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Andrews McMeel Almanac for May 22, 2016

Andrews McMeel Almanac by by the Editors at Andrews McMeel Syndication
by the Editors at Andrews McMeel Syndication
Andrews McMeel Almanac | May 22nd, 2016

Today is the 143rd day of 2016 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: "Life is infinitely stranger than anything which the mind of man could invent." -- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, "A Case of Identity"

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 full moon (May 21) and last quarter moon (May 29).

oddities

Andrews McMeel Almanac for May 21, 2016

Andrews McMeel Almanac by by the Editors at Andrews McMeel Syndication
by the Editors at Andrews McMeel Syndication
Andrews McMeel Almanac | May 21st, 2016

Today is the 142nd day of 2016 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: "Unblemish'd let me live, or die unknown; / O grant an honest fame, or grant me none!" -- Alexander Pope, "The Temple of Fame"

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: Full moon (May 21).

oddities

Andrews McMeel Almanac for May 20, 2016

Andrews McMeel Almanac by by the Editors at Andrews McMeel Syndication
by the Editors at Andrews McMeel Syndication
Andrews McMeel Almanac | May 20th, 2016

Today is the 141st day of 2016 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 (1944-2014), 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: "Truth gains more even by the errors of one who, with due study and preparation, thinks for himself, than by the true opinions of those who only hold them because they do not suffer themselves to think." -- John Stuart Mill, "On Liberty"

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

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (May 13) and full moon (May 21).

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