ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 218th day of 2017 and the 48th day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1787, the "Great Debate" over the future of the U.S. Constitution began at the Constitutional Convention.

In 1926, Gertrude Ederle became the first woman to swim across the English Channel.

In 1945, the U.S. B-29 bomber Enola Gay dropped the "Little Boy" atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan.

In 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act, which outlawed some voting qualifications thought to disenfranchise black voters.

In 2012, NASA's Curiosity rover landed on Mars.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809-1892), poet; Alexander Fleming (1881-1955), biologist/pharmacologist; Lucille Ball (1911-1989), actress/comedian; Robert Mitchum (1917-1997), actor; Andy Warhol (1928-1987), artist/filmmaker; Michelle Yeoh (1962- ), actress; David Robinson (1965- ), basketball player; Mike Greenberg (1967- ), sportscaster; M. Night Shyamalan (1970- ), filmmaker; Vera Farmiga (1973- ), actress; Travie McCoy (1981- ), rapper.

TODAY'S FACT: In 1991, CERN computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee published the first website and webpage, which offered information about the World Wide Web project.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1963, Philadelphia's NBA team changed its name from the Nationals to the 76ers.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "All the windy ways of men / Are but dust that rises up, / And is lightly laid again." -- Alfred, Lord Tennyson, "The Vision of Sin"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 4,862 -- ring count of Prometheus, a bristlecone pine tree cut down for research purposes on this day in 1964 by U.S. Forest Service personnel in eastern Nevada. Scientists believe the tree may have been more than 5,000 years old, making it the oldest non-clonal organism ever discovered.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (July 30) and full moon (Aug. 7).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 217th day of 2017 and the 47th day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1884, the cornerstone for the Statue of Liberty was installed on Bedloe's Island in New York Harbor.

In 1962, Marilyn Monroe was found dead in her Los Angeles home.

In 1981, President Ronald Reagan began to fire 11,359 striking air-traffic controllers for violating his order to return to work.

In 2010, a cave-in at the San Jose Mine near Copiapo, Chile, trapped 33 miners 2,300 feet underground.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893), author/poet; Joseph Merrick aka "The Elephant Man" (1862-1890); John Huston (1906-1987), actor/director; Neil Armstrong (1930-2012), astronaut; Herb Brooks (1937-2003), hockey coach; Loni Anderson (1945- ), actress; David Baldacci (1960- ), novelist; Patrick Ewing (1962- ), basketball player; Adam Yauch (1964-2012), rapper; James Gunn (1970- ), filmmaker; Lolo Jones (1982- ), Olympic athlete.

TODAY'S FACT: Norma Jeane Baker began using the name Marilyn Monroe in 1946, but did not legally change her name until 1956.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1979, Pete Rose of the Phillies hit his 2,427th career single, breaking Honus Wagner's National League record. Rose would finish his career with 3,215 singles, a record that still stands.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Our memory is a more perfect world than the universe: it gives back life to those who no longer exist." -- Guy de Maupassant

TODAY'S NUMBER: 91 -- minutes legendary magician Harry Houdini spent underwater in a sealed coffin before emerging unharmed, on this day in 1926. The event was Houdini's last public escape.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (July 30) and full moon (Aug. 7).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 216th day of 2017 and the 46th day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1914, Germany invaded Belgium, prompting Great Britain to declare war on Germany.

In 1944, the Gestapo arrested diarist Anne Frank and the other inhabitants of the "Secret Annex" in Amsterdam.

In 1977, President Jimmy Carter signed legislation establishing the Department of Energy.

In 1993, two Los Angeles police officers were sentenced to 30 months in prison for violating motorist Rodney King's civil rights.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822), poet; Louis Vuitton (1821-1892), fashion designer; Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother (1900-2002), queen consort of the United Kingdom; Louis Armstrong (1901-1971), musician; Richard Belzer (1944- ), actor; Billy Bob Thornton (1955- ), director/actor; Barack Obama (1961- ), 44th U.S. president; Roger Clemens (1962- ), baseball player; Dennis Lehane (1965- ), author; Daniel Dae Kim (1968- ), actor; Jeff Gordon (1971- ), race car driver; Kurt Busch (1978- ), race car driver.

TODAY'S FACT: "Poor Little Fool" by Ricky Nelson was the No. 1 song on the first Billboard Hot 100 chart, published on this day in 1958.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 2007, 32-year-old Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees became the youngest player ever to hit 500 career home runs.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "In Greek tragedy, they fall from great heights. In noir, they fall from the curb." -- Dennis Lehane

TODAY'S NUMBER: 7 -- Cy Young Awards won by Hall of Fame pitcher Roger Clemens, the most in MLB history.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (July 30) and full moon (Aug. 7).