Today is the 81st day of 2014 and the third day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1882, the U.S. Congress passed an act that made polygamy a felony.

In 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Beer and Wine Revenue Act, which modified the Volstead Act enforcement of alcohol prohibition and levied a tax on alcohol.

In 1945, the Arab League charter was adopted in Cairo.

In 1963, the Beatles' debut album, "Please Please Me," was released in the United Kingdom.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Louis L'Amour (1908-1988), author; Karl Malden (1912- ), actor; Marcel Marceau (1923-2007), mime artist; Stephen Sondheim (1930- ), composer; William Shatner (1931- ), actor; James Patterson (1947- ), author; Wolf Blitzer (1948- ), journalist; Andrew Lloyd Webber (1948- ), composer; Bob Costas (1952- ), sportscaster; Matthew Modine (1959- ), actor; Reese Witherspoon (1976- ), actress; J.J. Watt (1989- ), football player.

TODAY'S FACT: Professional mime Marcel Marceau had the only speaking role in Mel Brooks' "Silent Movie."

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1894, the Montreal AAA beat the Ottawa Generals 3-1 in the first Stanley Cup championship hockey game.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "There will come a time when you believe everything is finished. That will be the beginning." -- Louis L'Amour, "Lonely on the Mountain"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 196 -- average self-reported weight (in pounds) of American men in a 2012 Gallup poll, up from 180 in 1991. The average self-reported weight among women was 156; it was 142 in 1991.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (March 16) and last quarter moon (March 23).

Today is the 80th day of 2014 and the second day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1788, a fire destroyed most of the city of New Orleans.

In 1963, the federal penitentiary on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay was closed.

In 1980, President Jimmy Carter announced that the United States would boycott the Moscow Olympic Games.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Benito Juarez (1806-1872), Mexican president; Florenz Ziegfeld (1867-1932), theater producer; Phyllis McGinley (1905-1978), author; Gary Oldman (1958- ), actor; Matthew Broderick (1962- ), actor; Rosie O'Donnell (1962- ), actress/talk show host; Ronaldinho (1980- ), soccer player; Adrian Peterson (1985- ), football player.

TODAY'S FACT: The average movie ticket price in 1975 was $2.05. By 2013, the average ticket cost was $7.84.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1989, an investigative report by Sports Illustrated revealed evidence that Major League Baseball player-manager Pete Rose had illegally gambled on baseball games.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "A bit of trash now and then is good for the severest reader. It provides the necessary roughage in the literary diet." -- Phyllis McGinley

TODAY'S NUMBER: 14 -- attempted escapes, involving 36 inmates, from Alcatraz Prison over the 29 years that the prison operated. None was believed to have been successful.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (March 16) and last quarter moon (March 23).

Today is the 79th day of 2014 and the first day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1852, Harriet Beecher Stowe's anti-slavery novel, "Uncle Tom's Cabin," was published.

In 1987, the FDA approved AZT, a drug shown to delay the development of AIDS.

In 1995, members of the Japanese cult Aum Shinrikyo released sarin gas into the Tokyo Metro subway system, killing 13 and injuring more than 1,000.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: B.F. Skinner (1904-1990), psychologist; Sir Michael Redgrave (1908-1985), actor; Carl Reiner (1922- ), comedy writer/director/performer; Fred Rogers (1928-2003), TV personality; Pat Riley (1945- ), basketball coach/executive; Bobby Orr (1948- ), hockey player; William Hurt (1950- ), actor; Spike Lee (1957- ), filmmaker; Holly Hunter (1958- ), actress; Kathy Ireland (1963- ), model/actress; David Thewlis (1963- ), actor; Michael Rapaport (1970- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: The constitution of Japan, adopted in 1947, forbids the country from participating in wars.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1934, Mildred "Babe" Didrikson pitched one inning of exhibition baseball for the Philadelphia Athletics in a game against the Brooklyn Dodgers. She allowed one walk and no hits.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Education is what survives when what has been learnt has been forgotten. " -- B.F. Skinner

TODAY'S NUMBER: 542 -- length (in feet) of the USS Langley, commissioned on this day in 1922 as the first U.S. Navy aircraft carrier. The USS Gerald R. Ford, a supercarrier scheduled to join the Navy's fleet in 2016, is 1,106 feet long.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (March 16) and last quarter moon (March 23).