ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 31st day of 2018 and the 42nd day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1606, Guy Fawkes was executed for his role in the Gunpowder Plot in Britain.

In 1958, Explorer 1 was launched, marking the first successful launch of an American satellite into orbit.

In 1968, the North Vietnamese Tet Offensive began in South Vietnam.

In 2010, James Cameron's "Avatar" became the first film to reach a worldwide gross of $2 billion.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Franz Schubert (1797-1828), composer; John O'Hara (1905-1970), author; Jackie Robinson (1919-1972), baseball player; Carol Channing (1921- ), actress; Norman Mailer (1923-2007), author/journalist; Ernie Banks (1931-2015), baseball player; Jonathan Banks (1947- ), actor; Nolan Ryan (1947- ), baseball player; Minnie Driver (1970- ), actress; Portia de Rossi (1973- ), actress; Justin Timberlake (1981- ), singer-songwriter.

TODAY'S FACT: The first Social Security check, issued on this day in 1940, was for $22.54 and went to Ida May Fuller, who lived on a Vermont farm. Having worked less than three years under Social Security, she paid only $24.75 into the system, but she had collected $22,888.92 by the time of her death in 1975.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1999, Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway won his second consecutive Super Bowl and the final game of his NFL playing career, leading the Denver Broncos to a 34-19 victory over the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl XXXIII. Elway was also selected as the game's MVP.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "There was that law of life so cruel and so just which demanded that one must grow or else pay more for remaining the same." -- Norman Mailer, "The Deer Park"

TODAY'S NUMBER: $2.8 billion -- total worldwide gross of "Avatar," making it the highest-grossing film of all time.

TODAY'S MOON: Full moon (Jan. 31).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 29th day of 2018 and the 40th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1861, Kansas was admitted as the 34th U.S. state.

In 1891, Queen Liliuokalani inherited the throne from her brother, Kalakaua, becoming the last monarch of the Hawaiian Islands.

In 2002, President George W. Bush described Iran, Iraq and North Korea as part of an "axis of evil" in his State of the Union address.

In 2009, then-Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was convicted on charges of corruption and removed from office.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Thomas Paine (1737-1809), patriot/philosopher; William McKinley (1843-1901), 25th U.S. president; Anton Chekhov (1860-1904), author; W.C. Fields (1880-1946), actor/comedian; Edward Abbey (1927-1989), environmentalist/author; Tom Selleck (1945- ), actor; Oprah Winfrey (1954- ), TV personality; Edward Burns (1968- ), actor/director; Heather Graham (1970- ), actress; Paul Ryan (1970- ), politician; Sara Gilbert (1975- ), actress; Adam Lambert (1982- ), singer.

TODAY'S FACT: Edgar Allan Poe's famous poem "The Raven" was first published in the New York Evening Mirror on this day in 1845. Poe was paid $15.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1995, the San Francisco 49ers defeated the San Diego Chargers 49-26 in Super Bowl XXIX, becoming the first NFL team to win five Super Bowls.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "To argue with a man who has renounced the use and authority of reason, and whose philosophy consists in holding humanity in contempt, is like administering medicine to the dead, or endeavoring to convert an atheist by scripture." -- Thomas Paine, "The American Crisis"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 6 -- record number of Super Bowl wins for a franchise, held by the Pittsburgh Steelers.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (Jan. 24) and full moon (Jan. 31).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 28th day of 2018 and the 39th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1547, King Henry VIII of England died and was succeeded by his 9-year-old son, Edward VI.

In 1871, France surrendered to Germany, ending the Franco-Prussian War.

In 1915, Congress passed legislation creating the modern U.S. Coast Guard.

In 1986, the space shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after liftoff, killing six astronauts and Christa McAuliffe, a teacher who was to become the first civilian in space.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Jose Marti (1853-1895), poet/activist; Charles Williams Nash (1864-1948), entrepreneur; Colette (1873-1954), author; Jackson Pollock (1912-1956), artist; Alan Alda (1936- ), actor; Carlos Slim Helu (1940- ), business magnate; Gregg Popovich (1949- ), basketball coach; Frank Darabont (1959- ), filmmaker; Sarah McLachlan (1968- ), singer-songwriter; Rick Ross (1976- ), rapper; Nick Carter (1980- ), singer-songwriter; Elijah Wood (1981- ), actor; J. Cole (1985- ), rapper; Will Poulter (1993), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: The modern Lego brick was patented on this day in 1958. Lego bricks from that year are compatible with bricks produced today.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1959, Vince Lombardi was named the Green Bay Packers' head coach and general manager.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Men are products, expressions, reflections; they live to the extent that they coincide with their epoch, or to the extent that they differ markedly from it." -- Jose Marti, "Henry Ward Beecher"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 21,000 -- estimated number of genes in the human genome, revised from estimates of as many as 140,000 in 2001.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (Jan. 24) and full moon (Jan. 31).