ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 187th day of 2020 and the 16th day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1775, the Continental Congress adopted the Olive Branch Petition, an appeal to King George III for reconciliation between the Colonies and Great Britain.

In 1935, the National Labor Relations Act was passed, guaranteeing workers the right to organize and bargain collectively.

In 1971, President Richard Nixon certified the 26th Amendment, lowering the voting age from 21 to 18.

In 1996, Dolly the sheep, the first mammal to be cloned from an adult cell, was born.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: P.T. Barnum (1810-1891), circus founder; Jean Cocteau (1889-1963), writer; Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. (1902-1985), diplomat; Huey Lewis (1950- ), singer-songwriter; Bill Watterson (1958- ), cartoonist; Edie Falco (1963- ), actress; RZA (1969- ), rapper/producer; Megan Rapinoe (1985- ), soccer player; Adam Young (1986- ), singer-songwriter; Shohei Ohtani (1994- ), baseball player.

TODAY'S FACT: The bikini swimsuit, introduced by French fashion designer Louis Reard on this day in 1946, was named for the Bikini Atoll, where the United States had conducted a newsmaking atomic test earlier in the week.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 2009, Roger Federer won his world-record 15th Grand Slam tournament with a victory over Andy Roddick at Wimbledon.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Love, like wisdom, dissolves you and then resolves you. It breaks down your ego and puts you back together again properly." -- RZA, "The Tao of Wu"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 5 billion -- cans of Spam sold worldwide by the end of the 20th century. The canned meat product from Hormel Food Corp. was introduced on this day in 1937.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (July 4) and last quarter moon (July 12).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 186th day of 2020 and the 15th day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1776, the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence.

In 1826, founding fathers John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died on the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

In 1960, the modern version of the American flag (with 50 stars) debuted at a ceremony in Philadelphia.

In 1997, NASA's Pathfinder space probe landed on Mars.

In 2012, the discovery of Higgs boson-like particles through experiments at the Large Hadron Collider was announced at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN).

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: George Everest (1790-1866), surveyor/geographer; Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864), writer; Stephen Foster (1826-1864), songwriter; Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933), 30th U.S. president; Eva Marie Saint (1924- ), actress; Neil Simon (1927-2018), playwright; George Steinbrenner (1930-2010), New York Yankees owner; Bill Withers (1938-2020), singer-songwriter; Geraldo Rivera (1943- ), TV personality; Koko (1971-2018), gorilla.

TODAY'S FACT: Renowned advice columnists Eppie Lederer and Pauline Phillips, known as Ann Landers and Abigail Van Buren ("Dear Abby") respectively, were twin sisters, born on this day in 1918.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1939, New York Yankees slugger Lou Gehrig, who was suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, announced his retirement at Yankee Stadium, delivering the famous line, "Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the Earth."

TODAY'S QUOTE: "I feel that it is healthier to look out at the world through a window than through a mirror. Otherwise, all you see is yourself and whatever is behind you." -- Bill Withers

TODAY'S NUMBER: 1,000 -- annual graduates from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, which officially commenced operations on this day in 1802.

TODAY'S MOON: Full moon (July 4).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 185th day of 2020 and the 14th day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1775, George Washington assumed command of the Continental Army.

In 1844, the last two confirmed great auk specimens were killed on the island of Eldey, off the coast of Iceland.

In 1863, an assault by Gen. Robert E. Lee's Confederate forces failed, and the Battle of Gettysburg ended in a Union victory.

In 1890, Idaho was admitted as the 43rd U.S. state.

In 1998, Bill Clinton completed the first presidential visit to China since the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: George M. Cohan (1878-1942), songwriter/entertainer; Franz Kafka (1883-1924), author; Dave Barry (1947- ), author/journalist; Montel Williams (1956- ), TV personality; Tom Cruise (1962- ), actor; Thomas Gibson (1962- ), actor; Yeardley Smith (1964- ), actress; Connie Nielsen (1965- ), actress; Brian Cashman (1967- ), baseball executive; Teemu Selanne (1970- ), hockey player; Patrick Wilson (1973- ), actor; Olivia Munn (1980- ), actress.

TODAY'S FACT: The world speed record for a steam locomotive is held by London and North Eastern Railway’s Mallard, which reached 125.88 mph on this day in 1938.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1974, Mike Marshall of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitched in relief of starter Tommy John, setting a major league record for consecutive games pitched in, at 13.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "I have based my life on being strong enough to do anything." -- Montel Williams

TODAY'S NUMBER: 25 -- films starring Tom Cruise that have grossed more than $200 million worldwide, as of June 2020.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (June 28) and full moon (July 4).