ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 173rd day of 2017 and the third day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1815, French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte abdicated his throne for the second time.

In 1870, Congress created the U.S. Department of Justice.

In 1942, Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance as part of the U.S. Flag Code.

In 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed into law the GI Bill, providing benefits to veterans.

In 1945, the Battle for Okinawa ended in an Allied victory after 83 days of fighting.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Anne Morrow Lindbergh (1906-2001), aviator/author; Billy Wilder (1906-2002), director; Bill Blass (1922-2002), fashion designer; Kris Kristofferson (1936- ), singer/actor; Ed Bradley (1941-2006), journalist; Meryl Streep (1949- ), actress; Bruce Campbell (1958- ), actor; Randy Couture (1963- ), mixed martial artist/actor; Amy Brenneman (1964- ), actress; Dan Brown (1964- ), author; Kurt Warner (1971- ), football player; Carson Daly (1973- ), TV personality; Dustin Johnson (1984- ), golfer.

TODAY'S FACT: The Pledge of Allegiance was first published in the September 1892 issue of The Youth's Companion magazine, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus' arrival in the Americas.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1937, Joe Louis knocked out Jim Braddock in the eighth round, becoming the first African-American heavyweight boxing champion since Jack Johnson in 1915.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Him that I love, I wish to be / Free -- / Even from me." -- Anne Morrow Lindbergh, "Even--"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 49 -- percentage of U.S. college students who were war veterans in 1947, marking the peak year of the GI Bill education program.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (June 17) and new moon (June 23).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 172nd day of 2017 and the second day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1788, New Hampshire ratified the U.S. Constitution and became the ninth state.

In 1898, U.S. troops captured the island of Guam.

In 1982, John Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity for his attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan.

In 1989, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that burning the American flag was a form of political protest protected by the First Amendment.

In 2004, SpaceShipOne, piloted by Mike Melvill, became the first privately sponsored craft to carry a human into space.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Al Hirschfeld (1903-2003), cartoonist; Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980), philosopher; Mary McCarthy (1912-1989), writer; Jane Russell (1921-2011), actress; Ray Davies (1944- ), guitarist/songwriter; Tony Scott (1944-2012), filmmaker; Benazir Bhutto (1953-2007), Pakistani politician; Berkeley Breathed (1957- ), cartoonist; Kevin Harlan (1960- ), sportscaster; Juliette Lewis (1973- ), actress; Chris Pratt (1979- ), actor; Prince William (1982- ), Duke of Cambridge.

TODAY'S FACT: James Buchanan was the only U.S. president who never married.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1997, the first Women's National Basketball Association game kicked off the league's debut season.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Fascism is not defined by the number of its victims, but by the way it kills them." -- Jean-Paul Sartre

TODAY'S NUMBER: 142,000 -- population of New Hampshire in 1790, following ratification of the U.S. Constitution.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (June 17) and new moon (June 23).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 171st day of 2017 and the first day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1863, West Virginia was admitted as the 35th U.S. state.

In 1893, Lizzie Borden was acquitted of the murders of her father and stepmother.

In 1900, the Boxer Rebellion began in China, as the Imperial Chinese Army began a 55-day siege of the Legation Quarter in Beijing.

In 1963, the Soviet Union and the United States established the Moscow-Washington hotline.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Lillian Hellman (1905-1984), playwright; Errol Flynn (1909-1959), actor; Chet Atkins (1924-2001), singer-songwriter; Audie Murphy (1924-1971), war hero/actor; Martin Landau (1928- ), actor; Brian Wilson (1942- ), musician/singer-songwriter; Anne Murray (1945- ), singer; Bob Vila (1946- ), handyman/TV personality; Lionel Richie (1949- ), singer-songwriter; John Goodman (1952- ), actor; Nicole Kidman (1967- ), actress; Robert Rodriguez (1968- ), filmmaker; Christopher Mintz-Plasse (1989- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: Western Argentina is home to Aconcagua Mountain, the highest peak in either the Western or Southern Hemisphere, with an altitude of 22,834 feet.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1967, boxer Muhammad Ali was convicted of violating Selective Service laws by refusing to be inducted. The Supreme Court overturned Ali's conviction in 1971.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "It's a sad day when you find out that it's not accident or time or fortune, but just yourself that kept things from you." -- Lillian Hellman

TODAY'S NUMBER: 1 -- Grammy Award win for the Beach Boys. The group, which formed in 1961 and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, won the Best Historical Album award in 2013 for its "The Smile Sessions" boxed set.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (June 17) and new moon (June 23).