ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the fourth day of 2026 and the 15th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1896, Utah was admitted as the 45th U.S. state.

In 1965, President Lyndon Johnson presented the "Great Society" plan in his State of the Union address.

In 1995, the 104th U.S. Congress convened with Republican majorities in both the House and Senate for the first time since the Eisenhower presidency.

In 2004, NASA's Spirit rover landed on the surface of Mars.

In 2010, the 2,717-foot Burj Khalifa opened in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, as the world's tallest building.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Louis Braille (1809-1852), Braille alphabet inventor; Don Shula (1930-2020), football coach; Floyd Patterson (1935-2006), boxer; Dyan Cannon (1937- ), actress; Doris Kearns Goodwin (1943- ), historian; Patty Loveless (1957- ), singer-songwriter; Michael Stipe (1960- ), singer-songwriter; Dave Foley (1963- ), actor/comedian; Julia Ormond (1965- ), actress; Kris Bryant (1992- ), baseball player; Derrick Henry (1994- ), football player; Victor Wembanyama (2004- ), basketball player.

TODAY'S FACT: Medicare, one of the largest reforms passed as part of President Lyndon Johnson's Great Society initiatives, insured 19% of Americans in 2025.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 2003, the Atlanta Falcons upset the Green Bay Packers, 27-7, in the wild-card round of the playoffs. It was the first playoff loss at Lambeau Field in Packers history.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "I shall always be grateful for this curious love of history, allowing me to spend a lifetime looking back into the past, allowing me to learn from these large figures about the struggle for meaning for life." -- Doris Kearns Goodwin

TODAY'S NUMBER: $1.5 billion -- estimated total cost (in U.S. dollars) of the Burj Khalifa project.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (Jan. 3) and last quarter moon (Jan. 10).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the third day of 2026 and the 14th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1777, Revolutionary forces under the command of George Washington defeated the British at Princeton, New Jersey.

In 1947, a session of Congress was televised for the first time to viewers in three East Coast cities.

In 1959, Alaska was admitted as the 49th state.

In 1993, President George H.W. Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed the second Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START II).

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Lucretia Mott (1793-1880), abolitionist/women's rights pioneer; J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973), author; Victor Borge (1909-2000), comedian/pianist; Hank Stram (1923-2005), football coach; Sergio Leone (1929-1989), director; Robert Loggia (1930-2015), actor; Glen A. Larson (1937-2014), TV producer/writer; Victoria Principal (1950- ), actress; Cheryl Miller (1964- ), basketball player/coach; Michael Schumacher (1969- ), race car driver; Eli Manning (1981- ), football player; Florence Pugh (1996- ), actress; Greta Thunberg (2003- ), activist.

TODAY'S FACT: Alaska is the only U.S. state where all three of North America's bear species -- black, brown and polar -- live.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1983, Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Dorsett became the first player in NFL history to run 99 yards from scrimmage for a touchdown.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "A man that flies from his fear may find that he has only taken a short cut to meet it." -- J.R.R. Tolkien, "The Children of Hurin"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 740,133 -- estimated population of the state of Alaska in 2024 -- more than triple the population of the state at the time it attained statehood.

TODAY'S MOON: Full moon (Jan. 3).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the second day of 2026 and the 13th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1492, the Moors were driven out of Spain as Granada fell to the forces of Ferdinand and Isabella.

In 1967, Ronald Reagan was sworn in as governor of California.

In 1974, President Richard Nixon signed legislation instituting a 55-mph highway speed limit in order to conserve gasoline during an OPEC embargo.

In 2006, a methane gas explosion in a Sago, West Virginia, coal mine trapped 13 miners. Only one survived.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Michael Tippett (1905-1998), composer; Isaac Asimov (1920-1992), author; Roger Miller (1936-1992), singer-songwriter; Jack Hanna (1947- ), zoologist; David Cone (1963- ), baseball player/sportscaster; Pernell Whitaker (1964-2019), boxer; Tia Carrere (1967- ), actress; Cuba Gooding Jr. (1968- ), actor; Tommy Morrison (1969-2013), boxer; Christy Turlington (1969- ), model; Taye Diggs (1971- ), singer/actor; Dax Shepard (1975- ), actor; Kate Bosworth (1983- ), actress; Anthony Carrigan (1983- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: Castilian Spanish is the official language of Spain, but Catalan, Galician, Basque and Aranese are all official regional languages.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1984, Miami upset heavily favored Nebraska in the Orange Bowl, 31-30, as Nebraska failed on a two-point conversion at game's end.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "It is the obvious which is so difficult to see most of the time. People say, 'It's as plain as the nose on your face.' But how much of the nose on your face can you see, unless someone holds a mirror up to you?" -- Isaac Asimov, "I, Robot"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 26,284 -- miles on the odometer of a rare, unrestored 1937 Bugatti Type 57S Atalante Coupe found in the garage of a British doctor and reported by media outlets on this day in 2009. One of only 17 ever made, the car sold at a Paris auction a month later for $4.4 million.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (Dec. 27) and full moon (Jan. 3).