ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 61st day of 2017 and the 72nd day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1836, Texas declared its independence from Mexico.

In 1877, the U.S. Congress declared Rutherford B. Hayes the winner of the 1876 presidential election, despite the fact that Samuel J. Tilden had won the popular vote.

In 1917, the Jones-Shafroth Act was enacted, granting U.S. citizenship to the people of Puerto Rico.

In 1969, the Concorde supersonic airliner flew (at subsonic speeds) for the first time.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Sam Houston (1793-1863), soldier/politician; Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel) (1904-1991), author; Mel Ott (1909-1958), baseball player; Desi Arnaz (1917-1986), actor/musician; Mikhail Gorbachev (1931- ), former Soviet leader; Tom Wolfe (1931- ), author/journalist; John Irving (1942- ), author; Jon Bon Jovi (1962- ), singer-songwriter; Daniel Craig (1968- ), actor; Method Man (1971- ), rapper/actor; Chris Martin (1977- ), singer-songwriter; Rebel Wilson (1980- ), actress; Bryce Dallas Howard (1981- ), actress; Ben Roethlisberger (1982- ), football player.

TODAY'S FACT: "King Kong," which opened at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on this day in 1933, was made for about $12.4 million (in today's dollars). The 2005 remake cost $207 million to produce.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1962, Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia Warriors set the NBA single-game scoring record with 100 points in a win over the New York Knicks.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "You take every opportunity given you in this world, even if you have too many opportunities. One day, the opportunities stop, you know." -- John Irving, "The Hotel New Hampshire"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 27 -- publishing companies that rejected the manuscript of Dr. Seuss' first book for children, "And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street."

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Feb. 26) and first quarter moon (March 5).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 60th day of 2017 and the 71st day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1781, the Continental Congress officially adopted the Articles of Confederation.

In 1803, Ohio was admitted as the 17th U.S. state.

In 1867, Nebraska was admitted as the 37th U.S. state.

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy issued an executive order establishing the Peace Corps.

In 2003, Pakistani counterterrorism forces captured al-Qaida operative Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, a principal planner of the 9/11 terror attacks.

In 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that capital punishment for crimes committed before the age of 18 was unconstitutional.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Frederic Chopin (1810-1849), composer; Glenn Miller (1904-1944), bandleader; David Niven (1910-1983), actor; Harry Caray (1914-1998), sportscaster; Ralph Ellison (1914-1994), author; Yitzhak Rabin (1922-1995), Israeli prime minister; Harry Belafonte (1927- ), singer-songwriter/actor; Roger Daltrey (1944- ), singer-songwriter; Ron Howard (1954- ), actor/director; Zack Snyder (1966- ), filmmaker; Javier Bardem (1969- ), actor; Jensen Ackles (1978- ), actor; Kesha (1987- ), singer; Justin Bieber (1994- ), singer.

TODAY'S FACT: The International Criminal Court held its inaugural session in The Hague on this day in 2003.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1969, New York Yankees slugger Mickey Mantle announced his retirement.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "I was looking for myself and asking everyone except myself questions which I, and only I, could answer." -- Ralph Ellison, "Invisible Man"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 5,335,247 -- English-language pages on Wikipedia.org, as of mid-February 2017. Wikipedia estimates that without images, its pages would fill 2,421 volumes of the "Encyclopaedia Britannica."

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Feb. 26) and first quarter moon (March 5).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 59th day of 2017 and the 70th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1935, DuPont scientist Wallace Carothers invented nylon.

In 1993, federal agents raided the Branch Davidian cult compound in Waco, Texas.

In 1997, two heavily armed and armored bank robbers were killed in a shootout with police on the streets of North Hollywood.

In 2013, Pope Benedict XVI became the first Catholic pope to resign since 1415.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Vincente Minnelli (1903-1986), film director; Milton Caniff (1907-1988), cartoonist; Frank Gehry (1929- ), architect; Mario Andretti (1940- ), race car driver; Bernadette Peters (1948- ), actress; Paul Krugman (1953- ), columnist/Nobel laureate; John Turturro (1957- ), actor; Pat Monahan (1969- ), singer-songwriter; Lemony Snicket (1970- ), author; Eric Lindros (1973- ), hockey player; Jason Aldean (1977- ), singer-songwriter; Aroldis Chapman (1988- ), baseball player.

TODAY'S FACT: The 2 1/2-hour series finale of "M.A.S.H.," which was watched by 60.2 percent of U.S. TV-owning households, remains the highest-rated single TV show in history, with a 77 percent share of the Nielsen ratings during its original airing on this day in 1983.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1967, Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia 76ers missed a shot for the first time in four games, ending his NBA-record streak of consecutive field goals at 35.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Everyone should be able to do one card trick, tell two jokes and recite three poems, in case they are ever trapped in an elevator." -- Lemony Snicket, "Horseradish: Bitter Truths You Can’t Avoid"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 51 -- days that the 1993 Branch Davidian standoff in Waco, Texas, lasted.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Feb. 26) and first quarter moon (March 5).