ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 174th day of 2020 and the third day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1815, French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte abdicated his throne for the second time.

In 1870, Congress created the U.S. Department of Justice.

In 1942, Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance as part of the U.S. Flag Code.

In 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed into law the GI Bill, providing benefits to veterans.

In 1945, the Battle for Okinawa ended in an Allied victory after 83 days of fighting.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Anne Morrow Lindbergh (1906-2001), aviator/author; Billy Wilder (1906-2002), director; Bill Blass (1922-2002), fashion designer; Kris Kristofferson (1936- ), singer/actor; Ed Bradley (1941-2006), journalist; Octavia E. Butler (1947-2006), author; Meryl Streep (1949- ), actress; Bruce Campbell (1958- ), actor; Randy Couture (1963- ), mixed martial artist/actor; Amy Brenneman (1964- ), actress; Dan Brown (1964- ), author; Kurt Warner (1971- ), football player/broadcaster; Carson Daly (1973- ), TV personality; Dustin Johnson (1984- ), golfer.

TODAY'S FACT: The Pledge of Allegiance was first published in the September 1892 issue of The Youth's Companion magazine, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus' arrival in the Americas.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1937, Joe Louis knocked out Jim Braddock in the eighth round, becoming the first African American heavyweight boxing champion since Jack Johnson in 1915.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "People have the right to call themselves whatever they like. That doesn't bother me. It's other people doing the calling that bothers me." -- Octavia E. Butler

TODAY'S NUMBER: 49 -- percentage of U.S. college students who were war veterans in 1947, marking the peak year of the GI Bill education program.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (June 20) and first quarter moon (June 28).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 173rd day of 2020 and the second day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1788, New Hampshire ratified the U.S. Constitution and became the ninth state.

In 1898, U.S. troops captured the island of Guam.

In 1982, John Hinckley Jr. was found not guilty by reason of insanity for his attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan.

In 1989, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that burning the American flag was a form of political protest protected by the First Amendment.

In 2004, SpaceShipOne, piloted by Mike Melvill, became the first privately sponsored craft to carry a human into space.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Al Hirschfeld (1903-2003), cartoonist; Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980), philosopher; Mary McCarthy (1912-1989), writer; Jane Russell (1921-2011), actress; Ray Davies (1944- ), guitarist/songwriter; Tony Scott (1944-2012), filmmaker; Benazir Bhutto (1953-2007), Pakistani politician; Berkeley Breathed (1957- ), cartoonist; Kevin Harlan (1960- ), sportscaster; Juliette Lewis (1973- ), actress; Chris Pratt (1979- ), actor; Prince William (1982- ), Duke of Cambridge.

TODAY'S FACT: James Buchanan was the only U.S. president who never married.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1997, the first Women's National Basketball Association game kicked off the league's debut season.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "I have found that those who do achieve peace never acquiesce to obstacles, especially those constructed of bigotry, intolerance and inflexible tradition." -- Benazir Bhutto

TODAY'S NUMBER: 142,000 -- population of New Hampshire in 1790, following ratification of the U.S. Constitution.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (June 20) and first quarter moon (June 28).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 172nd day of 2020 and the first day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1863, West Virginia was admitted as the 35th U.S. state.

In 1893, Lizzie Borden was acquitted of the murders of her father and stepmother.

In 1900, the Boxer Rebellion began in China, as the Imperial Chinese Army began a 55-day siege of the Legation Quarter in Beijing.

In 1963, the Soviet Union and the United States established the Moscow-Washington hotline.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Lillian Hellman (1905-1984), playwright; Errol Flynn (1909-1959), actor; Chet Atkins (1924-2001), singer-songwriter; Audie Murphy (1924-1971), war hero/actor; Martin Landau (1928-2017), actor; Brian Wilson (1942- ), musician/singer-songwriter; Anne Murray (1945- ), singer; Bob Vila (1946- ), handyman/TV personality; Lionel Richie (1949- ), singer-songwriter; John Goodman (1952- ), actor; Nicole Kidman (1967- ), actress; Robert Rodriguez (1968- ), filmmaker; Christopher Mintz-Plasse (1989- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: Western Argentina is home to Aconcagua Mountain, the highest peak in the Western Hemisphere, with an altitude of 22,834 feet.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1967, boxer Muhammad Ali was convicted of violating Selective Service laws by refusing to be inducted. The Supreme Court overturned Ali's conviction in 1971.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "I think the whole world is dying to hear someone say, 'I love you.' I think that if I can leave the legacy of love and passion in the world, then I think I've done my job in a world that's getting colder and colder by the day." -- Lionel Richie

TODAY'S NUMBER: 2 -- Grammy Award wins for the Beach Boys. The group, which formed in 1961 and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, won the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001 and the Best Historical Album award in 2013 for its "The Smile Sessions" boxed set.

TODAY'S MOON: New moon (June 20).