of the president of the United States was $400,000 in 2011.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (May 9) and first quarter moon (May 17).

UNIVERSAL UCLICK ALMANAC

Today is the 132nd day of 2013 and the 54th day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1780, British forces took Charleston, S.C., during the Revolutionary War.

In 1949, the Soviet Union lifted its blockade of Berlin.

In 2002, Jimmy Carter became the first former or sitting U.S. president to visit Cuba since the 1959 revolution led by Fidel Castro.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Edward Lear (1812-1888), painter/poet; Florence Nightingale (1820-1910), nurse; Katharine Hepburn (1907-2003), actress; Yogi Berra (1925- ), baseball player/manager; Burt Bacharach (1928- ), composer; George Carlin (1937-2008), comedian; Gabriel Byrne (1950- ), actor; Tony Hawk (1968- ), skateboarder; Jason Biggs (1978- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: South Carolina was the first state to secede from the Union, in 1860, but was readmitted in 1868.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 2008, Cleveland Indians second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera turned the 14th unassisted triple play in Major League Baseball history.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Were there none who were discontented with what they have, the world would never reach anything better." -- Florence Nightingale

TODAY'S NUMBER: 4 -- American presidents who have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize (Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama).

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (May 9) and first quarter moon (May 17).

UNIVERSAL UCLICK ALMANAC

Today is the 131st day of 2013 and the 53rd day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1858, Minnesota became the 32nd U.S. state.

In 1894, the Pullman Strike began, involving more than 3,000 Chicago railroad car plant workers.

In 1987, the first heart-lung transplant was performed in Baltimore.

In 1998, the first euro coins were minted in France.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Irving Berlin (1888-1989), composer; Margaret Rutherford (1892-1972), actress; Martha Graham (1894-1991), dancer/choreographer; Salvador Dali (1904-1989), painter; Natasha Richardson (1963-2009), actress; Tim Blake Nelson (1964- ), actor; Cory Monteith (1982- ), actor; Cam Newton (1989- ), football player.

TODAY'S FACT: The currency unit now known as the euro was originally set to be named the "European currency unit" (ECU, for short). But German-speakers protested that ECU sounded too much like "eh Kuh," which means "a cow" in German.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1996, a blizzard on Mount Everest led to the deaths of eight people during summit attempts. Journalist Jon Krakauer of Outside magazine published his first-hand recount of the events in the best-seller "Into Thin Air."

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Have no fear of perfection -- you'll never reach it." -- Salvador Dali

TODAY'S NUMBER: 150,000 -- members of the American Railway Union who became involved in the Pullman Strike of 1894 as it spread across the United States.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (May 9) and first quarter moon (May 17).