ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 29th day of 2017 and the 40th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1861, Kansas was admitted as the 34th U.S. state.

In 1891, Queen Liliuokalani inherited the throne from her brother, Kalakaua, becoming the last monarch of the Hawaiian Islands.

In 2002, President George W. Bush described Iran, Iraq and North Korea as part of an "axis of evil" in his State of the Union address.

In 2009, former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was convicted on charges of corruption.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Thomas Paine (1737-1809), patriot/philosopher; William McKinley (1843-1901), 25th U.S. president; Anton Chekhov (1860-1904), author; W.C. Fields (1880-1946), actor/comedian; Edward Abbey (1927-1989), environmentalist/author; Tom Selleck (1945- ), actor; Oprah Winfrey (1954- ), TV personality; Edward Burns (1968- ), actor/director; Heather Graham (1970- ), actress; Paul Ryan (1970- ), politician; Sara Gilbert (1975- ), actress; Adam Lambert (1982- ), singer.

TODAY'S FACT: Edgar Allan Poe's famous poem "The Raven" was first published in the New York Evening Mirror on this day in 1845. Poe was paid $15.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1995, the San Francisco 49ers defeated the San Diego Chargers 49-26 in Super Bowl XXIX, becoming the first NFL team to win five Super Bowls.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one; for when we suffer, or are exposed to the same miseries by a government, which we might expect in a country without government, our calamity is heightened by reflecting that we furnish the means by which we suffer." -- Thomas Paine

TODAY'S NUMBER: 6 -- record number of Super Bowl wins for a franchise, held by the Pittsburgh Steelers.

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

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 28th day of 2017 and the 39th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1547, King Henry VIII of England died and was succeeded by his 9-year-old son, Edward VI.

In 1871, France surrendered to Germany, ending the Franco-Prussian War.

In 1915, Congress passed legislation creating the U.S. Coast Guard.

In 1986, the space shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after liftoff, killing six astronauts and Christa McAuliffe, a teacher who was to become the first civilian in space.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Jose Marti (1853-1895), poet/activist; Charles Williams Nash (1864-1948), entrepreneur; Colette (1873-1954), author; Jackson Pollock (1912-1956), artist; Alan Alda (1936- ), actor; Carlos Slim Helu (1940- ), business magnate; Gregg Popovich (1949- ), basketball coach; Frank Darabont (1959- ), filmmaker; Sarah McLachlan (1968- ), singer-songwriter; Rick Ross (1976- ), rapper; Nick Carter (1980- ), singer-songwriter; Elijah Wood (1981- ), actor; J. Cole (1985- ), rapper; Will Poulter (1993), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: The modern Lego brick was patented on this day in 1958. Lego bricks from that year are compatible with bricks produced today.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1959, Vince Lombardi was named the Green Bay Packers' head coach and general manager.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Man needs to suffer. When he does not have real griefs he creates them. Griefs purify and prepare him." -- Jose Marti, "Adulterous Thoughts"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 21,000 -- estimated number of genes in the human genome, revised from estimates of as many as 140,000 in 2001.

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

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 27th day of 2017 and the 38th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1924, the body of Vladimir Lenin was placed in a tomb in Moscow's Red Square.

In 1944, the German siege of Leningrad ended after 872 days.

In 1945, Soviet forces liberated the Auschwitz concentration camp in Germany.

In 1967, astronauts Gus Grissom, Edward H. White II and Roger B. Chaffee died in a cabin fire during a launchpad test of the Apollo 1 command module.

In 1973, the Vietnam peace accords were signed in Paris by delegations representing the United States, North Vietnam and South Vietnam.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), composer; Lewis Carroll (1832-1898), writer; Donna Reed (1921-1986), actress; Mordecai Richler (1931-2001), author; James Cromwell (1940- ), actor; Mikhail Baryshnikov (1948- ), dancer; John G. Roberts Jr. (1955- ), chief justice of the United States; Cris Collinsworth (1959- ), football player/sportscaster; Keith Olbermann (1959- ), TV personality; Bridget Fonda (1964- ), actress; Alan Cumming (1965- ), actor; Patton Oswalt (1969- ), actor/comedian.

TODAY'S FACT: The U.S. Supreme Court decided 149 cases during the 2015-2016 term. Fifty-seven were unanimous decisions.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1991, the New York Giants won Super Bowl XXV, defeating the Buffalo Bills 20-19 when Bills kicker Scott Norwood's 47-yard field goal attempt in the final seconds sailed wide right. The loss was the first of four consecutive Super Bowl losses for the Bills.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "All writing is about the same thing -- it's about dying, about the brief flicker of time we have here, and the frustration it creates." -- Mordecai Richler

TODAY'S NUMBER: 95.3 million -- estimated population of Vietnam in mid-2016.

TODAY'S MOON: New moon (Jan. 27).