ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 62nd day of 2018 and the 73rd day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1845, Florida was admitted as the 27th U.S. state.

In 1931, President Herbert Hoover signed a congressional resolution adopting "The Star-Spangled Banner" as the U.S. national anthem.

In 1991, an amateur videographer captured the beating and arrest of construction worker Rodney King by Los Angeles police officers after a high-speed car chase.

In 2005, American millionaire Steve Fossett made the first solo, nonstop, unrefueled flight around the world in a fixed-wing aircraft.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922), inventor; Jean Harlow (1911-1937), actress; James Doohan (1920-2005), actor; James Merrill (1926-1995), poet; Perry Ellis (1940-1986), fashion designer; George Miller (1945- ), filmmaker; Ira Glass (1959- ), radio personality; Jackie Joyner-Kersee (1962- ), athlete; Julie Bowen (1970- ), actress; Jessica Biel (1982- ), actress.

TODAY'S FACT: "The Star-Spangled Banner" is set to the tune of "To Anacreon in Heaven," a piece originally composed around 1775 as the official song of the Anacreontic Society, an English musicians' club.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1920, the Montreal Canadiens set the NHL record for goals in a single game with a 16-3 win over the Quebec Bulldogs.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Great stories happen to those who can tell them." -- Ira Glass

TODAY'S NUMBER: 2.94 -- gallons of wine per capita Americans consume annually.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (March 1) and last quarter moon (March 9).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 61st day of 2018 and the 72nd day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1836, Texas declared its independence from Mexico.

In 1877, the U.S. Congress declared Rutherford B. Hayes the winner of the 1876 presidential election, despite the fact that Samuel J. Tilden had won the popular vote.

In 1917, the Jones-Shafroth Act was enacted, granting U.S. citizenship to the people of Puerto Rico.

In 1969, the Concorde supersonic airliner flew (at subsonic speeds) for the first time.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Sam Houston (1793-1863), soldier/politician; Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel) (1904-1991), author; Mel Ott (1909-1958), baseball player; Desi Arnaz (1917-1986), actor/musician; Mikhail Gorbachev (1931- ), former Soviet leader; Tom Wolfe (1931- ), author/journalist; John Irving (1942- ), author; Jon Bon Jovi (1962- ), singer-songwriter; Daniel Craig (1968- ), actor; Method Man (1971- ), rapper/actor; Chris Martin (1977- ), singer-songwriter; Rebel Wilson (1980- ), actress; Bryce Dallas Howard (1981- ), actress; James Arthur (1988- ), singer-songwriter.

TODAY'S FACT: "King Kong," which opened at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on this day in 1933, was made for about $12.4 million (in today's dollars). The 2005 remake cost $207 million to produce.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1962, Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia Warriors set the NBA single-game scoring record with 100 points in a win over the New York Knicks.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "If you care about something you have to protect it -- If you’re lucky enough to find a way of life you love, you have to find the courage to live it." -- John Irving, "A Prayer for Owen Meany"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 27 -- publishing companies that rejected the manuscript of Dr. Seuss' first book for children, "And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street."

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (March 1) and last quarter moon (March 9).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 60th day of 2018 and the 71st day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1781, the Continental Congress officially adopted the Articles of Confederation.

In 1803, Ohio was admitted as the 17th U.S. state.

In 1867, Nebraska was admitted as the 37th U.S. state.

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy issued an executive order establishing the Peace Corps.

In 2003, Pakistani counterterrorism forces captured al-Qaida operative Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, a principal planner of the 9/11 terror attacks.

In 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that capital punishment for crimes committed before the age of 18 was unconstitutional.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Frederic Chopin (1810-1849), composer; Glenn Miller (1904-1944), bandleader; David Niven (1910-1983), actor; Harry Caray (1914-1998), sportscaster; Ralph Ellison (1914-1994), author; Yitzhak Rabin (1922-1995), Israeli prime minister; Harry Belafonte (1927- ), singer-songwriter/actor; Roger Daltrey (1944- ), singer-songwriter; Ron Howard (1954- ), actor/director; Zack Snyder (1966- ), filmmaker; Javier Bardem (1969- ), actor; Jensen Ackles (1978- ), actor; Kesha (1987- ), singer; Justin Bieber (1994- ), singer.

TODAY'S FACT: The International Criminal Court held its inaugural session in The Hague on this day in 2003.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1969, New York Yankees slugger Mickey Mantle announced his retirement.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "What and how much had I lost by trying to do only what was expected of me instead of what I myself had wished to do?" -- Ralph Ellison, "Invisible Man"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 5,571,036 -- English-language articles on Wikipedia.org, as of mid-February 2018. Wikipedia estimates that without images, its pages would fill 2,591 volumes of the "Encyclopaedia Britannica."

TODAY'S MOON: Full moon (March 1).