ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 354th day of 2019 and the 89th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1803, the territory covered by the Louisiana Purchase was formally transferred to the United States from France.

In 1860, South Carolina seceded from the United States.

In 1941, with his army under pressure on the Russian front, Adolf Hitler ordered "no retreat."

In 1946, the Christmas film "It's a Wonderful Life" was released in New York City.

In 1989, the United States invaded Panama to overthrow dictator Manuel Noriega in Operation Just Cause.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Harvey S. Firestone (1868-1938), business magnate; Branch Rickey (1881-1965), baseball executive; Irene Dunne (1898-1990), actress; Uri Geller (1946- ), illusionist; Dick Wolf (1946- ), TV producer; Alan Parsons (1948- ), musician; Billy Bragg (1957- ), singer-songwriter; Rich Gannon (1965- ), football player; David Wright (1982- ), baseball player; Jonah Hill (1983- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: Adolf Hitler was released from Landsberg Prison in the German state of Bavaria on this day in 1924 after 264 days of incarceration for treason.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1946, boxer Sugar Ray Robinson won the welterweight crown by a unanimous decision over Tommy Bell.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Capital isn't that important in business. Experience isn't that important. You can get both of these things. What is important is ideas." -- Harvey S. Firestone

TODAY'S NUMBER: 2.2 million -- acres of land owned by media billionaire John Malone, making him the largest private landowner in the United States.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (Dec. 18) and new moon (Dec. 25).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 353rd day of 2019 and the 88th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1777, the Continental Army under George Washington set up winter quarters in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.

In 1932, the first BBC World Service radio broadcast aired, as "Empire Service."

In 1998, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to impeach President Bill Clinton.

In 2011, North Korea announced that dictator Kim Jong Il had died two days earlier.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Carter G. Woodson (1875-1950), historian; Leonid Brezhnev (1906-1982), Soviet leader; Jean Genet (1910-1986), author; Edith Piaf (1915-1963), singer/actress; Al Kaline (1934- ), baseball player; Richard Leakey (1944- ), paleoanthropologist; Robert Urich (1946-2002), actor; Reggie White (1961-2004), football player; Criss Angel (1967- ), magician; Tyson Beckford (1970- ), model; Alyssa Milano (1972- ), actress; Warren Sapp (1972- ), football player; Jake Gyllenhaal (1980- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: The first American president to be impeached by the House of Representatives was Andrew Johnson in 1868.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1980, Brigham Young University's football team, down 20 points with three minutes to play, staged an improbable comeback to defeat Southern Methodist University in the Holiday Bowl, 46-45.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "If we behave like those on the other side, then we are the other side. Instead of changing the world, all we'll achieve is a reflection of the one we want to destroy." -- Jean Genet, "The Balcony"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 12 -- astronauts in the Apollo program who set foot on the moon's surface. The last manned lunar flight, Apollo 17, returned to Earth on this day in 1972.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (Dec. 18) and new moon (Dec. 25).

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).