UNIVERSAL UCLICK ALMANAC

Today is the 352nd day of 2013 and the 88th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1865, slavery formally ended in the United States with the ratification of the 13th Amendment.

In 1957, the first civilian electricity-generating nuclear facility in the United States opened in Pennsylvania.

In 1958, a U.S. rocket launched SCORE (Signal Communication by Orbiting Relay Equipment), the world's first communications satellite, into space.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: H.H. Munro aka Saki (1870-1916), author; Ty Cobb (1886-1961), baseball player; Robert Moses (1888-1981), urban planner; Betty Grable (1916-1973), actress; Ossie Davis (1917-2005), actor; Keith Richards (1943- ), musician; Steven Spielberg (1946- ), director; Ray Liotta (1954- ), actor; Brad Pitt (1963- ), actor; Steve Austin (1964- ), wrestler/actor; DMX (1970- ), rapper/actor; Katie Holmes (1978- ), actress; Christina Aguilera (1980- ), singer.

TODAY'S FACT: The SCORE satellite launched in 1958 used a tape recorder to save and relay voice messages. It communicated a Christmas message from President Dwight D. Eisenhower to the world via shortwave frequency on Dec. 19.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1932, a blizzard forced the National Football League to hold its championship game inside Chicago Stadium on an 80-yard field. The Chicago Bears defeated the Portsmouth Spartans, 9-0.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "The young have aspirations that never come to pass, the old have reminiscences of what never happened." -- H.H. Munro

TODAY'S NUMBER: 104 -- commercial nuclear reactors operating in the United States as of 2013. Combined, the plants produce nearly 20 percent of the nation's electricity.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (Dec. 17) and last quarter moon (Dec. 25).

UNIVERSAL UCLICK ALMANAC

Today is the 351st day of 2013 and the 87th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1903, Orville Wright made the first controlled, sustained flight in a power-driven airplane.

In 1989, the first episode of "The Simpsons" aired.

In 1992, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was signed by the leaders of the United States, Canada and Mexico.

In 2010, street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire in protest of government mistreatment in Tunisia, becoming a catalyst for Arab Spring protests in the region.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892), poet; Ford Madox Ford (1873-1939), novelist; William Safire (1929-2009), columnist; Ernie Hudson (1945- ), actor; Eugene Levy (1946- ), actor/comedian; Wes Studi (1947- ), actor; Bill Pullman (1953- ), actor; Peter Farrelly (1956- ), director; Chuck Liddell (1969- ), mixed martial artist; Paula Radcliffe (1973- ), long-distance runner; Sarah Paulson (1974- ), actress; Giovanni Ribisi (1974- ), actor; Milla Jovovich (1975- ), actress; Manny Pacquiao (1978- ), boxer; Chase Utley (1978- ), baseball player.

TODAY'S FACT: An attempt to recreate the Wright brothers' inaugural flight on North Carolina's Outer Banks failed to take off in 2003, on the first flight's 100-year anniversary.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1933, the Chicago Bears defeated the New York Giants 23-21 to win the first NFL Championship game.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these, 'It might have been.'" -- John Greenleaf Whittier

TODAY'S NUMBER: 28 -- Emmy Awards won by "The Simpsons" as of 2013.

TODAY'S MOON: Full moon (Dec. 17).

UNIVERSAL UCLICK ALMANAC

Today is the 350th day of 2013 and the 86th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1773, patriots in Massachusetts held the infamous "Boston Tea Party."

In 1835, a huge fire destroyed nearly 700 buildings in New York City.

In 2000, President George W. Bush selected Colin Powell as the first African-American secretary of state.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Jane Austen (1775-1817), novelist; Noel Coward (1899-1973), playwright; Margaret Mead (1901-1978), anthropologist; Arthur C. Clarke (1917-2008), writer; Philip K. Dick (1928-1982), writer; Lesley Stahl (1941- ), journalist; Steven Bochco (1943- ), screenwriter/producer; Shane Black (1961- ), actor/screenwriter/director; William "The Refrigerator" Perry (1962- ), football player; Benjamin Bratt (1963- ), actor; Krysten Ritter (1981- ), actress.

TODAY'S FACT: Margaret Mead was named "Mother of the World" by Time magazine in 1969.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1973, Buffalo Bills running back O.J. Simpson became the first player in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards in a season.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." -- Arthur C. Clarke

TODAY'S NUMBER: $2.8 billion -- worldwide box office gross of James Cameron's "Avatar," which began its wide international release on this day in 2009. It remains the highest-grossing film of all time.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (Dec. 9) and full moon (Dec. 17).