ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 56th day of 2021 and the 67th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1836, Samuel Colt received the patent for his revolving-cylinder pistol.

In 1901, J.P. Morgan incorporated the United States Steel Corporation.

In 1913, the 16th Amendment to the Constitution, which gives Congress the power to levy income taxes, went into effect.

In 1991, the Warsaw Pact, a mutual defense agreement between Central and Eastern European communist states, was declared disbanded.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919), artist; Enrico Caruso (1873-1921), opera singer; John Foster Dulles (1888-1959), diplomat; Zeppo Marx (1901-1979), actor; Bobby Riggs (1918-1995), tennis player; Ralph Stanley (1927-2016), musician; George Harrison (1943-2001), singer-songwriter; Jack Handey (1949- ), humorist; Tea Leoni (1966- ), actress; Sean Astin (1971- ), actor; Chelsea Handler (1975- ), comedian; Rashida Jones (1976- ), actress.

TODAY'S FACT: Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Claude Monet were friends and often painted together; several of their works were painted at the same time in the same locations, from different angles.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1964, Cassius Clay defeated Sonny Liston in a stunning upset to win the heavyweight boxing crown. Clay changed his name to Muhammad Ali the following week.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Don't ever get your speedometer confused with your clock, like I did once, because the faster you go the later you think you are." -- Jack Handey, "Deepest Thoughts"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 1,060 -- pairs of shoes notoriously left behind by Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos when she and her husband, President Ferdinand Marcos, were forced to flee the country on this day in 1986.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter (Feb. 19) and full moon (Feb. 27).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 55th day of 2021 and the 66th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1836, Colonel William Travis issued a call for help on behalf of the Texan troops defending the Alamo in San Antonio.

In 1868, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to impeach President Andrew Johnson.

In 1942, anti-aircraft guns were fired at the night skies due to erroneous reports of Japanese aircraft over Los Angeles.

In 2008, Fidel Castro's brother Raul Castro was officially named president by Cuba's parliament.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Wilhelm Grimm (1786-1859), author; Winslow Homer (1836-1910), artist; George A. Moore (1852-1933), poet/dramatist; Honus Wagner (1874-1955), baseball player; Abe Vigoda (1921-2016), actor; Dominic Chianese (1931- ), actor; Phil Knight (1938- ), business magnate; Joe Lieberman (1942- ), U.S. senator; Edward James Olmos (1947- ), actor; Steve Jobs (1955-2011), computer pioneer; Paula Zahn (1956- ), TV journalist; Mitch Hedberg (1968-2005), comedian; Floyd Mayweather Jr. (1977- ), boxer.

TODAY'S FACT: The best actress category of the 85th Academy Awards (held on Feb. 24, 2013) featured both the oldest and the youngest female nominees for a lead acting Oscar. Emmanuelle Riva ("Amour") was age 86, and Quvenzhane Wallis ("Beasts of the Southern Wild") was age 9.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1980, the U.S. Olympic hockey team defeated Finland 4-2 to win the gold medal at the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it." -- George A. Moore, "The Brook Kerith"

TODAY'S NUMBER: $500 -- investment by Phil Knight, which was matched by his business partner and former track coach, Bill Bowerman, to start Blue Ribbon Sports, the progenitor to Nike, in 1964.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter (Feb. 19) and full moon (Feb. 27).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 54th day of 2021 and the 65th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1778, Baron von Steuben joined the U.S. encampment at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, to help train the Continental Army.

In 1942, a Japanese submarine fired artillery shells at coastal targets near Santa Barbara, California.

In 1945, American Marines raised the American flag on the island of Iwo Jima.

In 1954, the first mass vaccination of children against polio began in Pittsburgh.

In 1991, President George H.W. Bush announced the beginning of an allied ground offensive in Iraq.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: W.E.B. Du Bois (1868-1963), author/activist; Victor Fleming (1889-1949), filmmaker; Tom Osborne (1937- ), football coach; Peter Fonda (1940-2019), actor; Fred Biletnikoff (1943- ), football player; Michael Dell (1965- ), businessman; Kelly Macdonald (1976- ), actress; Josh Gad (1981- ), actor; Aziz Ansari (1983- ), actor/comedian; Emily Blunt (1983- ), actress; Skylar Grey (1986- ), singer-songwriter; Dakota Fanning (1994- ), actress.

TODAY'S FACT: Von Steuben Day is celebrated in mid-September with parades in many U.S. cities. Chicago's Von Steuben Day parade was featured in the 1986 film "Ferris Bueller's Day Off."

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1968, Wilt Chamberlain became the first NBA player to score 25,000 career points.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "The worker must work for the glory of his handiwork, not simply for pay; the thinker must think for truth, not for fame." -- W.E.B. Du Bois

TODAY'S NUMBER: 6,825 -- American soldiers who died taking Iwo Jima in 1945.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter (Feb. 19) and full moon (Feb. 27).