ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 168th day of 2019 and the 90th day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1963, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that requiring the recitation of Bible verses and the Lord's Prayer in public schools is unconstitutional.

In 1967, the People's Republic of China carried out its first successful test of a thermonuclear bomb.

In 1972, five people were arrested for breaking into the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C.

In 1994, a televised police chase ended in the arrest of O.J. Simpson for the murders of his ex-wife and her friend.

In 2015, a gunman killed nine people at a church in Charleston, South Carolina.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971), composer; M.C. Escher (1898-1972), artist; Ralph Bellamy (1904-1991), actor; Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch (1923-2004), football player; Newt Gingrich (1943- ), U.S. politician; Barry Manilow (1943- ), singer-songwriter; Thomas Haden Church (1960- ), actor; Greg Kinnear (1963- ), actor; Will Forte (1970- ), actor; Venus Williams (1980- ), tennis player; Kendrick Lamar (1987- ), rapper.

TODAY'S FACT: "In God We Trust" became the official U.S. national motto after an act of Congress in 1956.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1962, 22-year-old Jack Nicklaus beat Arnold Palmer by three strokes and became the youngest golfer to win the U.S. Open since 1923.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "As far as I know, there is no proof whatever of the existence of an objective reality apart from our senses, and I do not see why we should accept the outside world as such solely by virtue of our senses." -- M.C. Escher

TODAY'S NUMBER: 4 -- months it took to reassemble the Statue of Liberty before its dedication in October 1886. It was shipped to the United States in 350 pieces and arrived in New York City on this day in 1885 from France.

TODAY'S MOON: Full moon (June 17).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 167th day of 2019 and the 89th day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1884, the first U.S. roller coaster began operation at Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York.

In 1903, the Ford Motor Co. was incorporated.

In 1963, cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space.

In 2000, the FCC approved the merger of Bell Atlantic Corp. and GTE Corp. as Verizon Communications.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Stan Laurel (1890-1965), actor/comedian; Barbara McClintock (1902-1992), geneticist; John Howard Griffin (1920-1980), journalist; Joyce Carol Oates (1938- ), author; Roberto Duran (1951- ), boxer; Laurie Metcalf (1955- ), actress; James Hellwig aka The Ultimate Warrior (1959-2014), wrestler; Cobi Jones (1970- ), soccer player; Phil Mickelson (1970- ), golfer; Tupac Shakur (1971-1996), rapper; Abby Elliott (1987- ), actress/comedian.

TODAY'S FACT: The Formula Rossa roller coaster at Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, overtook the Kingda Ka roller coaster at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey, as the fastest coaster in the world in 2010, reaching a maximum speed of 149.1 mph.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1998, the Detroit Red Wings defeated the Washington Capitals 4-1, winning the Stanley Cup and sweeping the championship series for the second consecutive year.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Reading is the sole means by which we slip, involuntarily, often helplessly, into another's skin, another's voice, another's soul." -- Joyce Carol Oates

TODAY'S NUMBER: 31 -- years of the papacy of Pius IX, the longest-reigning elected pope in the history of the Catholic Church. Pius IX began his reign on this day in 1846.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (June 9) and full moon (June 17).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 166th day of 2019 and the 88th day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1836, Arkansas was admitted as the 25th U.S. state.

In 1846, Britain and the United States settled the boundary dispute between the U.S. and Canada in the Pacific Northwest.

In 1877, Henry Ossian Flipper became the first African American cadet to graduate from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York.

In 1864, Arlington National Cemetery was established.

In 1994, Israel and the Vatican established formal diplomatic relations.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Edvard Grieg (1843-1907), composer/pianist; Mario Cuomo (1932-2015), politician; Waylon Jennings (1937-2002), singer-songwriter; Mike Holmgren (1948- ), football coach/executive; Jim Belushi (1954- ), actor; Helen Hunt (1963- ), actress; Courteney Cox (1964- ), actress; Ice Cube (1969- ), rapper/actor; Leah Remini (1970- ), actress; Andy Pettitte (1972- ), baseball player; Neil Patrick Harris (1973- ), actor; Tim Lincecum (1984- ), baseball player.

TODAY'S FACT: Excluding 1,538 miles in Alaska, the U.S.-Canada border is 3,987 miles long.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1928, baseball great Ty Cobb stole home plate for his 54th and last time, establishing a major league record that still stands.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "I talk and talk and talk, and I haven’t taught people in 50 years what my father taught by example in one week." -- Mario Cuomo

TODAY'S NUMBER: 2 -- U.S. presidents buried at Arlington National Cemetery (William Howard Taft and John F. Kennedy).

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (June 9) and full moon (June 17).