Today is the 142nd day of 2015 and the 64th day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1807, former vice president Aaron Burr was indicted for treason.

In 1872, President Ulysses S. Grant signed the Amnesty Act into law, restoring full rights to nearly all Confederate sympathizers.

In 1947, President Harry Truman signed the Truman Doctrine, appropriating military and economic aid for Greece and Turkey to combat the spread of communism.

In 2011, a tornado struck Joplin, Missouri, claiming an estimated 161 lives and destroying nearly 7,000 houses.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: William Sturgeon (1783-1850), physicist/inventor; Richard Wagner (1813-1883), composer; Mary Cassatt (1844-1926), artist; Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930), physician/author; Herge (1907-1983), cartoonist; Laurence Olivier (1907-1989), actor/director; Charles Aznavour (1924- ), singer-songwriter/actor; Morrissey (1959- ), singer-songwriter; Naomi Campbell (1970- ), model/actress; Ginnifer Goodwin (1978- ), actress; Apolo Ohno (1982- ), speed skater.

TODAY'S FACT: Abraham Lincoln remains the only president to have received a U.S. patent. His invention, a device for lifting boats over obstruction in rivers, was patented on this day in 1849.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 2003, Annika Sorenstam became the first woman golfer since Babe Didrikson Zaharias in 1945 to officially compete against men at a PGA tour event.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "A dog reflects the family life. Whoever saw a frisky dog in a gloomy family, or a sad dog in a happy one? Snarling people have snarling dogs, dangerous people have dangerous ones." -- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, "The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 4,531 -- episodes of NBC's "The Tonight Show" hosted by Johnny Carson, who began his tenure as host in 1962. Carson hosted his final show on this day in 1992.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (May 17) and first quarter moon (May 25).

Today is the 141st day of 2015 and the 63rd day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1856, Lawrence, Kansas, was sacked by pro-slavery activists.

In 1881, the American Red Cross was established.

In 1901, Connecticut became the first state to enact a speed-limit law, limiting motor vehicle speeds to 12 mph in the city and 15 mph on country roads.

In 1979, former San Francisco city supervisor Dan White was convicted of manslaughter in the deaths of Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Alexander Pope (1688-1744), poet; Henri Rousseau (1844-1910), artist; Fats Waller (1904-1943), pianist/songwriter; Raymond Burr (1917-1993), actor; Andrei Sakharov (1921-1989), physicist/Russian dissident; Al Franken (1951- ), politician/comedian; Laurence "Mr. T" Tureaud (1952- ), actor; Lisa Edelstein (1966- ), actress; The Notorious B.I.G. (1972-1997), rapper; Josh Hamilton (1981- ), baseball player.

TODAY'S FACT: In 1927, Charles Lindbergh landed in Paris after leaving Long Island, New York, the day before, completing the first solo nonstop trans-Atlantic flight. On the anniversary of the event in 1932, Amelia Earhart landed in Ireland after taking off from Newfoundland, completing the first solo nonstop trans-Atlantic flight by a female.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1978, 21-year-old rookie professional golfer Nancy Lopez won her first Coca-Cola Classic, defeating JoAnne Carner on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "For he lives twice who can at once employ / The present well, and e'en the past enjoy." -- Alexander Pope

TODAY'S NUMBER: 456 -- height (in feet) of Kingda Ka, the world's tallest roller coaster. The ride opened at the Six Flags Great Adventure theme park in Jackson, New Jersey, on this day in 2005.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (May 17) and first quarter moon (May 25).

Today is the 140th day of 2015 and the 62nd day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act, which provided Western settlers free land for farms.

In 1873, Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis received the U.S. patent for blue jeans.

In 1902, Cuba declared independence from the United States.

In 1969, the Battle of Hamburger Hill ended in South Vietnam.

In 2006, Nouri al-Maliki took office as prime minister of Iraq.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Honore de Balzac (1799-1850), author; John Stuart Mill (1806-1873), philosopher; William Fargo (1818-1881), Wells Fargo co-founder; Jimmy Stewart (1908-1997), actor; Joe Cocker (1944- ), singer-songwriter; Cher (1946- ), singer-songwriter/actress; Ted Allen (1965- ), TV personality; Timothy Olyphant (1968- ), actor; Tony Stewart (1971- ), race car driver; Busta Rhymes (1972- ), rapper; Matt Czuchry (1977- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: In 1916, the Saturday Evening Post published its first issue featuring a Norman Rockwell painting ("Boy with Baby Carriage") on the cover.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1989, Sunday Silence beat Easy Goer by a nose in the 114th Preakness Stakes, the horse race's closest margin.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Let not any one pacify his conscience by the delusion that he can do no harm if he takes no part, and forms no opinion. Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing." -- John Stuart Mill

TODAY'S NUMBER: 270 million -- acres of U.S. land given away through the Homestead Act.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (May 17) and first quarter moon (May 25).