Today is the 143rd day of 2015 and the 65th day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1788, South Carolina became the eighth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.

In 1846, Mexican President Mariano Paredes issued a manifesto unofficially declaring war on the United States.

In 1934, outlaws Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were fatally shot by police officers in Black Lake, Louisiana.

In 1949, the Federal Republic of Germany was established.

In 1960, a tsunami killed 61 people in Hilo, Hawaii.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Carolus Linnaeus (1707-1778), botanist; Margaret Fuller (1810-1850), writer/feminist; Douglas Fairbanks (1883-1939), actor/filmmaker; Margaret Wise Brown (1910-1952), author; Artie Shaw (1910-2004), bandleader; Rosemary Clooney (1928-2002), singer/actress; Joan Collins (1933- ), actress/author; John Newcombe (1944- ), tennis player; Marvin Hagler (1954- ), boxer; Mitch Albom (1958- ), journalist/author; Drew Carey (1958- ), comedian/TV personality; Melissa McBride (1965- ), actress; Jewel (1974- ), singer-songwriter.

TODAY'S FACT: The Hawaiian tsunami on this day in 1960 was triggered by a massive 8.5-magnitude earthquake off the Chilean coast that had killed thousands the day before.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1895, the Louisville Colonels forfeited a home game to the Brooklyn Bridegrooms in the third inning because they ran out of baseballs.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "To me it seems that it is madder never to abandon oneself, than often to be infatuated; better to be wounded, a captive, and a slave, than always to walk in armor." -- Margaret Fuller, "Summer on the Lakes, in 1843"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 14 million -- copies of Margaret Wise Brown's "Goodnight Moon" sold worldwide since it was first published in 1947.

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

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).