Today is the 173rd day of 2014 and the second day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1815, French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte abdicated his throne for the second time.

In 1870, Congress created the U.S. Department of Justice.

In 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed into law the GI Bill, providing benefits to veterans.

In 1945, the Battle for Okinawa ended in an Allied victory after 83 days of fighting.

In 1970, President Richard Nixon signed a bill that lowered the federal voting age to 18.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Anne Morrow Lindbergh (1906-2001), aviator/author; Billy Wilder (1906-2002), director; Bill Blass (1922-2002), fashion designer; Kris Kristofferson (1936- ), singer/actor; Meryl Streep (1949- ), actress; Bruce Campbell (1958- ), actor; Randy Couture (1963- ), mixed martial artist/actor; Dan Brown (1964- ), author; Kurt Warner (1971- ), football player; Carson Daly (1973- ), TV personality; Dan Wheldon (1978-2011), race car driver.

TODAY'S FACT: After 18- to 20-year-olds were enfranchised, the voter-participation rate fell to 55.2 percent for the 1972 presidential election, from 60.8 percent of eligible voters in 1968.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1937, Joe Louis knocked out Jim Braddock in the eighth round, becoming the first African-American heavyweight boxing champion since Jack Johnson in 1915.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "The most exhausting thing in life, I have discovered, is being insincere." -- Anne Morrow Lindbergh, "Gift From the Sea"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 49 -- percentage of U.S. college students who were war veterans in 1947, marking the peak year of the GI Bill education program.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (June 19) and new moon (June 27).

Today is the 172nd day of 2014 and the first day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1788, New Hampshire ratified the U.S. Constitution and became the ninth state.

In 1898, U.S. troops captured the island of Guam.

In 1964, three civil rights workers were murdered by members of the Ku Klux Klan in Neshoba County, Mississippi.

In 1989, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that burning the American flag was a form of political protest protected by the First Amendment.

In 2004, SpaceShipOne, piloted by Mike Melvill, became the first privately sponsored craft to carry a human into space.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Al Hirschfeld (1903-2003), cartoonist; Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980), philosopher; Mary McCarthy (1912-1989), writer; Jane Russell (1921-2011), actress; Ray Davies (1944- ), guitarist/songwriter; Tony Scott (1944-2012), film director/producer; Benazir Bhutto (1953-2007), Pakistani politician; Berkeley Breathed (1957- ), cartoonist; Kevin Harlan (1960- ), sportscaster; Juliette Lewis (1973- ), actress; Chris Pratt (1979- ), actor; Prince William (1982- ), Duke of Cambridge.

TODAY'S FACT: James Buchanan was the only U.S. president who never married.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1997, the first Women's National Basketball Association game kicked off the league's debut season.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "There may be more beautiful times, but this one is ours." -- Jean-Paul Sartre

TODAY'S NUMBER: 142,000 -- population of New Hampshire in 1790, following ratification of the U.S. Constitution.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (June 19) and new moon (June 27).

Today is the 171st day of 2014 and the 93rd day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1863, West Virginia was admitted as the 35th U.S. state.

In 1893, Lizzie Borden was acquitted of the murders of her father and stepmother.

In 1973, Juan Peron returned to Argentina after 18 years of exile.

In 1975, the Steven Spielberg film "Jaws" debuted in theaters.

In 1999, NATO formally ended its bombing campaign against Yugoslavia as Serb forces completed their withdrawal from Kosovo.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Lillian Hellman (1905-1984), playwright; Errol Flynn (1909-1959), actor; Chet Atkins (1924- ), singer-songwriter; Audie Murphy (1924-1971), war hero/actor; Martin Landau (1928- ), actor; Brian Wilson (1942- ), musician/singer-songwriter; Bob Vila (1946- ), handyman/TV personality; Lionel Richie (1949- ), singer-songwriter; John Goodman (1952- ), actor; Nicole Kidman (1967- ), actress; Robert Rodriguez (1968- ), filmmaker; Christopher Mintz-Plasse (1989- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: Western Argentina is home to Aconcagua Mountain, the highest peak in the Western Hemisphere, with an altitude of 22,834 feet.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1967, boxer Muhammad Ali was convicted of violating Selective Service laws by refusing to be inducted. The Supreme Court overturned Ali's conviction in 1971.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "For every man who lives without freedom, the rest of us must face the guilt." -- Lillian Hellman

TODAY'S NUMBER: 36 -- Billboard Top 40 hits recorded by the Beach Boys, the record for an American group.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (June 19) and new moon (June 27).