Today is the 141st day of 2016 and the 62nd day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act, which provided Western settlers free land for farms.

In 1873, Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis received the U.S. patent for blue jeans.

In 1902, Cuba declared independence from the United States.

In 1969, the Battle of Hamburger Hill ended in South Vietnam.

In 2006, Nouri al-Maliki took office as prime minister of Iraq.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Honore de Balzac (1799-1850), author; John Stuart Mill (1806-1873), philosopher; William Fargo (1818-1881), Wells Fargo co-founder; Jimmy Stewart (1908-1997), actor; Joe Cocker (1944-2014), singer-songwriter; Cher (1946- ), singer-songwriter/actress; Ted Allen (1965- ), TV personality; Timothy Olyphant (1968- ), actor; Tony Stewart (1971- ), race car driver; Busta Rhymes (1972- ), rapper; Matt Czuchry (1977- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: In 1916, the Saturday Evening Post published its first issue featuring a Norman Rockwell painting ("Boy with Baby Carriage") on the cover.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1989, Sunday Silence beat Easy Goer by a nose in the 114th Preakness Stakes, the horse race's closest margin.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Truth gains more even by the errors of one who, with due study and preparation, thinks for himself, than by the true opinions of those who only hold them because they do not suffer themselves to think." -- John Stuart Mill, "On Liberty"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 270 million -- acres of U.S. land given away through the Homestead Act.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (May 13) and full moon (May 21).

Today is the 140th day of 2016 and the 61st day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1536, Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII of England, was beheaded for alleged adultery.

In 1921, the U.S. Congress passed the Emergency Quota Act, setting a national quota system for immigration.

In 1962, Marilyn Monroe performed an infamously seductive rendition of "Happy Birthday" for President John F. Kennedy, a week before his birthday.

In 1963, the New York Post Sunday Magazine published the first excerpts from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from a Birmingham Jail."

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Ho Chi Minh (1890-1969), North Vietnamese leader; Malcolm X (1925-1965), civil rights leader; Nora Ephron (1941-2012), filmmaker/writer; Pete Townshend (1945- ), singer-songwriter/musician; Andre the Giant (1946-1993), actor/wrestler; Grace Jones (1948- ), singer/actress; Archie Manning (1949- ), football player; Joey Ramone (1951-2001), singer-songwriter; Kevin Garnett (1976- ), basketball player; Georges St-Pierre (1981- ), mixed martial artist; Rebecca Hall (1982- ), actress; Sam Smith (1992- ), singer-songwriter.

TODAY'S FACT: In his late 20s, future Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh lived in Paris, where he worked retouching photos.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1991, Willy T. Ribbs became the first African-American driver to qualify for the Indianapolis 500.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Time is on the side of the oppressed today, it's against the oppressor. Truth is on the side of the oppressed today, it's against the oppressor. You don't need anything else." -- Malcolm X

TODAY'S NUMBER: 39 -- months that Anne Boleyn was married to Henry VIII before her execution.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (May 13) and full moon (May 21).

Today is the 139th day of 2016 and the 60th day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1917, the United States passed the Selective Service Act, a conscription law requiring registration of all men aged 21 to 30 who were not already in the military.

In 1974, India successfully tested its first nuclear weapon.

In 1980, Mount St. Helens erupted in Washington state.

In 1998, the U.S. Department of Justice and the attorneys general of 20 states filed an antitrust case against Microsoft.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Frank Capra (1897-1991), filmmaker; Perry Como (1912-2001), singer; Margot Fonteyn (1919-1991), ballet dancer; Pope John Paul II (1920-2005), Roman Catholic leader; Brooks Robinson (1937- ), baseball player; Reggie Jackson (1946- ), baseball player; George Strait (1952- ), singer/guitarist; Chow Yun-Fat (1955- ), actor; Yannick Noah (1960- ), tennis player; Tina Fey (1970- ), actress/comedian; Jack Johnson (1975- ), singer-songwriter.

TODAY'S FACT: Five countries (the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France and China) have officially acknowledged capability to deploy nuclear weapons. At least four others (India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea) have nuclear capability but are not signatories to nuclear non-proliferation treaties.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 2004, 40-year-old left-hander Randy Johnson of the Arizona Diamondbacks became the oldest pitcher ever to throw a perfect game.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Do not be afraid to take a chance on peace, to teach peace, to live peace ... Peace will be the last word of history." -- Pope John Paul II

TODAY'S NUMBER: $93.6 billion -- value of Microsoft sales in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2015.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (May 13) and full moon (May 21).