ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 45th day of 2021 and the 56th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1859, Oregon was admitted as the 33rd U.S. state.

In 1912, Arizona was admitted as the 48th U.S. state.

In 1929, seven mob associates were shot and killed in a Chicago garage in the St. Valentine's Day Massacre.

In 2003, Dolly the sheep, the first mammal cloned from an adult cell, was euthanized at the age of 6.

In 2005, the video-sharing website YouTube.com was founded.

In 2018, a gunman opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, killing 17 people and injuring 17 others.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Jack Benny (1894-1974), actor/comedian; Mel Allen (1913-1996), sports broadcaster; Herbert Hauptman (1917-2011), mathematician; Florence Henderson (1934-2016), actress; Michael Bloomberg (1942- ), business magnate/politician; Gregory Hines (1946-2003), dancer/actor; Jim Kelly (1960- ), football player; Meg Tilly (1960- ), actress; Simon Pegg (1970- ), actor; Rob Thomas (1972- ), singer-songwriter; Jim Jefferies (1977- ), actor/comedian; Freddie Highmore (1992- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: The U.S. Congress approved the use of voting machines in federal elections on this day in 1899.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1988, Bobby Allison became the oldest driver (age 50) to win the Daytona 500, while his son Davey finished second. It was the race's first 1-2 father-son finish.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "One of the things about working on stage -- actually, about working in show business, that is -- is that it's such a collaborative effort. I suppose that everything in life is -- every endeavor where people are able to be successful." -- Gregory Hines

TODAY'S NUMBER: $5 -- Hall of Fame baseball broadcaster Mel Allen's per-game salary when he became the New York Yankees' radio announcer in 1935.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Feb. 11) and first quarter (Feb. 19).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 44th day of 2021 and the 55th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1542, Catherine Howard, fifth wife of King Henry VIII, was executed on grounds of treason for committing adultery.

In 1945, Allied aircraft began bombing the German city of Dresden.

In 1960, France successfully detonated its first atomic bomb.

In 2000, the last of Charles Schulz's original "Peanuts" comic strips ran in Sunday papers, one day after the cartoonist's death.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Grant Wood (1891-1942), artist; Tennessee Ernie Ford (1919-1991), singer/actor; Chuck Yeager (1923-2020), aviator; Kim Novak (1933- ), actress; Stockard Channing (1944- ), actress; Jerry Springer (1944- ), TV personality; Mike Krzyzewski (1947- ), basketball coach; Peter Gabriel (1950- ), singer-songwriter; Henry Rollins (1961- ), singer-songwriter; Neal McDonough (1966- ), actor; Randy Moss (1977- ), football player; Mena Suvari (1979- ), actress.

TODAY'S FACT: The central event of author Kurt Vonnegut's celebrated novel "Slaughterhouse-Five" is the Allied bombing of the city of Dresden during World War II. Estimates of civilian casualties from the bombings range from 35,000 to 135,000.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1920, the Negro National League was established at a YMCA in Kansas City, Missouri, becoming the first black professional baseball league.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "All the good ideas I ever had came to me while I was milking a cow." -- Grant Wood

TODAY'S NUMBER: 300 -- estimated number of nuclear weapons in France's stockpile as of 2021.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Feb. 11) and first quarter (Feb. 19).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 43rd day of 2021 and the 54th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1554, Lady Jane Grey, who reigned over England for nine days in 1553, was beheaded for treason.

In 1909, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was founded in New York City.

In 1999, the U.S. Senate voted to acquit President Bill Clinton on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice, bringing his impeachment trial to a close.

In 2008, General Motors offered buyouts to its more than 70,000 union workers after posting a $39 billion loss in 2007.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Charles Darwin (1809-1882), scientist; Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), 16th U.S. president; Omar Bradley (1893-1981), U.S. Army general; Lorne Greene (1915-1987), actor; Franco Zeffirelli (1923-2019), director; Bill Russell (1934- ), basketball player; Judy Blume (1938- ), author; Arsenio Hall (1956- ), actor/comedian; Josh Brolin (1968- ), actor; Darren Aronofsky (1969- ), filmmaker; Christina Ricci (1980- ), actress; Brad Keselowski (1984- ), race car driver.

TODAY'S FACT: Charles Darwin replaced Charles Dickens on Britain's 10-pound note in 2000, reportedly in part because Darwin's beard would make forgery more difficult.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1878, Harvard baseball player Frederick Thayer received a patent for the catcher's mask.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "In this age of censorship, I mourn the loss of books that will never be written, I mourn the voices that will be silenced -- writers' voices, teachers' voices, students' voices -- and all because of fear." – Judy Blume, "Places I Never Meant To Be"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 18 -- months of formal education for Abraham Lincoln during his youth. Lincoln never attended college.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Feb. 11) and first quarter (Feb. 19).