ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 129th day of 2018 and the 51st day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson issued the first presidential proclamation calling for a national Mother's Day holiday.

In 1974, the U.S. House of Representatives opened impeachment hearings against President Richard Nixon.

In 2001, 129 soccer fans died in a stampede at the Accra Sports Stadium in Ghana.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: John Brown (1800-1859), abolitionist; J.M. Barrie (1860-1937), author/playwright; Howard Carter (1874-1939), archaeologist; Mike Wallace (1918-2012), journalist; James L. Brooks (1940- ), director/producer; Candice Bergen (1946- ), actress; Billy Joel (1949- ), singer-songwriter/pianist; Tony Gwynn (1960-2014), baseball player; Rosario Dawson (1979- ), actress; Prince Fielder (1984- ), baseball player.

TODAY'S FACT: When Federal Communications Commission Chairman Newton Minow described network TV programming as a "vast wasteland" during a speech on this day in 1961, the top-rated shows in the United States were "Gunsmoke," "Wagon Train" and "Have Gun Will Travel."

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1984, the White Sox finally defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 7-6 in a 25-inning game that had been suspended from the day before. It was the longest timed game in Major League Baseball history to date, at 8 hours and 6 minutes.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Stars are beautiful, but they may not take an active part in anything; they must just look on forever." -- J.M. Barrie, "Peter Pan"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 28 -- current member nations in the European Union. Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey are candidates for membership.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (May 7) and new moon (May 15).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 128th day of 2018 and the 50th day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1877, the first Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show was held in New York City.

In 1902, Mount Pelee erupted on the island of Martinique, destroying the city of Saint-Pierre and killing an estimated 30,000 people.

In 1945, Victory in Europe Day (or V-E Day) was celebrated as the Allies accepted Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender, ending World War II in Europe.

In 1973, a 10-week standoff in Wounded Knee, South Dakota, between federal authorities and American Indian Movement activists ended.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Harry S. Truman (1884-1972), 33rd U.S. president; David Attenborough (1926- ), TV personality/environmentalist; Don Rickles (1926-2017), comedian/actor; Thomas Pynchon (1937- ), author; Ricky Nelson (1940-1985), singer-songwriter; Toni Tennille (1940- ), singer-songwriter; Mike D'Antoni (1951- ), basketball coach; Bill Cowher (1957- ), football coach/analyst; Lovie Smith (1958- ), football coach; Enrique Iglesias (1975- ), singer-songwriter; Adrian Gonzalez (1982- ), baseball player.

TODAY'S FACT: Pharmacist John Pemberton sold the first Coca-Cola soft drink on this day in 1886.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1978, Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler became the first climbers to ascend Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "All investigations of Time, however sophisticated or abstract, have at their true base the human fear of mortality." -- Thomas Pynchon, "Against the Day"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 418,500 -- total U.S. military and civilian deaths in World War II, according to the National WWII Museum.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (May 7) and new moon (May 15).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 127th day of 2018 and the 49th day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1847, the American Medical Association was founded in Philadelphia.

In 1915, a German U-boat sank the RMS Lusitania, killing 1,198 off the coast of Ireland.

In 1945, Germany unconditionally surrendered and withdrew from World War II.

In 1998, Mercedes-Benz announced its $36 billion merger with the Chrysler Corporation.

In 2000, Vladimir Putin assumed the presidency in Russia's first democratic change of office.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Robert Browning (1812-1889), poet/playwright; Johannes Brahms (1833-1897), composer; Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893), composer; Gary Cooper (1901-1961), actor; Eva Peron (1919-1952), Argentine first lady/actress; Johnny Unitas (1933-2002), football player; Tim Russert (1950-2008), journalist; Breckin Meyer (1974- ), actor; Earl Thomas (1989- ), football player; Alexander Ludwig (1992- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: In 1977, Seattle Slew won the Kentucky Derby. The horse went on to win the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes, becoming the 10th horse to win the Triple Crown and the only one to do so while undefeated.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1982, a jury ruled in favor of Raiders owner Al Davis in an antitrust lawsuit against the NFL, allowing Davis to move the team from Oakland, California, to Los Angeles.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "The moment eternal -- just that and no more -- / When ecstasy's utmost we clutch at the core / While cheeks burn, arms open, eyes shut and lips meet!" -- Robert Browning, "Now"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 16,024 -- height (in feet) of the Carstensz Pyramid, the highest summit of Puncak Jaya in Indonesia. Canadian Patrick Morrow became the first person to scale the "Seven Summits" -- the highest peak on each of the seven continents -- when he reached the top of the Carstensz Pyramid on this day in 1986.

TODAY'S MOON: Last quarter moon (May 7).