ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

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).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 78th day of 2017 and the 89th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1918, the U.S. Congress established time zones and approved daylight saving time.

In 1931, the Nevada state legislature voted to legalize gambling.

In 1953, the 25th Academy Awards were featured in the first Oscars telecast.

In 2003, President George W. Bush announced the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: David Livingstone (1813-1873), physician/explorer; Wyatt Earp (1848-1929), lawman/gunfighter; William Jennings Bryan (1860-1925), politician; Earl Warren (1891-1974), chief justice of the United States; Philip Roth (1933- ), author; Glenn Close (1947- ), actress; Harvey Weinstein (1952- ), film producer; Bruce Willis (1955- ), actor; Andy Reid (1958- ), football coach; Clayton Kershaw (1988- ), baseball player.

TODAY'S FACT: The Best Actress category of the 85th Academy Awards (held on Feb. 24, 2013) featured both the oldest and the youngest female nominees for a lead acting Oscar. Emmanuelle Riva ("Amour") was age 86 and Quvenzhane Wallis ("Beasts of the Southern Wild") was age 9.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1995, NBA superstar Michael Jordan scored 19 points against the Indiana Pacers in his first game back with the Chicago Bulls after almost two years of retirement.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Obviously the facts are never just coming at you but are incorporated by an imagination that is formed by your previous experience. Memories of the past are not memories of facts but memories of your imaginings of the facts." -- Philip Roth

TODAY'S NUMBER: $6.4 billion -- total gaming revenue for the Las Vegas Strip in 2016.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (March 12) and last quarter moon (March 20).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 77th day of 2017 and the 88th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1850, the American Express Company was founded.

In 1852, Henry Wells, William G. Fargo and a group of investors founded Wells, Fargo and Co.

In 1965, Russian cosmonaut Alexei Leonov made the first spacewalk.

In 1974, members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) ended a five-month oil embargo against the United States, Europe and Japan.

In 1990, two men stole 13 pieces valued at $300 million from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Grover Cleveland (1837-1908), 22nd and 24th U.S. president; Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908), composer; Peter Graves (1926-2010), actor; George Plimpton (1927-2003), author/actor; John Updike (1932-2009), author/critic; Charley Pride (1938- ), singer-songwriter; Bonnie Blair (1964- ), Olympic speed-skater; Queen Latifah (1970- ), actress/singer; Dane Cook (1972- ), comedian/actor; Adam Levine (1979- ), singer-songwriter/TV personality.

TODAY'S FACT: Among the 13 works stolen in Boston's Gardner Museum art theft in 1990 was "The Concert," a painting by Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer. It is considered the most valuable unrecovered stolen painting in the world, with an estimated value of $200 million.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1991, the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers retired Wilt Chamberlain's No. 13 jersey.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Writers may be disreputable, incorrigible, early to decay or late to bloom but they dare to go it alone." -- John Updike

TODAY'S NUMBER: 3 -- number of NATO member countries that possess nuclear weapons: the United States, France and the United Kingdom.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (March 12) and last quarter moon (March 20).