Andrews McMeel Almanac

Today is the 346th day of 2012 and the 81st day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1941, the United States declared war on Germany and Italy.

In 1972, the lunar module for Apollo 17, the final manned mission of the Apollo space program, touched ground on the moon.

In 2008, investment banker Bernie Madoff was arrested for perpetrating one of the largest Ponzi-scheme frauds in U.S. history.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Hector Berlioz (1803-1869), composer; Fiorello La Guardia (1882-1947), New York City mayor; Alexandr Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008), novelist/dissident; Rita Moreno (1931- ), actress; John Kerry (1943- ), senator; Teri Garr (1949- ), actress; Mo'Nique (1967- ), actress; Mos Def (1973- ), actor/rapper; Hailee Steinfeld, (1996- ), actress.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 2009, pro golfer Tiger Woods announced he was taking "an indefinite break" from the sport due to chaos in his personal life.

TODAY'S FACT: Apollo 17, which set records for the longest lunar surface exploration and the most lunar material collected, remains the most recent manned lunar mission.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "For a country to have a great writer is like having a second government. That is why no regime has ever loved great writers, only minor ones." -- Alexandr Solzhenitsyn

TODAY'S NUMBER: $33.5 million -- Alex Rodriguez's estimated total earnings in 2012, making him the highest paid baseball player.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (Dec. 6) and new moon (Dec. 13).

Today is the 345th day of 2012 and the 80th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1869, women in Wyoming Territory were granted the right to vote.

In 1898, the Spanish-American War officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris.

In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt became the first American to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In 1998, the International Space Station opened.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Cesar Franck (1822-1890), composer; Emily Dickinson (1830-1886), poet; Melvil Dewey (1851-1931), librarian; Dorothy Lamour (1914-1996), actress; Kenneth Branagh (1960- ), actor/director; Bobby Flay (1964- ), celebrity chef; Raven-Symone Pearman (1985- ), actress.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1935, Jay Berwanger of the University of Chicago won the first Downtown Athletic Club Trophy, which was renamed the Heisman Trophy in 1936.

TODAY'S FACT: Since 2003, rodeo has been the official Wyoming state sport.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Fame is a fickle food upon a shifting plate." -- Emily Dickinson

TODAY'S NUMBER: 4 -- American presidents who have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize: Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (Dec. 6) and new moon (Dec. 13).

Today is the 344th day of 2012 and the 79th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1867, the capital of the Colorado Territory was moved from Golden to Denver.

In 1872, Pinkney Benton Stewart Pinchback became the first black governor in the United States when he was named acting governor of Louisiana.

In 1968, Douglas Engelbart demonstrated the first computer system to use hypertext links and a mouse.

In 1979, the World Health Organization certified that smallpox had been eradicated.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: John Milton (1608-1674), poet; Emmett Kelly (1898-1979), clown; Jean de Brunhoff (1899-1937), author; Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill (1912-1994), politician; Kirk Douglas (1916- ), actor; Redd Foxx (1922-1991), comedian; Judi Dench (1934- ), actress; Dick Butkus (1942- ), football player; Donny Osmond (1957- ), singer; Felicity Huffman (1962- ), actress; Simon Helberg (1980- ), actor.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1934, the New York Giants exchanged their cleats for sneakers during the third quarter, then outmaneuvered the Chicago Bears on a frozen field to turn a 13-3 deficit into a 30-13 victory.

TODAY'S FACT: After Pinkney Benton Stewart Pinchback was appointed acting governor of Louisiana, it would be more than a hundred years before the first black elected governor, Lawrence Douglas Wilder of Virginia, took office, in 1990.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Men of most renowned virtue have sometimes by transgressing most truly kept the law." -- John Milton

TODAY'S NUMBER: 7 -- number of classic children's books about Babar the elephant written and illustrated by Jean de Brunhoff. He died of tuberculosis at age 37 and his son Laurent continued the series.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (Dec. 6) and new moon (Dec. 13).