Today is the 87th day of 2016 and the eighth day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1794, the U.S. Congress passed the Act to Provide Naval Armament, establishing the force that would become the U.S. Navy.

In 1886, Apache leader Geronimo surrendered to U.S. forces at Skeleton Canyon in Arizona.

In 1964, the largest recorded earthquake in U.S. history (magnitude 9.2) struck Alaska, killing more than 120 people.

In 1998, the Food and Drug Administration approved Viagra, a medication to combat impotence.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Wilhelm Roentgen (1845-1923), scientist/inventor; Henry Royce (1863-1933), founder of Rolls-Royce Limited; Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886-1969), architect; Gloria Swanson (1899-1983), actress; Sarah Vaughan (1924-1990), singer; Quentin Tarantino (1963- ), filmmaker; Mariah Carey (1970- ), singer; Nathan Fillion (1971- ), actor; Fergie (1975- ), singer-songwriter; Buster Posey (1987- ), baseball player.

TODAY'S FACT: Silver prices plummeted on this day in 1980 when brothers Nelson Bunker Hunt and William Herbert Hunt attempted to corner the silver market and failed.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1939, Oregon defeated Ohio State 46-33 to win the first NCAA men's basketball tournament.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "I've always thought my soundtracks do pretty good because they're basically professional equivalents of a mix tape I'd make for you at home." -- Quentin Tarantino

TODAY'S NUMBER: 7.9 -- magnitude on the Richter scale of the largest earthquake in recorded history to strike the continental U.S. It occurred in New Madrid, Missouri, in February 1812.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (March 23) and last quarter moon (March 31).

Today is the 86th day of 2016 and the seventh day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1830, the Book of Mormon went on sale at a bookstore in Palmyra, New York.

In 1979, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin signed the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty during a ceremony at the White House in Washington, D.C.

In 1997, police discovered the bodies of 39 victims of the Heaven's Gate religious cult's mass suicide in a mansion near San Diego, California.

In 1999, a Michigan jury found Dr. Jack Kevorkian guilty of second-degree murder for euthanizing a terminally ill patient.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Robert Frost (1874-1963), poet; Viktor Frankl, (1905-1997), psychotherapist/author; Tennessee Williams (1911-1983), playwright; Sandra Day O'Connor (1930- ), former U.S. Supreme Court justice; Leonard Nimoy (1931-2015), actor; Alan Arkin (1934- ), actor; James Caan (1940- ), actor; Nancy Pelosi (1940- ), politician; Richard Dawkins (1941- ), biologist/author; Diana Ross (1944- ), singer; Steven Tyler (1948- ), singer-songwriter; Martin Short (1950- ), actor; John Stockton (1962- ), basketball player; Keira Knightley (1985- ), actress.

TODAY'S FACT: The term "gerrymander" was first printed on this day in 1812 by the Boston Gazette; it described the shape of one of the election districts as redrawn in a bill signed by then-governor of Massachusetts Elbridge Gerry.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1917, the Seattle Metropolitans defeated the Montreal Canadiens 9-1 in Game 4 of the hockey championship series, becoming the first American team to win the Stanley Cup.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "The word 'campaign' is a war term. So when you go into a campaign, you just prepare to go to war. If you think this is an exercise in civic activity ... then you are going to be surprised." -- Nancy Pelosi

TODAY'S NUMBER: 1.37 million -- number of Mormons in Mexico, the country with the second-most Mormons after the United States.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (March 23) and last quarter moon (March 31).

Today is the 85th day of 2016 and the sixth day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1634, the first English colonists arrived at St. Clement's Island in Maryland to establish the settlement of St. Mary's.

In 1965, a 50-mile civil rights march led by Martin Luther King Jr., which began four days earlier in Selma, Alabama, ended in Montgomery.

In 1994, the United States withdrew its last troops from Somalia.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Bela Bartok (1881-1945), composer; Howard Cosell (1918-1995), journalist/sportscaster; Flannery O'Connor (1925-1964), author; Jim Lovell (1928- ), astronaut; Gloria Steinem (1934- ), writer/activist; Aretha Franklin (1942- ), singer-songwriter; Elton John (1947- ), singer-songwriter/musician; Sarah Jessica Parker (1965- ), actress; Sheryl Swoopes (1971- ), basketball player; Danica Patrick (1982- ), race car driver; Ryan Lewis (1988- ), rapper/producer.

TODAY'S FACT: Percy Bysshe Shelley was expelled from the University of Oxford on this day in 1811 for publishing a pamphlet in favor of atheism. He was later given the opportunity to recant his position and be reinstated, but he refused.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1958, Sugar Ray Robinson defeated Carmen Basilio in a rematch, regaining the middleweight title and becoming the first boxer to win a title five times.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "I do think it would be an incredible experiment to shut down the whole Internet for five years and see what sort of art is produced over that span." -- Elton John

TODAY'S NUMBER: 42 -- percent of Americans under the age of 30 who preferred tea over coffee in a 2015 survey. This is equal to the percentage preferring coffee over tea.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (March 23) and last quarter moon (March 31).