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Andrews McMeel Almanac for December 27, 2016

Andrews McMeel Almanac by by the Editors at Andrews McMeel Syndication
by the Editors at Andrews McMeel Syndication
Andrews McMeel Almanac | December 27th, 2016

Today is the 362nd day of 2016 and the seventh day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1831, the HMS Beagle, with naturalist Charles Darwin aboard, set sail from Great Britain.

In 1932, Radio City Music Hall opened in New York City.

In 2002, North Korea announced it would resume developing nuclear-grade plutonium and ordered International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors to leave the country.

In 2007, former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated after a campaign rally in Rawalpindi.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Johannes Kepler (1571-1630), astronomer; Louis Pasteur (1822-1895), biologist/chemist; Marlene Dietrich (1901-1992), actress/singer; John Amos (1939- ), actor; Cokie Roberts (1943- ), journalist; Gerard Depardieu (1948- ), actor; Bill Self (1962- ), basketball coach; Sarah Vowell (1969- ), social commentator; Masi Oka (1974- ), actor; Carson Palmer (1979- ), football player.

TODAY'S FACT: More than 75 percent of the France's electricity is nuclear-generated.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1892, Biddle College (later named Johnson C. Smith University) defeated Livingstone College in the first football game between historically black colleges.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "That, to me, is the quintessential experience of living in the United States: constantly worrying whether or not the country is about to fall apart." -- Sarah Vowell, "Lafayette in the Somewhat United States"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 3,300 -- approximate number of people buried at Westminster Abbey, many of them in unmarked graves. Charles Darwin is among the famous scientists buried there.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (Dec. 20) and new moon (Dec. 28).

oddities

Andrews McMeel Almanac for December 26, 2016

Andrews McMeel Almanac by by the Editors at Andrews McMeel Syndication
by the Editors at Andrews McMeel Syndication
Andrews McMeel Almanac | December 26th, 2016

Today is the 361st day of 2016 and the sixth day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1776, after staging a surprise attack, George Washington and the Continental Army scored a major upset victory over the British in the Battle of Trenton.

In 1908, boxer Jack Johnson defeated Tommy Burns, becoming the first African-American heavyweight champion.

In 1966, the pan-African holiday Kwanzaa, founded by UCLA professor Maulana Karenga, was celebrated for the first time.

In 2004, a powerful earthquake in the Indian Ocean triggered a massive tsunami that claimed the lives of at least 226,000 in Southeast Asia and east Africa.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Thomas Gray (1716-1771), poet; Charles Babbage (1791-1871), mathematician/inventor; Mao Zedong (1893-1976), Chinese leader; Richard Widmark (1914-2008), actor; Steve Allen (1921-2000), entertainer; Alan King (1927-2004), actor/comedian; John Walsh (1945- ), TV personality/activist; David Sedaris (1956- ), writer; Lars Ulrich (1963- ), musician; Jared Leto (1971- ), actor/musician; Chris Daughtry (1979- ), singer-songwriter; Kit Harington (1986- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: Despite its impact in the Colonies, the Battle of Trenton was fought by relatively small numbers on both sides -- an estimated 2,400 Continental Army soldiers defeated the 1,500-strong British/Hessian garrison.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1919, Boston Red Sox owner Harry Frazee sold Babe Ruth's contract to the New York Yankees.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "This left me alone to solve the coffee problem -- a sort of catch-22, as in order to think straight I need caffeine, and in order to make that happen I need to think straight." -- David Sedaris, "When You Are Engulfed in Flames"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 12,000 -- length (in miles) of China's high-speed rail system, the longest in the world. The 175-mile section connecting Beijing to Shijiazhuang opened on this day in 2012.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (Dec. 20) and new moon (Dec. 28).

oddities

Andrews McMeel Almanac for December 25, 2016

Andrews McMeel Almanac by by the Editors at Andrews McMeel Syndication
by the Editors at Andrews McMeel Syndication
Andrews McMeel Almanac | December 25th, 2016

Today is the 360th day of 2016 and the fifth day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1868, President Andrew Johnson unconditionally pardoned all those who had participated in the Southern rebellion that led to the Civil War.

In 1974, 25-year-old Marshall Fields crashed his car through a White House gate and threatened to detonate a bomb; he surrendered after a four-hour standoff.

In 1990, Tim Berners-Lee launched the first World Wide Web server.

In 1991, Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as Soviet president. The Soviet Union was officially dissolved the next day.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727), scientist; Clara Barton (1821-1912), American Red Cross founder; Humphrey Bogart (1899-1957), actor; Cab Calloway (1907-1994), bandleader/singer; Anwar Sadat (1918-1981), Egyptian president; Rod Serling (1924-1975), screenwriter/producer; Jimmy Buffett (1946- ), singer-songwriter; Sissy Spacek (1949- ), actress; Karl Rove (1950- ), political strategist; Annie Lennox (1954- ), singer; Rickey Henderson (1958- ), baseball player; Justin Trudeau (1971- ), prime minister of Canada.

TODAY'S FACT: Americans spent $56.4 billion shopping online during the holiday season in 2015.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1989, former New York Yankees player and manager Billy Martin died in an automobile accident.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "One of the inescapable encumbrances of leading an interesting life is that there have to be moments when you almost lose it." -- Jimmy Buffett, "A Pirate Looks at Fifty"

TODAY'S NUMBER: $0 -- amount Tim Berners-Lee charges to let people use his Web innovations, including HTML, URLs and HTTP.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (Dec. 20) and new moon (Dec. 28).

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