ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 158th day of 2017 and the 80th day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1776, Richard Henry Lee proposed a resolution calling for a declaration of independence to the Continental Congress.

In 1929, Vatican City became a sovereign state.

In 1942, the Battle of Midway ended in an Allied victory.

In 1971, a U.S. Supreme Court ruling set the precedent that vulgar writing is protected under the First Amendment.

In 2006, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, was killed by a U.S. airstrike.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Paul Gauguin (1848-1903), painter; James Braddock (1905-1974), boxer; Jessica Tandy (1909-1994), actress; Gwendolyn Brooks (1917-2000), poet; Dean Martin (1917-1995), singer/actor; Tom Jones (1940- ), singer; Liam Neeson (1952- ), actor; Orhan Pamuk (1952- ), author; Prince (1958-2016), singer-songwriter/musician; Karl Urban (1972- ), actor; Bear Grylls (1974- ), TV personality; Allen Iverson (1975- ), basketball player; Bill Hader (1978- ), actor/comedian; Anna Kournikova (1981- ), tennis player; Michael Cera (1988- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: Pope Julius II hired the Swiss Guard to serve as his personal protection in 1506. The paid mercenary force has been protecting popes in Vatican City ever since.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1978, the Washington Bullets (now Wizards) won the franchise's first and only NBA championship.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Art hurts. Art urges voyages -— / and it is easier to stay at home." -- Gwendolyn Brooks, "Chicago Picasso"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 800 -- estimated population of Vatican City in 2016.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (June 1) and full moon (June 9).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 157th day of 2017 and the 79th day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1844, the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) was founded in London.

In 1889, a fire destroyed all of downtown Seattle, Washington.

In 1944, 155,000 Allied troops landed at Normandy, France, on D-Day as Operation Overlord, the invasion of Europe, began.

In 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon.

In 2002, President George W. Bush proposed consolidating 22 federal agencies under a single, Cabinet-level Department of Homeland Security.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Diego Velazquez (1599-1660), painter; Nathan Hale (1755-1776), soldier; John Trumbull (1756-1843), painter; Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837), poet; Karl Braun (1850-1918), physicist; Thomas Mann (1875-1955), author; V.C. Andrews (1923-1986), author; Robert Englund (1947- ), actor; Harvey Fierstein (1954- ), actor; Bjorn Borg (1956- ), tennis player; Jason Isaacs (1963- ), actor; Paul Giamatti (1967- ), actor; Natalie Morales (1972- ), TV journalist.

TODAY'S FACT: Basketball, racquetball and volleyball were all invented at YMCA facilities.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1946, the Basketball Association of America, which would later become the National Basketball Association, was founded in New York City.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "War is only a cowardly escape from the problems of peace." -- Thomas Mann

TODAY'S NUMBER: 74 -- seasons Shankweiler's Drive-In, the oldest drive-in movie theater in the United States, has been in operation since opening in Orefield, Pennsylvania, in 1934. The first drive-in movie theater opened in Camden, New Jersey, on this day in 1932.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (June 1) and full moon (June 9).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 156th day of 2017 and the 78th day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1947, Secretary of State George Marshall proposed the Marshall Plan for economic aid to war-torn Europe.

In 1956, Elvis Presley gave his famous hip-shaking performance of "Hound Dog" on "The Milton Berle Show."

In 1968, U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy was fatally shot by Sirhan Sirhan at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles.

In 2004, former President Ronald Reagan died of pneumonia complicated by Alzheimer's disease at age 93.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Adam Smith (1723-1790), economist/philosopher; John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946), economist; Richard Scarry (1919-1994), children's author; Bill Moyers (1934- ), TV journalist/author; Spalding Gray (1941-2004), actor/writer; Robert Kraft (1941- ), businessman; Ken Follett (1949- ), author; Suze Orman (1951- ), financial adviser/author; Kenny G (1956- ), musician; Jeff Garlin (1962- ), actor/comedian; Rick Riordan (1964- ), author; Brian McKnight (1969- ), singer-songwriter; Mark Wahlberg (1971- ), actor; Pete Wentz (1979- ), singer-songwriter/musician.

TODAY'S FACT: The Alzheimer's Association estimates that 5.5 million Americans (5.3 million of whom are age 65 or older) are living with Alzheimer's disease.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1993, Julie Krone rode Colonial Affair to victory in the Belmont Stakes, becoming the first female jockey ever to win a Triple Crown race.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "There is no harm in being sometimes wrong -- especially if one is promptly found out." -- John Maynard Keynes

TODAY'S NUMBER: 20.8 -- approximate percentage of the Israeli population that is Arab.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (June 1) and full moon (June 9).