ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1816, Indiana was admitted as the 19th U.S. state.

Today is the 345th day of 2019 and the 80th day of autumn.

In 1941, the United States declared war on Germany and Italy, hours after those nations had declared war on the U.S.

In 1972, the lunar module for Apollo 17, the final manned mission of the Apollo space program, touched down on the moon.

In 2008, investment banker Bernie Madoff was arrested for perpetrating one of the largest Ponzi-scheme frauds in U.S. history.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Hector Berlioz (1803-1869), composer; Fiorello La Guardia (1882-1947), New York City mayor; Alexander Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008), novelist/dissident; Rita Moreno (1931- ), actress; John Kerry (1943- ), U.S. secretary of state; Teri Garr (1944- ), actress; Mo'Nique (1967- ), actress; Mos Def (1973- ), actor/rapper; Hailee Steinfeld, (1996- ), actress.

TODAY'S FACT: Apollo 17, which set records for the longest lunar surface exploration and the most lunar material collected, remains the most recent manned lunar mission.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1981, Muhammad Ali fought in his final boxing match, losing a unanimous decision to Trevor Berbick.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "It is not because the truth is too difficult to see that we make mistakes. It may even lie on the surface; but we make mistakes because the easiest and most comfortable course for us is to seek insight where it accords with our emotions -- especially selfish ones." -- Alexander Solzhenitsyn, "Peace and Violence"

TODAY'S NUMBER: $17.3 billion -- total (in principal) lost by clients in Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme. $48 billion more was lost in fictitious profits.

TODAY'S MOON: Full moon (Dec. 11).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 344th day of 2019 and the 79th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1817, Mississippi was admitted as the 20th U.S. state.

In 1869, Wyoming became the first U.S. state or territory to grant women the right to vote.

In 1884, Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" was published.

In 1898, the Spanish-American War officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris.

In 1901, the first Nobel Prizes were awarded.

In 1967, 26-year-old singer-songwriter Otis Redding died in a plane crash near Madison, Wisconsin.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: William Lloyd Garrison (1805-1879), journalist/abolitionist; Cesar Franck (1822-1890), composer; Emily Dickinson (1830-1886), poet; Melvil Dewey (1851-1931), librarian; Dorothy Lamour (1914-1996), actress; Susan Dey (1952- ), actress; Michael Clarke Duncan (1957-2012), actor; Kenneth Branagh (1960- ), actor/director; Bobby Flay (1964- ), celebrity chef; Greg Giraldo (1965-2010), comedian; Meg White (1974- ), drummer; Raven-Symone (1985- ), actress.

TODAY'S FACT: President Theodore Roosevelt was the first American to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, on this day in 1906.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1935, Jay Berwanger of the University of Chicago won the first Downtown Athletic Club Trophy, which was renamed the Heisman Trophy in 1936.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "That it will never come again is what makes life so sweet." -- Emily Dickinson

TODAY'S NUMBER: 4 -- American presidents who have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize: Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (Dec. 3) and full moon (Dec. 11).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 343rd day of 2019 and the 78th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1793, Noah Webster published New York City's first daily newspaper, the American Minerva.

In 1872, Pinkney Benton Stewart Pinchback became the first serving U.S. governor of African American descent when he was named acting governor of Louisiana.

In 1968, engineer Douglas Engelbart demonstrated the first computer system to use hypertext links and a mouse.

In 1979, the World Health Organization certified that smallpox had been eradicated.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Emmett Kelly (1898-1979), clown; Jean de Brunhoff (1899-1937), author; Kirk Douglas (1916- ), actor; Redd Foxx (1922-1991), comedian; Dick Van Patten (1928-2015), actor; Judi Dench (1934- ), actress; Deacon Jones (1938-2013), football player; Beau Bridges (1941- ), actor; Dick Butkus (1942- ), football player; John Malkovich (1953- ), actor; Donny Osmond (1957- ), singer; Felicity Huffman (1962- ), actress; Kurt Angle (1968- ), wrestler/actor; Simon Helberg (1980- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: After Pinkney Benton Stewart Pinchback was appointed acting governor of Louisiana, it would be more than 100 years before the first elected African American governor, Lawrence Douglas Wilder of Virginia, took office, in 1990.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1934, the New York Giants exchanged their cleats for sneakers during the third quarter, then outmaneuvered the Chicago Bears on a frozen field to turn a 13-3 deficit into a 30-13 victory.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Nothing you do particularly matters. But I'm not sure that's a great excuse for doing it poorly." -- John Malkovich

TODAY'S NUMBER: 7 -- number of classic children's books about Babar the elephant written and illustrated by Jean de Brunhoff. He died of tuberculosis at age 37, and his son Laurent continued the series.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (Dec. 3) and full moon (Dec. 11).