ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 315th day of 2017 and the 51st day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1620, religious pilgrims aboard the Mayflower signed the Mayflower Compact.

In 1889, Washington was admitted as the 42nd U.S. state.

In 1918, the Allies and Germany signed an armistice that ended the fighting in World War I.

In 1992, the Church of England and the Anglican Church voted to allow women to become priests.

In 2004, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat died in Paris.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: James Renwick Jr. (1818-1895), architect; Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821-1881), author; George Patton (1885-1945), U.S. general; Brother Theodore (1906-2001), comedian; Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (1922-2007), author; Jonathan Winters (1925-2013), actor/comedian; Stanley Tucci (1960- ), actor; Demi Moore (1962- ), actress; Calista Flockhart (1964- ), actress; Leonardo DiCaprio (1974- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: The Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, dedicated on this day in 1921, has been guarded 24 hours a day, seven days a week, by soldiers from the U.S. Army's 3rd Infantry Regiment since midnight on July 2, 1937.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1981, Fernando Valenzuela of the Los Angeles Dodgers became the first Major League Baseball player to win Rookie of the Year and the Cy Young Award in the same year.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Taking a new step, uttering a new word, is what people fear most." -- Fyodor Dostoyevsky, "Crime and Punishment"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 41 -- pilgrims who signed the Mayflower Compact.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (Nov. 10) and new moon (Nov. 18).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 314th day of 2017 and the 50th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1775, the Continental Congress created the U.S. Marine Corps.

In 1954, the USMC War Memorial (Iwo Jima memorial) was dedicated at Arlington National Cemetary.

In 1969, "Sesame Street" premiered on PBS.

In 1977, a human was conceived through in-vitro fertilization for the first time.

In 2001, China was approved for membership in the World Trade Organization.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Martin Luther (1483-1546), leader of the Protestant Reformation; William Hogarth (1697-1764), painter/engraver; Claude Rains (1889-1967), actor; Richard Burton (1925-1984), actor; Ennio Morricone (1928- ), composer; Tim Rice (1944- ), lyricist; Les Miles (1953- ), football coach; Neil Gaiman (1960- ), author; Tracy Morgan (1968- ), actor/comedian; Ellen Pompeo (1969- ), actress; Walton Goggins (1971- ), actor; Brittany Murphy (1977-2009), actress; Miranda Lambert (1983- ), singer; Taron Egerton (1989- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: In 2016, the U.S.-China trade deficit was $347 billion, down 5.5 percent from the 2015 deficit of $367.3 billion.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1990, the NBA's Phoenix Suns scored a record 107 first-half points in their 173-143 win over the Denver Nuggets, just three days after the Nuggets had set the record with 90 first-half points against the San Antonio Spurs.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "The world always seems brighter when you've just made something that wasn't there before." -- Neil Gaiman

TODAY'S NUMBER: 1 -- China's rank in the World Trade Organization's 2016 list of the leading exporters in world merchandise trade, with a 13.2 percent share. The United States was No. 2, with 9.1 percent.

TODAY'S MOON: Last quarter moon (Nov. 10).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 313th day of 2017 and the 49th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1906, Theodore Roosevelt visited the Panama Canal, becoming the first sitting president to make an official trip outside of the United States.

In 1938, the Nazis launched a national pogrom, later dubbed "Kristallnacht," against Jewish people in Germany and Austria.

In 1965, a massive blackout left much of the northeastern United States and Ontario, Canada, without power.

In 1989, the wall separating West Berlin from East Berlin and the rest of East Germany was opened.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Benjamin Banneker (1731-1806), astronomer; Elijah P. Lovejoy (1802-1837), abolitionist; Hedy Lamarr (1914-2000), actress; Spiro Agnew (1918-1996), U.S. vice president; Anne Sexton (1928-1974), poet; Carl Sagan (1934-1996), astronomer/writer; Bob Gibson (1935- ), baseball player; Chris Jericho (1970- ), professional wrestler/actor; Susan Tedeschi (1970- ), singer-songwriter; Eric Dane (1972- ), actor; Nick Lachey (1973- ), singer-songwriter.

TODAY'S FACT: The 1965 power grid blackout left an area of 80,000 square miles, and at least 30 million people, without power.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1961, the Professional Golfers Association of America eliminated its rule limiting membership to Caucasians.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Every kid starts out as a natural-born scientist, and then we beat it out of them. A few trickle through the system with their wonder and enthusiasm for science intact." -- Carl Sagan

TODAY'S NUMBER: 31 -- Rolling Stone magazine cover appearances (as of late October 2016) by the Beatles' John Lennon. The first issue of the iconic magazine was released on this day in 1967, with Lennon on the cover.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (Nov. 3) and last quarter moon (Nov. 10).