Today is the 154th day of 2014 and the 76th day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed into law the National Defense Act, expanding the size and scope of the U.S. National Guard.

In 1965, Edward H. White II, an astronaut on Gemini IV, became the first American to "walk" in space.

In 1979, the Ixtoc I oil well in the Gulf of Mexico blew out, spilling more than 600,000 tons of oil over an area of 1,100 square miles.

In 2006, Montenegro formally declared its independence from the Union of Serbia and Montenegro.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Jefferson Davis (1808-1889), president of the Confederate States of America; Raoul Dufy (1877-1953), artist; Tony Curtis (1925-2010), actor; Allen Ginsberg (1926-1997), poet; Chuck Barris (1929- ), game show host; Raul Castro (1931- ), prime minister of Cuba; Larry McMurtry (1936- ), author; Curtis Mayfield (1942-1999), singer-songwriter/musician; Anderson Cooper (1967- ), TV journalist; Rafael Nadal (1986- ), tennis player.

TODAY'S FACT: According to the results of the 1860 census, the slave population outnumbered the free population in two states: Mississippi and South Carolina.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1888, the comic baseball poem "Casey at the Bat," by Ernest Lawrence Thayer, was published in the San Francisco Examiner.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Poetry is the one place where people can speak their original human mind. It is the outlet for people to say in public what is known in private." -- Allen Ginsberg

TODAY'S NUMBER: 25 -- length, in feet, of the tether attaching Edward H. White II to the Gemini spacecraft during the first U.S. spacewalk.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (May 28) and first quarter moon (June 5).

Today is the 153rd day of 2014 and the 75th day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1886, President Grover Cleveland married Frances Folsom, becoming the only president to marry in a White House ceremony.

In 1924, an act of Congress granted American Indians U.S. citizenship.

In 1997, Timothy McVeigh was convicted of murder and conspiracy for his role in the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City.

In 2012, former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in the deaths of hundreds of protestors during a 2011 uprising.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Marquis de Sade (1740-1814), author/politician; Pope Pius X (1835-1914); Thomas Hardy (1840-1928), poet/novelist; Edward Elgar (1857-1934), composer; Johnny Weissmuller (1904-1984), swimmer/actor; Charlie Watts (1941- ), drummer; Marvin Hamlisch (1944-2012), composer; Dennis Haysbert (1954- ), actor; Wayne Brady (1972- ), actor/comedian; Zachary Quinto (1977- ), actor; Dominic Cooper (1978- ), actor; Fabrizio Moretti (1980- ), musician.

TODAY'S FACT: The White House has hosted 21 weddings, nine of which were for children of sitting presidents.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1935, baseball legend Babe Ruth retired.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "To find beauty in ugliness is the province of the poet." -- Thomas Hardy

TODAY'S NUMBER: 336,337 -- official American Indian population in 1920, according to the U.S. Census.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (May 28) and first quarter moon (June 5).

Today is the 152nd day of 2014 and the 74th day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1792, Kentucky was admitted as the 15th U.S. state.

In 1796, Tennessee was admitted as the 16th U.S. state.

In 1980, the Cable News Network (CNN) began broadcasting.

In 2009, General Motors Co. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Brigham Young (1801-1877), religious leader; Andy Griffith (1926-2012), actor; Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962), actress; Pat Boone (1934- ), singer-songwriter; Morgan Freeman (1937- ), actor; Brian Cox (1946- ), actor; Ronnie Wood (1947- ), guitarist; Powers Boothe (1948- ), actor; Heidi Klum (1973- ), model/TV personality; Alanis Morissette (1974- ), singer-songwriter; Amy Schumer (1981- ), comedian; Justine Henin (1982- ), tennis player.

TODAY'S FACT: The Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," released on this day in 1967, was the first rock album to win a Grammy Award for Album of the Year.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1925, Lou Gehrig pinch-hit for the New York Yankees, marking the first game in Gehrig's record-setting streak of 2,130 consecutive games played.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Beneath the makeup and behind the smile I am just a girl who wishes for the world." -- Marilyn Monroe

TODAY'S NUMBER: 100.1 million -- approximate number of American cable subscribers who receive CNN, a reach surpassed by only seven other networks.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (May 28) and first quarter moon (June 5).