UNIVERSAL UCLICK ALMANAC

Today is the 225th day of 2013 and the 54th day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1521, Hernando Cortes captured the capital of the Aztec empire, Tenochtitlan (later Mexico City), after a three-month siege.

In 1907, the first gasoline-powered taxicab took fares in New York City.

In 1961, East German soldiers began constructing a barbed-wire barrier between the eastern and western parts of Berlin.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Annie Oakley (1860-1926), sharpshooter; Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980), film director; Ben Hogan (1912-1997), golfer; Fidel Castro (1926- ), former Cuban president; Don Ho (1930-2007), singer; Philippe Petit (1949- ), tightrope walker; Dan Fogelberg (1951-2007), singer-songwriter; Paul Greengrass (1955- ), film director; John Slattery (1962- ), actor; Valerie Plame (1963- ), CIA agent/author; Shani Davis (1982- ), Olympic speed skater.

TODAY'S FACT: Fidel Castro, a 14-year-old boarding school student in 1940, wrote a letter to U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt requesting a $10 bill. The U.S. Embassy in Havana sent a brief thank-you note to Castro in response.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1995, Yankees legend Mickey Mantle died of liver cancer at age 63. Mantle's Yankees won the World Series seven times during his career, which lasted from 1951-1968.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Give them pleasure. The same pleasure they have when they wake up from a nightmare." -- Alfred Hitchcock

TODAY'S NUMBER: 13,237 -- medallion taxicabs in New York City in 2013.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Aug. 6) and first quarter moon (Aug. 14).

UNIVERSAL UCLICK ALMANAC

Today is the 224th day of 2013 and the 53rd day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1898, Spain agreed to peace protocols with the United States, bringing an end to the Spanish-American war.

In 1953, the USSR detonated its Soviet thermonuclear weapon.

In 1981, IBM announced the release of its first personal computer.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Christy Mathewson (1880-1925), baseball player; Cecil B. DeMille (1881-1959), film director/producer; Cantinflas (1911-1993), entertainer; William Goldman (1931- ), novelist/screenwriter; George Hamilton (1939- ), actor; Jim Beaver (1950- ), actor; Ann Martin (1955- ), author; Peter Krause (1965- ), actor; Pete Sampras (1971- ), tennis player; Casey Affleck (1975- ), actor; Plaxico Burress (1977- ), football player.

TODAY'S FACT: The United States lost more troops suppressing the Philippines (ceded to the U.S. by Spain in the 1898 armistice) than in the entire Spanish-American War.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1994, Major League Baseball players began a 232-day strike that resulted in the first cancellation of the World Series since 1904.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Now, public libraries are most admirable institutions, but they have one irritating custom. They want their books back." -- Cecil B. DeMille

TODAY'S NUMBER: 64,000 -- bytes (62.5 kilobytes) of memory available in the "typical system for home and school" offered in IBM's 1981 press release announcing the personal computer. The system retailed for $3,005.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Aug. 6) and first quarter moon (Aug. 14).

UNIVERSAL UCLICK ALMANAC

Today is the 223rd day of 2013 and the 52nd day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1934, the first federal prisoners were incarcerated at island prison Alcatraz in San Francisco Bay.

In 1965, rioting began in the Watts district of Los Angeles.

In 1972, the last U.S. ground combat unit left South Vietnam.

In 2003, NATO took over command of peacekeeping forces in Afghanistan.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: David Atchison (1807-1886), legislator; Alex Haley (1921-1992), writer; Arlene Dahl (1925- ), actress; Steve Wozniak (1950- ), Apple co-founder; Hulk Hogan (1953- ), wrestler/actor; David Brooks (1961- ), journalist; Viola Davis (1965- ), actress; Joe Rogan (1967- ), actor/comedian; Anna Gunn (1968- ), actress; Chris Kelly (1978-2013), rapper; Chris Hemsworth (1983- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: The Mall of America, which opened in Bloomfield, Minn., on this day in 1992, cost $650 million to build and generates more than $50 million in taxes for the state each year.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1984, Carl Lewis replicated Jesse Owens's 1936 performance at the Summer Olympics by winning his fourth and final gold medal, all in the same track events Owens had won nearly 50 years earlier.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Anytime you see a turtle up on top of a fence post, you know he had some help." -- Alex Haley

TODAY'S NUMBER: 1,545 -- federal prisoners interned at Alcatraz during its 28-year use as a prison.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Aug. 6) and first quarter moon (Aug. 14).