Today is the 82nd day of 2016 and the third day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1882, the U.S. Congress passed an act that made polygamy a felony.

In 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Beer and Wine Revenue Act, which modified the Volstead Act enforcement of alcohol prohibition and levied a tax on alcohol.

In 1945, the Arab League charter was adopted in Cairo.

In 1963, the Beatles' debut album, "Please Please Me," was released in the United Kingdom.

In 1995, cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov returned to Earth after completing the longest single spaceflight in history, at 437 days 18 hours.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Louis L'Amour (1908-1988), author; Karl Malden (1912-2009), actor; Marcel Marceau (1923-2007), mime artist; Stephen Sondheim (1930- ), composer; William Shatner (1931- ), actor; James Patterson (1947- ), author; Wolf Blitzer (1948- ), journalist; Andrew Lloyd Webber (1948- ), composer; Bob Costas (1952- ), sportscaster; Matthew Modine (1959- ), actor; Kathryn Jean Lopez (1976- ), journalist; Reese Witherspoon (1976- ), actress; J.J. Watt (1989- ), football player.

TODAY'S FACT: The album cover photograph for "Please Please Me" was taken in the stairwell of record label EMI's London headquarters.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1894, the Montreal AAA beat the Ottawa Generals 3-1 in the first Stanley Cup championship hockey game.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "I'm a lazy writer. My idea of heaven is not writing. On the other hand, I'm obviously compulsive about it." -- Stephen Sondheim

TODAY'S NUMBER: 41 -- percent of Americans who are content to remain at their current weight, according to a 2015 Gallup poll. Less than 25 percent claim to be "seriously trying" to lose weight.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (March 15) and full moon (March 23).

Today is the 81st day of 2016 and the second day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1788, a fire destroyed most of the city of New Orleans.

In 1963, the federal penitentiary on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay was closed.

In 1980, President Jimmy Carter announced that the United States would boycott the Moscow Olympic Games.

In 1999, Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones completed the first nonstop hot air balloon flight around the world.

In 2006, the social media site Twitter was founded.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Benito Juarez (1806-1872), Mexican president; Florenz Ziegfeld (1867-1932), theater producer; Phyllis McGinley (1905-1978), author; Timothy Dalton (1944- ), actor; Gary Oldman (1958- ), actor; Ayrton Senna (1960-1994), race car driver; Matthew Broderick (1962- ), actor; Rosie O'Donnell (1962- ), actress/talk show host; Ronaldinho (1980- ), soccer player; Adrian Peterson (1985- ), football player.

TODAY'S FACT: The first full face transplant in the U.S. occurred on this day in 2011. It took a team of 30 surgeons and other physicians 15 hours to perform the procedure.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1989, an investigative report by Sports Illustrated revealed evidence that Major League Baseball player-manager Pete Rose had illegally gambled on baseball games.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "You take what you know, and you put it through your own prism. If I play characters that break down or cry, it's Gary Oldman crying; it's not the character crying." -- Gary Oldman

TODAY'S NUMBER: 14 -- attempted escapes, involving 36 inmates, from Alcatraz Prison over the 29 years that the prison operated. None was believed to have been successful.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (March 15) and full moon (March 23).

Today is the 80th day of 2016 and the first day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1852, Harriet Beecher Stowe's anti-slavery novel, "Uncle Tom's Cabin," was published.

In 1952, the U.S. Senate ratified a peace treaty returning sovereignty to Japan.

In 1987, the FDA approved AZT, a drug shown to delay the development of AIDS.

In 1995, members of the Japanese cult Aum Shinrikyo released sarin gas into the Tokyo Metro subway system, killing 13 and injuring more than 1,000.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906), poet/playwright; B.F. Skinner (1904-1990), psychologist; Ozzie Nelson (1906-1975), actor/bandleader; Sir Michael Redgrave (1908-1985), actor; Carl Reiner (1922- ), comedy writer/director/performer; Fred Rogers (1928-2003), TV personality; Hal Linden (1931- ), actor; Pat Riley (1945- ), basketball coach/executive; Bobby Orr (1948- ), hockey player; William Hurt (1950- ), actor; Spike Lee (1957- ), filmmaker; Holly Hunter (1958- ), actress; Kathy Ireland (1963- ), model/actress; David Thewlis (1963- ), actor; Michael Rapaport (1970- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: The constitution of Japan, adopted in 1947, forbids the country from participating in wars.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1934, Mildred "Babe" Didrikson pitched one inning of exhibition baseball for the Philadelphia Athletics in a game against the Brooklyn Dodgers. She allowed one walk and no hits.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "I hold that man is in the right who is most closely in league with the future." -- Henrik Ibsen

TODAY'S NUMBER: 542 -- length (in feet) of the USS Langley, commissioned on this day in 1922 as the first U.S. Navy aircraft carrier. The USS Gerald R. Ford, a supercarrier scheduled to join the Navy's fleet in 2016, is 1,106 feet long.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (March 15) and full moon (March 23).