ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 20th day of 2026 and the 31st day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1841, China ceded the island of Hong Kong to the British.

In 1981, the Iran hostage crisis ended as 52 American captives were released in Tehran, just after President Jimmy Carter left office.

In 2009, Barack Obama was sworn in as the first African American president.

In 2021, Joe Biden, 78, was sworn in as the oldest first-term U.S. president, and Kamala Harris was sworn in as the first female U.S. vice president.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: George Burns (1896-1996), actor/comedian; Federico Fellini (1920-1993), director; DeForest Kelley (1920-1999), actor; Slim Whitman (1923-2013), singer-songwriter; Patricia Neal (1926-2010), actress; Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin (1930- ), astronaut; David Lynch (1946-2025), director; Paul Stanley (1952- ), singer-songwriter; Bill Maher (1956- ), comedian/TV host; R.A. Salvatore (1959- ), author; Rainn Wilson (1966- ), actor; Questlove (1971- ), musician; Evan Peters (1987- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: Martin Luther King Jr. Day was celebrated as a federal holiday for the first time on this day in 1986.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1892, the first official basketball game was played in Springfield, Massachusetts. The two nine-man teams used a soccer ball and peach baskets.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "The biggest benefit of Apollo was the inspiration it gave to a growing generation to get into science and aerospace." -- Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin

TODAY'S NUMBER: 444 -- days the hostages were held in the U.S. embassy in Iran.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Jan. 18) and first quarter moon (Jan. 25).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 19th day of 2026 and the 30th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1915, two German zeppelins dropped bombs on the towns of Great Yarmouth and King's Lynn in England.

In 1966, Indira Gandhi was elected as India's prime minister, the first woman to hold this office.

In 1977, snow fell in Miami for the only time in recorded history.

In 2006, NASA launched the New Horizons space probe to study the dwarf planet Pluto.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849), author/poet; Paul Cezanne (1839-1906), artist; Jean Stapleton (1923-2013), actress; Tippi Hedren (1930- ), actress; Janis Joplin (1943-1970), singer-songwriter; Dolly Parton (1946- ), singer-songwriter; Paula Deen (1947- ), chef/author; Robert Palmer (1949-2003), singer-songwriter; Katey Sagal (1954- ), actress; Thomas Kinkade (1958-2012), painter; Junior Seau (1969-2012), football player; Drea de Matteo (1972- ), actress; Frank Caliendo (1974- ), comedian; Logan Lerman (1992- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: Dolly Parton holds 10 Guinness World Records, including most Grammy nominations by a female country artist (51) and most No. 1 hits on the U.S. Hot Country Songs chart by a female artist (25).

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1903, the French sports newspaper L'Auto announced the creation of a new long-distance bicycle race called the Tour de France that would begin in July of that year.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "The true genius shudders at incompleteness -- imperfection -- and usually prefers silence to saying the something which is not everything that should be said." -- Edgar Allan Poe, "Marginalia"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 71.7 -- percentage of U.S. households that tuned in to watch "Lucy Goes to the Hospital," the episode of "I Love Lucy" in which the titular character gave birth. Star Lucille Ball actually gave birth to her son, Desi Arnaz Jr., on the same day the episode aired, on this day in 1953.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Jan. 18) and first quarter moon (Jan. 25).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 18th day of 2026 and the 29th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1788, English settlers landed in Australia to establish a penal colony.

In 1943, the first armed uprising began at the Warsaw Ghetto in German-occupied Poland.

In 1964, planners unveiled the designs for New York's World Trade Center to the public.

In 1990, Washington, D.C., Mayor Marion Barry was arrested on drug possession charges as a result of an FBI sting operation.

In 2000, Martin Luther King Jr. Day was officially observed in all 50 states for the first time.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Baron de Montesquieu (1689-1755), political philosopher; Daniel Webster (1782-1852), statesman/orator; A.A. Milne (1882-1956), children's author; Cary Grant (1904-1986), actor; Danny Kaye (1913-1987), entertainer; Kevin Costner (1955- ), actor; Mark Rylance (1960- ), actor; Mark Messier (1961- ), hockey player; Dave Attell (1965- ), actor/comedian; Dave Bautista (1969- ), wrestler/actor; Jesse L. Martin (1969- ), actor; Julius Peppers (1980- ), football player; Jason Segel (1980- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: Australia is the world's sixth-largest country by area, at 2.97 million square miles.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1976, wide receiver Lynn Swann gained 161 yards on four receptions and was named MVP as the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Dallas Cowboys 21-17 in Super Bowl X.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "One thing that I think never goes out of style is just purity. Niceness and purity. And the Muppets have never lost that. Kermit especially is just wide-eyed wonder, unblinking. And he can't blink. Which I think probably helps." -- Jason Segel

TODAY'S NUMBER: 582,578 -- square miles of Pacific Ocean encompassed by the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, initially established at 139,797 square miles by President George W. Bush in June 2006 and expanded to its current size by President Barack Obama in August 2016.

TODAY'S MOON: New moon (Jan. 18).