ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC
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Today is the 79th day of 2017 and the first day of spring.
TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1852, Harriet Beecher Stowe's anti-slavery novel, "Uncle Tom's Cabin," was published.
In 1952, the U.S. Senate ratified a peace treaty returning sovereignty to Japan.
In 1987, the FDA approved AZT, a drug shown to delay the development of AIDS.
In 1995, members of the Japanese cult Aum Shinrikyo released sarin gas into the Tokyo Metro subway system, killing 13 and injuring more than 1,000.
TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906), poet/playwright; B.F. Skinner (1904-1990), psychologist; Ozzie Nelson (1906-1975), actor/bandleader; Sir Michael Redgrave (1908-1985), actor; Carl Reiner (1922- ), comedy writer/director/performer; Fred Rogers (1928-2003), TV personality; Hal Linden (1931- ), actor; Pat Riley (1945- ), basketball coach/executive; Bobby Orr (1948- ), hockey player; William Hurt (1950- ), actor; Spike Lee (1957- ), filmmaker; Holly Hunter (1958- ), actress; Kathy Ireland (1963- ), model/actress; David Thewlis (1963- ), actor; Michael Rapaport (1970- ), actor.
TODAY'S FACT: The constitution of Japan, adopted in 1947, forbids the country from participating in wars.
TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1934, Mildred "Babe" Didrikson pitched one inning of exhibition baseball for the Philadelphia Athletics in a game against the Brooklyn Dodgers. She allowed one walk and no hits.
TODAY'S QUOTE: "There can be no freedom or beauty about a home life that depends on borrowing and debt." -- Henrik Ibsen, "A Doll's House"
TODAY'S NUMBER: 542 -- length (in feet) of the USS Langley, commissioned on this day in 1922 as the first U.S. Navy aircraft carrier. The USS Gerald R. Ford, a supercarrier expected to be commissioned into the Navy's fleet in 2017, is 1,106 feet long.
TODAY'S MOON: Last quarter moon (March 20).