ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 234th day of 2020 and the 63rd day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1858, senatorial candidates Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas held the first of their seven debates.

In 1863, pro-Confederate guerillas led by William Quantrill raided the pro-Union town of Lawrence, Kansas, killing more than 150 men and boys.

In 1911, an employee stole the "Mona Lisa" from the Louvre in Paris. It was recovered two years later.

In 1959, Hawaii was admitted as the 50th U.S. state.

In 1991, a coup by Communist hard-liners in the Soviet Union collapsed on the third day.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: William "Count" Basie (1904-1984), musician; Wilt Chamberlain (1936-1999), basketball player; Kenny Rogers (1938-2020), singer-songwriter; Peter Weir (1944- ), film director; Joe Strummer (1952-2002), musician; Kim Cattrall (1956- ), actress; Carrie-Anne Moss (1967- ), actress; Sergey Brin (1973- ), Google co-founder; Kelis (1979- ), singer; Usain Bolt (1986- ), Olympic sprinter; Hayden Panettiere (1989- ), actress.

TODAY'S FACT: Digital scans of the "Mona Lisa" in 2007 revealed that da Vinci had originally given his subject eyebrows and more prominent eyelashes, which had faded over time or had been lost to restoration efforts.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1947, the first National Little League Tournament (later renamed the Little League World Series) was held in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, featuring only local teams. The Williamsport team defeated the team from Lock Haven by a score of 16-7.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "People say my ego is grand. I think it's in proportion to me." -- Wilt Chamberlain

TODAY'S NUMBER: 6 million -- people who view Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" at the Louvre in Paris annually.

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

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 233rd day of 2020 and the 62nd day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1940, exiled Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky was assassinated in Mexico.

In 1964, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, allocating nearly $1 billion in an unprecedented anti-poverty measure.

In 1977, NASA launched the unmanned space probe Voyager 2 to relay data and photographs of the outer solar system and interstellar space.

In 1998, the United States attacked suspected terrorist bases in Sudan in retaliation for U.S. embassy bombings earlier in the month.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Benjamin Harrison (1833-1901), 23rd U.S. president; H.P. Lovecraft (1890-1937), author; Eero Saarinen (1910-1961), architect; Don King (1931- ), boxing promoter; Isaac Hayes (1942-2008), singer-songwriter; Connie Chung (1946- ), journalist; Robert Plant (1948- ), singer-songwriter; Al Roker (1954- ), TV personality; Joan Allen (1956- ), actress; David O. Russell (1958- ), filmmaker; Amy Adams (1974- ), actress; Andrew Garfield (1983- ), actor; Demi Lovato (1992- ), singer/actress.

TODAY'S FACT: Before entering politics, President Lyndon Johnson taught public speaking and debate at a high school in Houston.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1938, Lou Gehrig of the New York Yankees hit the 23rd grand slam of his career, setting a record that stood for 75 years, until it was broken by Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez in 2013.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "The rappers have gone in and created a lot of hit music based upon my influence. And they'll tell you if you ask." -- Isaac Hayes

TODAY'S NUMBER: 28,000 -- miles traveled by the first telegram sent around the world, on this day in 1911. The message reached its origination point, the dispatch room on the 17th floor of the New York Times Building, in 16.5 minutes.

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

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 232nd day of 2020 and the 61st day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1839, details of Louis Daguerre's pioneering photographic process were first released in Paris.

In 1934, a German plebiscite voted to grant then-Chancellor Adolf Hitler the additional office of president.

In 1960, captured American U-2 spy plane pilot Francis Gary Powers was sentenced in Moscow to three years imprisonment and seven years of hard labor for espionage.

In 2010, Operation Iraqi Freedom officially ended as the last U.S. combat troops crossed the border into Kuwait.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Orville Wright (1871-1948), aviation pioneer; Coco Chanel (1883-1971), fashion designer; Ogden Nash (1902-1971), poet/author; Malcolm Forbes (1919-1990), publisher; Gene Roddenberry (1921-1991), Star Trek creator; Bill Shoemaker (1931-2003), jockey; Bill Clinton (1946- ), 42nd U.S. president; Mary Matalin (1953- ), political consultant; John Stamos (1963- ), actor; Kyra Sedgwick (1965- ), actress; Nate Dogg (1969-2011), rapper; Matthew Perry (1969- ), actor; Clay Walker (1969- ), singer-songwriter; Veronica Roth (1988- ), author.

TODAY'S FACT: Gene Roddenberry was the first television writer to get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1909, Austrian engineer Louis Schwitzer won the first race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with an average speed of 57.4 mph. Two drivers, two mechanics and two spectators died in related accidents.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "I cannot help mentioning that the door of a bigoted mind opens outwards so that the only result of the pressure of facts upon it is to close it more snugly." -- Ogden Nash, "Seeing Eye to Eye Is Believing"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 11 -- Triple Crown horse races won by thoroughbred jockey Bill Shoemaker. He never won all three jewels in the Triple Crown in the same year.

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