ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 352nd day of 2019 and the 87th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1865, slavery formally ended in the United States with the ratification of the 13th Amendment.

In 1892, Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker" premiered in St. Petersburg, Russia.

In 1957, the first civilian electricity-generating nuclear facility in America opened in Pennsylvania.

In 1958, a U.S. rocket launched SCORE (Signal Communication by Orbiting Relay Equipment), the world's first communications satellite, into space.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: H.H. Munro aka Saki (1870-1916), author; Ty Cobb (1886-1961), baseball player; Robert Moses (1888-1981), urban planner; Betty Grable (1916-1973), actress; Ossie Davis (1917-2005), actor; Keith Richards (1943- ), musician; Steven Spielberg (1946- ), director; Ray Liotta (1954- ), actor; Brad Pitt (1963- ), actor; Steve Austin (1964- ), wrestler/actor; DMX (1970- ), rapper/actor; Katie Holmes (1978- ), actress; Christina Aguilera (1980- ), singer; Billie Eilish (2001- ), singer-songwriter.

TODAY'S FACT: The SCORE satellite launched in 1958 used a tape recorder to save and relay voice messages. It communicated a Christmas message from President Dwight D. Eisenhower to the world via shortwave frequency on Dec. 19.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1932, a blizzard forced the National Football League to hold its championship game inside Chicago Stadium on an 80-yard field. The Chicago Bears defeated the Portsmouth Spartans, 9-0.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "I'm living so far beyond my income that we may almost be said to be living apart." -- Saki, "The Unbearable Bassington"

TODAY'S NUMBER: $10.5 billion -- lifetime domestic box office gross (adjusted for inflation) of Steven Spielberg’s feature films, making him the highest-grossing director of all time.

TODAY'S MOON: Last quarter moon (Dec. 18).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 351st day of 2019 and the 86th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1903, Orville Wright made the first controlled, sustained flight in a power-driven airplane.

In 1989, the first episode of "The Simpsons" aired.

In 1992, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was signed by the leaders of the United States, Canada and Mexico.

In 2010, street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire in protest of government mistreatment in Tunisia, becoming a catalyst for Arab Spring protests in the region.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892), poet; Ford Madox Ford (1873-1939), novelist; William Safire (1929-2009), columnist; Eugene Levy (1946- ), actor/comedian; Wes Studi (1947- ), actor; Bill Pullman (1953- ), actor; Peter Farrelly (1956- ), filmmaker; Rian Johnson (1973- ), filmmaker; Paula Radcliffe (1973- ), long-distance runner; Sarah Paulson (1974- ), actress; Giovanni Ribisi (1974- ), actor; Milla Jovovich (1975- ), actress; Manny Pacquiao (1978- ), boxer; Chase Utley (1978- ), baseball player.

TODAY'S FACT: An attempt to re-create the Wright brothers' inaugural flight on North Carolina's Outer Banks failed to take off in 2003, on the first flight's 100-year anniversary.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1933, the Chicago Bears defeated the New York Giants 23-21 to win the first NFL Championship game.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "On the two-way street of communication, a happy symbiosis is achieved when a writer tosses up an offbeat usage or a puzzling word and the working reader figures it out and savors it." -- William Safire, "Let a Simile Be Your Umbrella"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 34 -- Emmy Awards won by "The Simpsons" as of 2019.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (Dec. 11) and last quarter moon (Dec. 18).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 350th day of 2019 and the 85th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1773, Tea Act protesters dumped hundreds of crates of tea into Boston harbor, an act that came to be known as the "Boston Tea Party."

In 1835, a huge fire destroyed nearly 700 buildings in New York City.

In 1944, German forces began a 90-minute artillery barrage against the Allied front, signaling the onset of the Battle of the Bulge.

In 2000, President George W. Bush selected Colin Powell as the first African American secretary of state.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Jane Austen (1775-1817), author; Noel Coward (1899-1973), playwright; Margaret Mead (1901-1978), anthropologist; Arthur C. Clarke (1917-2008), writer; Philip K. Dick (1928-1982), author; Lesley Stahl (1941- ), journalist; Steven Bochco (1943-2018), screenwriter/producer; Shane Black (1961- ), actor/screenwriter/director; William "The Refrigerator" Perry (1962- ), football player; Benjamin Bratt (1963- ), actor; Krysten Ritter (1981- ), actress; Theo James (1984- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: Margaret Mead was named "Mother of the World" by Time magazine in 1969.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1973, Buffalo Bills running back O.J. Simpson became the first player in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards in a season.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "It is not easy to see how the more extreme forms of nationalism can long survive when men have seen the Earth in its true perspective as a single small globe against the stars." -- Arthur C. Clarke, "The Exploration of Space"

TODAY'S NUMBER: $2.8 billion -- worldwide box-office gross of James Cameron's "Avatar," which began its wide international release on this day in 2009. It is second only to "Avengers: Endgame" on the list of highest-grossing films of all time (not adjusted for inflation).

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (Dec. 11) and last quarter moon (Dec. 18).