ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 352nd day of 2023 and the 87th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1865, Secretary of State William Seward announced that slavery was formally ended in the United States with the certification of the 13th Amendment.

In 1892, Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker" premiered in St. Petersburg, Russia.

In 1957, the first civilian electricity-generating nuclear facility in America opened in Pennsylvania.

In 1958, a U.S. rocket launched SCORE (Signal Communications by Orbiting Relay Equipment), the world's first communications satellite, into space.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: H.H. Munro aka Saki (1870-1916), author; Ty Cobb (1886-1961), baseball player; Robert Moses (1888-1981), urban planner; Betty Grable (1916-1973), actress; Ossie Davis (1917-2005), actor; Keith Richards (1943- ), musician; Steven Spielberg (1946- ), director; Ray Liotta (1954-2022), actor; Brad Pitt (1963- ), actor; Steve Austin (1964- ), wrestler/actor; DMX (1970-2021), rapper/actor; Sia (1975- ), singer-songwriter; Katie Holmes (1978- ), actress; Christina Aguilera (1980- ), singer; Billie Eilish (2001- ), singer-songwriter.

TODAY'S FACT: The SCORE satellite launched in 1958 used a tape recorder to save and relay voice messages. It communicated a Christmas message from President Dwight D. Eisenhower to the world via shortwave frequency on Dec. 19.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1932, a blizzard forced the National Football League to hold its championship game inside Chicago Stadium on an 80-yard field. The Chicago Bears defeated the Portsmouth Spartans, 9-0.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "A little inaccuracy sometimes saves a ton of explanation." -- Saki, "The Square Egg"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 3 -- U.S. presidents who have been impeached: Andrew Johnson in 1868, Bill Clinton in 1998 and Donald Trump on this day in 2019. Trump was impeached a second time in 2021. None were convicted.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Dec. 12) and first quarter moon (Dec. 19).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 351st day of 2023 and the 86th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1903, Orville Wright made the first controlled, sustained flight in an airplane.

In 1989, the first episode of "The Simpsons" aired.

In 1992, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was signed by the leaders of the United States, Canada and Mexico.

In 2010, street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire in protest of government mistreatment in Tunisia, becoming a catalyst for Arab Spring protests in the region.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892), poet; Ford Madox Ford (1873-1939), novelist; William Safire (1929-2009), columnist; Eugene Levy (1946- ), actor/comedian; Wes Studi (1947- ), actor; Bill Pullman (1953- ), actor; Rian Johnson (1973- ), filmmaker; Paula Radcliffe (1973- ), long-distance runner; Sarah Paulson (1974- ), actress; Giovanni Ribisi (1974- ), actor; Milla Jovovich (1975- ), actress; Manny Pacquiao (1978- ), boxer; Chase Utley (1978- ), baseball player.

TODAY'S FACT: An attempt to re-create the Wright brothers' inaugural flight on North Carolina's Outer Banks failed to take off in 2003, on the first flight's 100-year anniversary.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1933, the Chicago Bears defeated the New York Giants 23-21 to win the first NFL Championship game.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "No longer forward or behind / I look in hope or fear, / But grateful, take the good I find, / The best of now and here. " -- John Greenleaf Whittier, "My Psalm"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 35 -- Emmy Awards won by "The Simpsons" as of 2023.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Dec. 12) and first quarter moon (Dec. 19).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 350th day of 2023 and the 85th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1773, Tea Act protesters dumped hundreds of crates of tea into Boston harbor, an act that came to be known as the "Boston Tea Party."

In 1835, "The Great Fire" destroyed nearly 700 buildings in New York City.

In 1944, German forces began a 90-minute artillery barrage against the Allied front, signaling the onset of the Battle of the Bulge.

In 2000, President George W. Bush nominated Colin Powell as the first African American secretary of state.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Jane Austen (1775-1817), author; Noel Coward (1899-1973), playwright; Margaret Mead (1901-1978), anthropologist; Arthur C. Clarke (1917-2008), writer; Philip K. Dick (1928-1982), author; Lesley Stahl (1941- ), journalist; Steven Bochco (1943-2018), screenwriter/producer; Shane Black (1961- ), actor/screenwriter/director; William "The Refrigerator" Perry (1962- ), football player; Benjamin Bratt (1963- ), actor; Krysten Ritter (1981- ), actress; Theo James (1984- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: Margaret Mead was named "Mother of the World" by Time magazine in 1969.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1973, Buffalo Bills running back O.J. Simpson became the first player in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards in a season.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "So books are real to me, too; they link me not just with other minds but with the vision of other minds, what those minds understand and see. I see their worlds as well as I see my own. " -- Philip K. Dick, "The Transmigration of Timothy Archer"

TODAY'S NUMBER: $2.92 billion -- worldwide box-office gross of James Cameron's "Avatar," which began its wide international release on this day in 2009. It is the highest-grossing film of all time (not adjusted for inflation).

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Dec. 12) and first quarter moon (Dec. 19).