ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 259th day of 2018 and the 88th day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1920, the explosion of a bomb on Wall Street killed more than 30 people and injured hundreds of others.

In 1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Selective Training and Service Act, authorizing the military draft.

In 1974, President Gerald Ford announced a conditional amnesty program for Vietnam War deserters and draft evaders.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Jean Arp (1886-1966), artist; H.A. Rey (1898-1977), children's author/illustrator; Lauren Bacall (1924-2014), actress; B.B. King (1925-2015), musician; Peter Falk (1927-2011), actor; Ed Begley Jr. (1949- ), actor; Henry Louis Gates Jr. (1950- ), author/academic; Mickey Rourke (1952- ), actor; David Copperfield (1956- ), magician; Marc Anthony (1968- ), singer-songwriter; Amy Poehler (1971- ), actress; Alexis Bledel (1981- ), actress; Nick Jonas (1992- ), singer/musician.

TODAY'S FACT: German-born Jewish authors Margret and H.A. Rey fled Paris by bicycle in June 1940, the manuscript for what would become "Curious George" in tow, just before the city fell to Nazi Germany.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1981, Sugar Ray Leonard unified boxing's welterweight title by knocking out Tommy Hearns in the 14th round of a bout in an outdoor arena at the Caesar's Palace casino in Las Vegas.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Since the time of the cavemen, man has glorified himself, has made himself divine, and his monstrous vanity has caused human catastrophe." -- Jean Arp

TODAY'S NUMBER: 342 -- one-night stand gigs performed by blues legend B.B. King and his band in 1956.

TODAY'S MOON: First quarter moon (Sept. 16).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 258th day of 2018 and the 87th day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1935, the Nuremberg Laws were enacted in Germany, depriving German Jews of their citizenship and imposing the swastika as a national symbol.

In 1963, a bomb exploded at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, killing four young girls.

In 2001, President George W. Bush named Osama bin Laden as the prime suspect in the Sept. 11 attacks and pledged a sustained fight against terrorism.

In 2008, the global financial services firm Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851), author/historian; William Howard Taft (1857-1930), 27th U.S. president/chief justice of the United States; Agatha Christie (1890-1976), author; Roy Acuff (1903-1992), musician; Fay Wray (1907-2004), actress; Merlin Olsen (1940-2010), football player/actor; Tommy Lee Jones (1946- ), actor; Oliver Stone (1946- ), filmmaker; Dan Marino (1961- ), football player; Tom Hardy (1977- ), actor; Prince Harry (1984- ), British royal.

TODAY'S FACT: No president has sported facial hair since Howard Taft left office in 1913.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 2004, National Hockey League Commissioner Gary Bettman announced the decision to lock out players over contract disputes. The season was eventually canceled.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "It is probable a true history of human events would show that a far larger proportion of our acts are the results of sudden impulses and accident, than of that reason of which we so much boast." -- James Fenimore Cooper, "The Pilot: A Tale of the Sea"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 2 -- top speed (in miles per hour) of the Mark I, the first tank used in battle, deployed for the first time by the British during the Battle of the Somme on this day in 1916.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Sept. 9) and first quarter moon (Sept. 16).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 257th day of 2018 and the 86th day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1812, the Fire of Moscow broke out as Russian troops left the city and the French Grande Armee entered.

In 1814, Francis Scott Key wrote "Defence of Fort McHenry," the poem that provided the lyrics for "The Star-Spangled Banner."

In 1901, President William McKinley died of wounds received on Sept. 6 from an assassin's bullet, and Vice President Theodore Roosevelt was sworn in as his successor.

In 1994, Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig announced the cancellation of the remainder of the season after a 34-day player strike.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Clayton Moore (1914-1999), actor; Mario Benedetti (1920-2009), journalist/author; Zoe Caldwell (1933- ), actress; Walter Koenig (1936- ), actor/director/producer; Larry Brown (1940- ), basketball coach; Sam Neill (1947- ), actor; Melissa Leo (1960- ), actress; Faith Ford (1964- ), actress; Andrew Lincoln (1973- ), actor; Nas (1973- ), rapper; Katie Lee (1981- ), chef/TV personality; Amy Winehouse (1983-2011), singer; Deshaun Watson (1995- ), football player.

TODAY'S FACT: Elizabeth Ann Seton became the first American-born Catholic saint when she was canonized by Pope Paul VI on this day in 1975.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1987, the Toronto Blue Jays hit a major-league record 10 home runs in a single game.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "The problem is not that you are left and they are right. The problem is that you are both part of a weak, fickle, superficial generation, used only to repeat sentences made, unable to think with your own head." -- Mario Benedetti

TODAY'S NUMBER: 15 -- member states of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), including six in the Middle East, seven in Africa and two in South America. OPEC was founded on this day in 1960.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Sept. 9) and first quarter moon (Sept. 16).