ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 362nd day of 2021 and the eighth day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1832, John C. Calhoun became the first U.S. vice president to resign his office.

In 1846, Iowa was admitted as the 29th U.S. state.

In 1912, San Francisco's first municipally owned streetcars began service.

In 1973, President Richard Nixon signed the Endangered Species Act into law.

In 1981, the first American "test-tube baby" was born in Norfolk, Virginia.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924), 28th U.S. president; Stan Lee (1922-2018), comic book creator/publisher; Charles Portis (1933-2020), author; Maggie Smith (1934- ), actress; Gayle King (1954- ), magazine editor; Denzel Washington (1954- ), actor; Chris Ware (1967- ), artist; Linus Torvalds (1969- ), software engineer; Seth Meyers (1973- ), comedian/talk show host; John Legend (1978- ), singer-songwriter; Noomi Rapace (1979- ), actress; Sienna Miller (1981- ), actress.

TODAY'S FACT: "Marvel Comics" was the first pulp fantasy comic book series published by Timely Comics, debuting in October 1939. Timely Comics editor Stan Lee reincorporated the name in 1961, publishing all of the company's comic books under the brand name Marvel Comics.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1958, the Baltimore Colts came from behind in the final seconds to force the first sudden-death overtime in a championship game. The Colts went on to win "The Greatest Game Ever Played," defeating the New York Giants 23-17 to win the NFL championship.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "One good thing about acting in film is that it's good therapy." -- Denzel Washington

TODAY'S NUMBER: $12,000 -- average cost per cycle of in vitro fertilization in the United States. Most couples have to go through more than one cycle to achieve a successful pregnancy.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (Dec. 26) and new moon (Jan. 2).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 361st day of 2021 and the seventh day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1831, the HMS Beagle, with naturalist Charles Darwin aboard, set sail from Great Britain.

In 1932, Radio City Music Hall opened in New York City.

In 2002, North Korea announced it would resume developing nuclear weapons-grade plutonium and ordered International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors to leave the country.

In 2007, former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated after a campaign rally in Rawalpindi.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Johannes Kepler (1571-1630), astronomer; Louis Pasteur (1822-1895), biologist/chemist; Marlene Dietrich (1901-1992), actress/singer; John Amos (1939- ), actor; Cokie Roberts (1943-2019), journalist; Gerard Depardieu (1948- ), actor; Bill Self (1962- ), basketball coach; Sarah Vowell (1969- ), social commentator; Savannah Guthrie (1971- ), TV journalist; Masi Oka (1974- ), actor; Emilie de Ravin (1981- ), actress; Nick Chubb (1995- ), football player.

TODAY'S FACT: More than 75% of France's electricity is nuclear-generated.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1892, Biddle College (later named Johnson C. Smith University) defeated Livingstone College in the first football game between historically black colleges.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Being a nerd, which is to say going too far and caring too much about a subject, is the best way to make friends I know." -- Sarah Vowell, "The Partly Cloudy Patriot"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 3,300 -- approximate number of people buried at Westminster Abbey, many of them in unmarked graves. Charles Darwin is among the famous scientists buried there.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (Dec. 26) and new moon (Jan. 2).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 360th day of 2021 and the sixth day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1776, after staging a surprise attack, George Washington and the Continental Army scored a major upset victory over the British in the Battle of Trenton.

In 1908, boxer Jack Johnson defeated Tommy Burns, becoming the first African American heavyweight champion.

In 1966, the pan-African holiday Kwanzaa, founded by UCLA professor Maulana Karenga, was celebrated for the first time.

In 2004, a powerful earthquake in the Indian Ocean triggered a massive tsunami that claimed the lives of at least 226,000 in Southeast Asia and east Africa.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Thomas Gray (1716-1771), poet; Charles Babbage (1791-1871), mathematician/inventor; Mao Zedong (1893-1976), Chinese leader; Richard Widmark (1914-2008), actor; Steve Allen (1921-2000), entertainer; Alan King (1927-2004), actor/comedian; John Walsh (1945- ), TV personality/activist; David Sedaris (1956- ), writer; Lars Ulrich (1963- ), musician; Jared Leto (1971- ), actor/musician; Chris Daughtry (1979- ), singer-songwriter; Kit Harington (1986- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: Despite its impact in the Colonies, the Battle of Trenton was fought by relatively small numbers on both sides -- an estimated 2,400 Continental Army soldiers defeated the 1,500-strong British/Hessian garrison.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1919, Boston Red Sox owner Harry Frazee sold Babe Ruth's contract to the New York Yankees.

TODAY'S QUOTE: " All of us take pride and pleasure in the fact that we are unique, but I'm afraid that when all is said and done the police are right: it all comes down to fingerprints." -- David Sedaris, "Barrel Fever"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 12,000 -- length (in miles) of China's high-speed rail system, the longest in the world. The 175-mile section connecting Beijing to Shijiazhuang opened on this day in 2012.

TODAY'S MOON: Last quarter moon (Dec. 26).