ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 57th day of 2021 and the 68th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte escaped from exile on the island of Elba and began his return journey to France.

In 1935, Adolf Hitler secretly ordered the Luftwaffe to be re-formed, in violation of the Treaty of Versailles.

In 1987, the Tower Commission released its report on the Iran-Contra affair, rebuking President Ronald Reagan for not controlling his national security staff.

In 1993, a truck bomb exploded in the parking garage of the World Trade Center in New York City, killing six people and injuring more than 1,000.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Victor Hugo (1802-1885), author; Levi Strauss (1829-1902), tailor/inventor; William "Buffalo Bill" Cody (1846-1917), frontiersman/showman; Tex Avery (1908-1980), animator; Jackie Gleason (1916-1987), actor/comedian; Tony Randall (1920-2004), actor; Fats Domino (1928-2017), singer-songwriter/pianist; Ariel Sharon (1928-2014), Israeli prime minister; Robert Novak (1931-2009), columnist; Johnny Cash (1932-2003), singer-songwriter; Michael Bolton (1953- ), singer-songwriter; Erykah Badu (1971- ), singer-songwriter; Corinne Bailey Rae (1979- ), singer-songwriter.

TODAY'S FACT: Levi Strauss, a Bavarian immigrant who went to San Francisco during the Gold Rush, made his first pair of "jeans" out of canvas.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1935, an aging Babe Ruth was released by the New York Yankees and signed a contract to become an assistant manager and player with the Boston Braves.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Being honest is my job. That's what music is for me." -- Erykah Badu

TODAY'S NUMBER: 14 -- age at which "Buffalo Bill" Cody began riding for the Pony Express, after answering an advertisement for "skinny, expert riders willing to risk death daily."

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

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).