ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 23rd day of 2018 and the 34th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1845, Congress passed an act designating that all national elections would be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

In 1849, Elizabeth Blackwell graduated from Geneva College in New York, becoming the first woman to earn a medical degree in the United States.

In 1922, insulin was injected into a human patient in Toronto and successfully treated diabetes for the first time.

In 2005, Viktor Yushchenko was sworn in as president of the Ukraine, only four months after becoming seriously ill as a result of dioxin poisoning.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: John Hancock (1737-1793), statesman; Stendhal (1783-1842), author; Edouard Manet (1832-1883), artist; Sergei Eisenstein (1898-1948), director; Ernie Kovacs (1919-1962), comedian; Chita Rivera (1933- ), actress/dancer; Rutger Hauer (1944- ), actor; Princess Caroline of Monaco (1957- ); Mariska Hargitay (1964- ), actress; Tiffani Thiessen (1974- ), actress; Michael Stevens (1986- ), educator/internet personality.

TODAY'S FACT: Chita Rivera was the first Hispanic woman to receive a Kennedy Center Honors Award. She has also received two Tony Awards for her work in musical theater.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1944, the Detroit Red Wings set a record for the most one-sided hockey game by beating the New York Rangers 15-0.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "I see but one rule: to be clear. If I am not clear, all my world crumbles to nothing." -- Stendahl

TODAY'S NUMBER: 10 -- performing acts making up the charter class of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on this day in 1986. The inductees were Little Richard, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Fats Domino, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Jan. 16) and first quarter moon (Jan. 24).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 22nd day of 2018 and the 33rd day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1901, Britain's Queen Victoria died at age 81, after a then-record 63-year reign.

In 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its landmark ruling in the Roe v. Wade case, legalizing elective abortion nationwide.

In 1997, Madeleine Albright was confirmed as the first female U.S. secretary of state.

In 1998, "Unabomber" Ted Kaczynski pleaded guilty in Sacramento, California, and was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Francis Bacon (1561-1626), philosopher/essayist; Lord Byron (1788-1824), poet; August Strindberg (1849-1912), playwright; D.W. Griffith (1875-1948), film director; George Balanchine (1904-1983), choreographer; Sam Cooke (1931-1964), singer-songwriter; Piper Laurie (1932- ), actress; Bill Bixby (1934-1993), actor; John Hurt (1940-2017), actor; Steve Perry (1949- ), singer-songwriter; Linda Blair (1959- ), actress; Diane Lane (1965- ), actress; Guy Fieri (1968- ), TV host.

TODAY'S FACT: The Apple Macintosh computer was unveiled in a Super Bowl ad directed by Ridley Scott on this day in 1984.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 2006, Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers scored 81 points against the Toronto Raptors, the second-most ever scored by a single player in an NBA game.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with doubts he shall end in certainties." -- Francis Bacon, "The Advancement of Learning"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 1,540 -- Boeing 747 jets built (as of November 2017) since the aircraft went into production in 1968. The 747 entered commercial service for Pan American Airways with its maiden flight on this day in 1970.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Jan. 16) and first quarter moon (Jan. 24).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 21st day of 2018 and the 32nd day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1793, King Louis XVI of France was executed by guillotine in Paris.

In 1861, Jefferson Davis resigned from the U.S. Senate to lead the Confederacy during the Civil War.

In 1977, President Jimmy Carter pardoned nearly all Vietnam War draft evaders.

In 2003, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that for the first time, the largest minority group in the United States was Hispanics (who may be of any race).

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Ethan Allen (1738-1789), writer/military leader; Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson (1824-1863), Confederate army general; Christian Dior (1905-1957), fashion designer; Telly Savalas (1922-1994), actor; Wolfman Jack (1938-1995), disc jockey; Jack Nicklaus (1940- ), golfer; Placido Domingo (1941- ), opera singer; Eric Holder (1951- ), attorney general; Paul Allen (1953- ), co-founder of Microsoft; Geena Davis (1956- ), actress; Jam Master Jay (1965-2002), rapper; Ken Leung (1970- ), actor; Cat Power (1972- ), singer-songwriter.

TODAY'S FACT: The guillotine was used for executions in France as recently as 1977. The death penalty was abolished there in 1981.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1979, the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Dallas Cowboys 35-31 in Super Bowl XIII to become the first NFL team to win three Super Bowls.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "It is bad policy to fear the resentment of an enemy." -- Ethan Allen

TODAY'S NUMBER: 9 -- price in shillings (approximately $61 in modern American currency) of William Hill Brown's "The Power of Sympathy: or, The Triumph of Nature," published in Boston on this day in 1789. The work is widely considered to be the first American novel.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Jan. 16) and first quarter moon (Jan. 24).