Today is the 129th day of 2014 and the 51st day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson issued the first presidential proclamation calling for a national Mother's Day holiday.

In 1961, Newton Minow, newly appointed chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, gave a speech to broadcasters in which he described network TV programming as a "vast wasteland."

In 1974, the U.S. House of Representatives opened impeachment hearings against President Richard Nixon.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: John Brown (1800-1859), abolitionist; J.M. Barrie (1860-1937), author/playwright; Howard Carter (1874-1939), archaeologist; Mike Wallace (1918-2012), journalist; James L. Brooks (1940- ), director/producer; Candice Bergen (1946- ), actress; Billy Joel (1949- ), singer-songwriter/pianist; Tony Gwynn (1960- ), baseball player; Rosario Dawson (1979- ), actress; Prince Fielder (1984- ), baseball player.

TODAY'S FACT: The top-rated TV show in the United States in 1961 was the long-running Western series "Gunsmoke."

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1984, the White Sox finally defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 7-6 in a 25-inning game that had been suspended from the day before. It was the longest timed game in Major League Baseball history to date, at 8 hours and 6 minutes.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Dreams do come true, if only we wish hard enough. You can have anything in life if you will sacrifice everything else for it." -- J.M. Barrie, "Peter Pan"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 28 -- current member nations in the European Union. Iceland, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey are candidates for membership.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (May 6) and full moon (May 14).

Today is the 128th day of 2014 and the 50th day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1886, pharmacist John Pemberton sold the first Coca-Cola soft drink.

In 1945, Victory in Europe Day (or V-E Day) was celebrated as the Allies accepted Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender, ending World War II in Europe.

In 1973, a 10-week standoff in Wounded Knee, S.D., between federal authorities and American Indian Movement activists ended.

In 1984, the Soviet Union announced that it would boycott that year's Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Harry S. Truman (1884-1972), 33rd U.S. president; Don Rickles (1926- ), comedian/actor; Thomas Pynchon (1937- ), author; Ricky Nelson (1940-1985), singer-songwriter; Toni Tennille (1940- ), singer-songwriter; Mike D'Antoni (1951- ), basketball coach; Bill Cowher (1957- ), football coach/analyst; Lovie Smith (1958- ), football coach; Enrique Iglesias (1975- ), singer-songwriter; Adrian Gonzalez (1982- ), baseball player.

TODAY'S FACT: In 1999, Nancy Mace became the first female cadet to graduate from The Citadel, a military college in South Carolina.

TODAY'S SPORTS: The United States won 174 medals, including a record 83 gold medals, at the Soviet-boycotted 1984 Summer Olympics.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about answers." -- Thomas Pynchon, "Gravity's Rainbow"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 1.9 billion -- average number of servings of Coca-Cola sold daily in 2013.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (May 6) and full moon (May 14).

Today is the 127th day of 2014 and the 49th day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1915, a German U-boat sank the RMS Lusitania, killing 1,198 off the coast of Ireland.

In 1945, Germany unconditionally surrendered and withdrew from World War II.

In 1998, Mercedes-Benz announced its $36 billion merger with the Chrysler Corporation.

In 2000, Vladimir Putin assumed the presidency in Russia's first democratic change of office.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Robert Browning (1812-1889), poet/playwright; Johannes Brahms (1833-1897), composer; Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893), composer; Gary Cooper (1901-1961), actor; Eva Peron (1919-1952), Argentine first lady/actress; Johnny Unitas (1933-2002), football player; Tim Russert (1950-2008), journalist; Breckin Meyer (1974- ), actor; Alexander Ludwig (1992- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: In 1977, Seattle Slew won the Kentucky Derby. The horse went on to win the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes, becoming the 10th horse to win the Triple Crown and the only winner to do so while undefeated.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1982, a jury ruled in favor of Raiders owner Al Davis in an antitrust lawsuit against the NFL, allowing Davis to move the team from Oakland, Calif., to Los Angeles.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "A minute's success pays the failure of years." -- Robert Browning

TODAY'S NUMBER: 16,024 -- height (in feet) of the Carstensz Pyramid, the highest summit of Puncak Jaya in Indonesia. Canadian Patrick Morrow became the first person to scale the "Seven Summits" -- the highest peak on each of the seven continents -- when he reached the top of the Carstensz Pyramid on this day in 1986.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (May 6) and full moon (May 14).