ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 72nd day of 2018 and the 83rd day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1781, German-born astronomer William Herschel discovered the planet Uranus.

In 1865, the Confederacy approved the use of slave troops against the Union armies.

In 1925, a law prohibiting the teaching of evolution went into effect in Tennessee.

In 1991, the U.S. Justice Dept. announced that Exxon had agreed to pay $1 billion to settle all claims resulting from the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska.

In 2013, Pope Francis was elected 266th pope of the Catholic Church.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Percival Lowell (1855-1916), astronomer; Giorgos Seferis (1900-1971), poet; Walter Annenberg (1908-2002), publisher/philanthropist; Sammy Kaye (1910-1987), bandleader; L. Ron Hubbard (1911-1986), author/Church of Scientology founder; Al Jaffee (1921- ), cartoonist; Neil Sedaka (1939- ), singer-songwriter; William H. Macy (1950- ), actor; Dana Delany (1956- ), actress; Common (1972- ), rapper/actor; Johan Santana (1979- ), baseball player; Emile Hirsch (1985- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: The 27 known moons of Uranus are named after characters from the works of William Shakespeare and Alexander Pope.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1960, the NFL approved the relocation of the Chicago Cardinals franchise to St. Louis.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Don't ask me who's influenced me. A lion is made up of all the lambs he's digested, and I've been reading all my life." -- Giorgos Seferis

TODAY'S NUMBER: 14.5 -- length in miles of the undersea portion of the Seikan Tunnel in Japan, the longest and deepest operational rail tunnel in the world, which opened this day in 1988.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (March 9) and new moon (March 17).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 71st day of 2018 and the 82nd day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1912, the Girl Guides (later renamed the Girl Scouts of the USA) were founded in Savannah, Georgia.

In 1930, Mahatma Gandhi and more than 70 supporters began a 240-mile march protesting the British salt tax.

In 1947, President Harry S. Truman introduced the "Truman Doctrine," a policy that provided military and economic aid to Greece and Turkey to prevent the spread of communism.

In 2002, the U.N. Security Council approved Resolution 1397, endorsing the creation of a Palestinian state.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Elaine de Kooning (1918-1989), artist/critic; Jack Kerouac (1922-1969), author; Edward Albee (1928-2016), playwright; Andrew Young (1932- ) activist/politician; Liza Minnelli (1946- ), actress/singer; Mitt Romney (1947- ), politician; James Taylor (1948- ), singer-songwriter; Carl Hiaasen (1953- ), author; Darryl Strawberry (1962- ), baseball player; Aaron Eckhart (1968- ), actor; Jaimie Alexander (1984- ), actress; Christina Grimmie (1994-2016), singer-songwriter.

TODAY'S FACT: Former President Harry S. Truman was the holder of Medicare card No. 1, which President Lyndon Johnson symbolically presented to Truman on the passing of Medicare legislation in 1965.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1966, Bobby Hull scored his 51st goal, becoming the first NHL player to tally more than 50 goals in a season and leading his Chicago Blackhawks to a 4-2 victory over the New York Rangers.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "A play is fiction -- and fiction is fact distilled into truth." -- Edward Albee

TODAY'S NUMBER: $18 billion -- losses suffered by investors in the massive Ponzi scheme perpetuated by stockbroker Bernie Madoff, who pleaded guilty to 11 federal felonies on this day in 2009.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (March 9) and new moon (March 17).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 69th day of 2018 and the 80th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1864, President Abraham Lincoln signed Ulysses S. Grant's commission to command the U.S. Army.

In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell spoke the first intelligible words transmitted over a telephone: "Mr. Watson -- come here -- I want to see you."

In 1969, James Earl Ray pleaded guilty to assassinating Martin Luther King Jr.

In 1971, the U.S. Senate passed the 26th Amendment, which would lower the minimum voting age to 18.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Pablo de Sarasate (1844-1908), violinist/composer; Clare Boothe Luce (1903-1987), playwright/politician; Chuck Norris (1940- ), actor; Jim Valvano (1946-1993), basketball coach; Sharon Stone (1958- ), actress; Rick Rubin (1963- ), record producer; Jon Hamm (1971- ), actor; Matt Kenseth (1972- ), race car driver; Timbaland (1972- ), rapper/producer; Robin Thicke (1977- ), singer-songwriter; Carrie Underwood (1983- ), singer-songwriter/actress; Olivia Wilde (1984- ), actress.

TODAY'S FACT: From 1875 through 1893, the Bell Telephone Company faced 587 unsuccessful court challenges to its patents, including five decided by the Supreme Court.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1995, retired basketball superstar Michael Jordan announced his retirement from baseball after a single season in the minor leagues. Jordan played his first comeback game with the NBA's Chicago Bulls eight days later.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give: He believed in me." -- Jim Valvano

TODAY'S NUMBER: 136.6 million -- Americans who voted in the 2016 presidential election.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (March 9) and new moon (March 17).