ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 100th day of 2017 and the 22nd day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1866, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) was founded in New York City.

In 1925, F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" was published in New York City.

In 1938, a referendum made Nazi Germany's annexation of Austria official.

In 1972, famed comic actor and director Charlie Chaplin received an honorary Oscar at the 44th Annual Academy Awards, after a 12-minute standing ovation.

In 2003, Congress approved the Amber Alert system, which alerts the public to child abductions.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: William Hazlitt (1778-1830), writer; William Booth (1829-1912), Salvation Army founder; Joseph Pulitzer (1847-1911), publisher; Harry Morgan (1915-2011), actor; Max von Sydow (1929- ), actor; Omar Sharif (1932-2015), actor; John Madden (1936- ), football coach/broadcaster; Steven Seagal (1952- ), actor; Babyface (1959- ), singer-songwriter/producer; Mandy Moore (1984- ), actress/singer-songwriter; Haley Joel Osment (1988- ), actor; Daisy Ridley (1992- ), actress.

TODAY'S FACT: According to 2016 estimates from the CIA, residents of the 0.77-square-mile principality of Monaco enjoy the longest life expectancy in the world, at an average of 89.5 years.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1947, the Brooklyn Dodgers announced the purchase of Jackie Robinson's contract from the Montreal Royals, a minor-league club.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Books let us into their souls and lay open to us the secrets of our own." -- William Hazlitt

TODAY'S NUMBER: $147.3 million -- amount raised in the Salvation Army's 2016 Red Kettle Campaign. The fundraising program "provides toys for kids, coats for the homeless, food for the hungry and countless social service programs year-round."

TODAY'S MOON: Full moon (April 10).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 99th day of 2017 and the 21st day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1865, Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House in Virginia, effectively ending the Civil War.

In 1940, Germany launched Operation Weseruebung, invading Norway and Denmark.

In 1959, NASA announced the selection of the first seven astronauts, whom the media dubbed the "Mercury Seven."

In 2003, Iraqis celebrating the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime destroyed a 20-foot statue of Hussein in Baghdad's Firdaus Square.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867), poet; Curly Lambeau (1898-1965), football player/coach; Paul Robeson (1898-1976), athlete/actor/singer; Hugh Hefner (1926- ), publisher; Carl Perkins (1932-1998), singer-songwriter; Peter Gammons (1945- ), sportswriter; Dennis Quaid (1954- ), actor; Joe Scarborough (1963- ), TV personality; Jeffrey Zucker (1965- ), TV executive; Cynthia Nixon (1966- ), actress; Jay Baruchel (1982- ), actor; Leighton Meester (1986- ), actress; Kristen Stewart, (1990- ), actress.

TODAY'S FACT: The "Mercury Seven," selected on this day in 1959, were Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Gus Grissom, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard and Donald Slayton.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1965, the Astrodome in Houston, Texas, hosted the first Major League Baseball game to be played indoors. The Astros defeated the New York Yankees in the exhibition game by a score of 2-1.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "What matters an eternity of damnation to someone who has found in one second the infinity of joy?" -- Charles Baudelaire, "Le spleen de Paris"

TODAY'S NUMBER: $384 million -- estimated cost of the Mercury program (1959-1963), NASA's first human spaceflight project.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (April 3) and full moon (April 10).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 98th day of 2017 and the 20th day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1904, Britain and France signed the Entente Cordiale, a series of agreements that formalized peace between the two countries.

In 1935, Congress approved the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act, establishing the Works Progress Administration (WPA).

In 2005, more than 4 million mourners gathered in Rome for the funeral of Pope John Paul II.

In 2010, President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitri Medvedev signed the New START nuclear arms control treaty.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Harvey Cushing (1869-1939), surgeon; Mary Pickford (1892-1979), actress; Sonja Henie (1912-1969), ice skater; Betty Ford (1918-2011), former first lady; Shecky Greene (1926- ), comedian; Kofi Annan (1938- ), diplomat; Gary Carter (1954-2012), baseball player/sportscaster; Robin Wright (1966- ), actress; Patricia Arquette (1968- ), actress; Katee Sackhoff (1980- ), actress; Felix Hernandez (1986- ), baseball player.

TODAY'S FACT: Dutch physicist Heike Kamerlingh Onnes discovered superconductivity during experiments with mercury wire immersed in liquid helium on this day in 1911.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1975, Frank Robinson of the Cleveland Indians made his debut as Major League Baseball's first African-American manager. Robinson also continued to play for the team, hitting a home run in his first at-bat of the day.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "We can love what we are, without hating what -- and who -- we are not. We can thrive in our own tradition, even as we learn from others, and come to respect their teachings." -- Kofi Annan

TODAY'S NUMBER: 755 -- career home runs for Hank Aaron, second only to Barry Bonds (762) all-time. Aaron hit his 715th career home run on this day in 1974, breaking the record previously held by Babe Ruth.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (April 3) and full moon (April 10).