ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 206th day of 2018 and the 35th day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1952, Puerto Rico became a self-governing U.S. commonwealth.

In 1978, Louise Joy Brown, the first baby to be conceived via in vitro fertilization, was born in Greater Manchester, England.

In 2005, two major unions, the Teamsters and the Service Employees International Union, withdrew from the AFL-CIO.

In 2010, the website WikiLeaks released the "Afghan War Diary," containing more than 75,000 secret documents from the United States' war in Afghanistan.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Henry Knox (1750-1806), first U.S. secretary of war; Maxfield Parrish (1870-1966), painter/illustrator; Eric Hoffer (1902-1983), philosopher; Rosalind Franklin (1920-1958), biophysicist; Estelle Getty (1923-2008), actress; Walter Payton (1954-1999), football player; Iman (1955- ), model/actress; Thurston Moore (1958- ), musician; Matt LeBlanc (1967- ), actor; Lauren Faust (1974- ), animator.

TODAY'S FACT: The Viking Orbiter 1 spacecraft, while searching for potential landing sites for the Viking 2 Lander, snapped the famous "Face on Mars" photo of the planet's surface on this day in 1976.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1976, American Edwin Moses ran in his first international track and field event at the Montreal Olympics -- the 400m hurdles -- and won a gold medal, with a record-setting time of 47.64 seconds.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "A man is likely to mind his own business when it is worth minding. When it is not, he takes his mind off his own meaningless affairs by minding other people's business." -- Eric Hoffer

TODAY'S NUMBER: 3.4 million -- approximate combined membership of the Teamsters and the Service Employees International unions in 2017.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (July 19) and full moon (July 27).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 205th day of 2018 and the 34th day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1847, Brigham Young and the first Mormon pioneers arrived at Utah's Salt Lake Valley.

In 1866, Tennessee became the first Confederate state to be re-admitted to the Union following the Civil War.

In 1959, the "Kitchen Debate" between Vice President Richard Nixon and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev took place in Moscow.

In 1998, a lone gunman opened fire in the U.S. Capitol building, killing two police officers.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Simon Bolivar (1783-1830), South American liberator; Alexandre Dumas, pere (1802-1870), playwright/novelist; Amelia Earhart (1897-1937), aviator; Pat Oliphant (1935- ), cartoonist; Gallagher (1946- ), comedian; Michael Richards (1949- ), actor/comedian; Gus Van Sant (1952- ), filmmaker; Karl Malone (1963- ), basketball player; Barry Bonds (1964- ), baseball player; Jennifer Lopez (1969- ), actress/singer; Elisabeth Moss (1982- ), actress; Anna Paquin (1982- ), actress.

TODAY'S FACT: In 1911, American historian Hiram Bingham rediscovered the ancient Incan city of Machu Picchu, which had been largely forgotten by those outside the immediate area in Peru.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1983, umpires at Yankee Stadium in New York nullified a two-run home run in the ninth inning by George Brett of the Kansas City Royals, due to excessive pine tar on Brett's bat. The ruling was later overturned, and the Royals won the restarted game 5-4 on Aug. 18.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Until the day when God shall deign to reveal the future to man, all human wisdom is summed up in these two words: Wait and hope." -- Alexandre Dumas, "The Count of Monte Cristo"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 16.1 million -- reported worldwide membership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (aka Mormons) in 2017.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (July 19) and full moon (July 27).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 204th day of 2018 and the 33rd day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1962, the Telstar 1 satellite transmitted the first live, trans-Atlantic TV broadcast, featuring CBS news anchor Walter Cronkite.

In 1967, the 12th Street Riots began in Detroit, ending five days later and resulting in 43 people dead, hundreds injured and more than 1,400 buildings burned to the ground.

In 1999, with the launch of Columbia, Eileen Collins became the first woman to command a U.S. space shuttle flight.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAY: Emil Jannings (1884-1950), actor; Raymond Chandler (1888-1959), author; Anthony M. Kennedy (1936- ), Supreme Court justice; Don Imus (1940- ), radio personality; Woody Harrelson (1961- ), actor; Slash (1965- ), guitarist/songwriter; Philip Seymour Hoffman (1967-2014), actor; Alison Krauss (1971- ), musician/singer-songwriter; Marlon Wayans (1972- ), actor; Daniel Radcliffe (1989- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: Comet Hale-Bopp, discovered on this day in 1995, was visible to the naked eye for a record 18 months, from May 1996 to December 1997. The previous record holder, the Great Comet of 1811, was visible for about nine months.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1996, injured American gymnast Kerri Strug scored a 9.7 on the vault as the U.S. won its first-ever Olympic gold medal in the women's team gymnastics competition.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Everything a writer learns about the art or craft of fiction takes just a little away from his need or desire to write at all. In the end he knows all of the tricks and has nothing to say." -- Raymond Chandler

TODAY'S NUMBER: 1,400 -- the distance from Earth (in light years) of Kepler-452b, a potentially Earthlike exoplanet orbiting within the habitable zone of a star in the constellation Cygnus. NASA announced its discovery on this day in 2015.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (July 19) and full moon (July 27).