ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 71st day of 2017 and the 82nd day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1912, the Girl Guides (later renamed the Girl Scouts of the USA) were founded in Savannah, Georgia.

In 1930, Mahatma Gandhi and more than 70 supporters began a 240-mile march protesting the British salt tax.

In 1947, President Harry S. Truman introduced the "Truman Doctrine," a policy that provided military and economic aid to Greece and Turkey to prevent the spread of communism.

In 2002, the U.N. Security Council approved Resolution 1397, endorsing the creation of a Palestinian state.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Elaine de Kooning (1918-1989), artist/critic; Jack Kerouac (1922-1969), author; Edward Albee (1928-2016), playwright; Andrew Young (1932- ) activist/politician; Liza Minnelli (1946- ), actress/singer; Mitt Romney (1947- ), politician; James Taylor (1948- ), singer-songwriter; Carl Hiaasen (1953- ), author; Darryl Strawberry (1962- ), baseball player; Aaron Eckhart (1968- ), actor; Jaimie Alexander (1984- ), actress; Christina Grimmie (1994-2016), singer-songwriter.

TODAY'S FACT: Former President Harry S. Truman was the holder of Medicare card No. 1, which President Lyndon Johnson symbolically presented to Truman on the passing of Medicare legislation in 1965.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1966, Bobby Hull scored his 51st goal, becoming the first NHL player to tally more than 50 goals in a season and leading his Chicago Blackhawks to a 4-2 victory over the New York Rangers.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Sometimes a person has to go a very long distance out of his way to come back a short distance correctly." -- Edward Albee, "The Zoo Story"

TODAY'S NUMBER: $18 billion -- losses suffered by investors in the massive Ponzi scheme perpetuated by stockbroker Bernie Madoff, who pleaded guilty to 11 federal felonies on this day in 2009.

TODAY'S MOON: Full moon (March 12).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 70th day of 2017 and the 81st day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1861, delegates from seven states adopted the Constitution of the Confederate States of America.

In 1888, the "Great Blizzard of '88" struck the Northeastern United States, killing more than 400 people.

In 2004, 191 people were killed when terrorist bombs exploded on rush hour commuter trains in Madrid.

In 2011, a magnitude 9.03 undersea earthquake triggered a tsunami that struck Japan, killing nearly 16,000 people and causing meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Lawrence Welk (1903-1992), bandleader; Ralph Abernathy (1926-1990), civil rights leader; Rupert Murdoch (1931- ), business leader; Sam Donaldson (1934- ), TV journalist; Antonin Scalia (1936-2016), U.S. Supreme Court justice; Douglas Adams (1952-2001), author; Peter Berg (1962- ), actor/filmmaker; Alex Kingston (1963- ), actress; Terrence Howard (1969- ), actor; Johnny Knoxville (1971- ), actor; Anton Yelchin (1989-2016), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: According to Forbes, News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch's net worth is $12.9 billion in 2017.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1979, Randy Holt of the NHL's Los Angeles Kings was penalized nine times for a record total of 67 minutes.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "We don't have to save the world. The world is big enough to look after itself. What we have to be concerned about is whether or not the world we live in will be capable of sustaining us in it." – Douglas Adams

TODAY'S NUMBER: 44 -- countries that received the $50 billion in funds and military goods made available under the Lend-Lease Act, signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on this day in 1941.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (March 5) and full moon (March 12).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 69th day of 2017 and the 80th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1864, President Abraham Lincoln signed Ulysses S. Grant's commission to command the U.S. Army.

In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell spoke the first intelligible words transmitted over a telephone: "Mr. Watson -- come here -- I want to see you."

In 1969, James Earl Ray pleaded guilty to assassinating Martin Luther King Jr.

In 1971, the U.S. Senate passed the 26th Amendment, which would lower the minimum voting age to 18.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Pablo de Sarasate (1844-1908), violinist/composer; Clare Boothe Luce (1903-1987), playwright/politician; Chuck Norris (1940- ), actor; Jim Valvano (1946-1993), basketball coach; Sharon Stone (1958- ), actress; Rick Rubin (1963- ), record producer; Jon Hamm (1971- ), actor; Matt Kenseth (1972- ), race car driver; Timbaland (1972- ), rapper/producer; Robin Thicke (1977- ), singer-songwriter; Carrie Underwood (1983- ), singer-songwriter/actress; Olivia Wilde (1984- ), actress.

TODAY'S FACT: From 1875 through 1893, the Bell Telephone Company faced 587 unsuccessful court challenges to its patents, including five decided by the Supreme Court.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1995, retired basketball superstar Michael Jordan announced his retirement from baseball after a single season in the minor leagues. Jordan played his comeback game with the NBA's Chicago Bulls eight days later.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "A man has only one escape from his old self: to see a different self -- in the mirror of some woman's eyes." -- Clare Boothe Luce, "The Women"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 136.6 million -- Americans who voted in the 2016 presidential election.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (March 5) and full moon (March 12).