ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 61st day of 2025 and the 72nd day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1836, Texas declared its independence from Mexico.

In 1877, the U.S. Congress declared Rutherford B. Hayes the winner of the 1876 presidential election, despite the fact that Samuel J. Tilden had won the popular vote.

In 1917, the Jones-Shafroth Act was enacted, granting U.S. citizenship to the people of Puerto Rico.

In 1969, the Concorde supersonic airliner flew (at subsonic speeds) for the first time.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Sam Houston (1793-1863), soldier/politician; Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel) (1904-1991), author; Mel Ott (1909-1958), baseball player; Desi Arnaz (1917-1986), actor/musician; Tom Wolfe (1930-2018), author/journalist; Mikhail Gorbachev (1931-2022), former Soviet leader; John Irving (1942- ), author; Jon Bon Jovi (1962- ), singer-songwriter; Daniel Craig (1968- ), actor; Method Man (1971- ), rapper/actor; Chris Martin (1977- ), singer-songwriter; Rebel Wilson (1980- ), actress; Bryce Dallas Howard (1981- ), actress.

TODAY'S FACT: "King Kong," which opened at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on this day in 1933, was made for about $672,000 ($15 million in today's dollars). The 2017 reboot, "Kong: Skull Island," cost $185 million to produce.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1962, Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia Warriors set the NBA single-game scoring record with 100 points in a win over the New York Knicks.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "All his life he would hold this moment as exemplary of what love was. It was not wanting anything more, nor was it expecting people to exceed what they had just accomplished; it was simply feeling so complete." -- John Irving, "A Widow for One Year"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 27 -- publishing companies that rejected the manuscript of Dr. Seuss' first book for children, "And To Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street."

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Feb. 27) and first quarter moon (March 6).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 60th day of 2025 and the 71st day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1781, the Articles of Confederation were ratified.

In 1803, the Ohio state legislature met for the first time; the event is now celebrated as the anniversary of its statehood.

In 1867, Nebraska was admitted as the 37th U.S. state.

In 2003, Pakistani counterterrorism forces captured al-Qaida operative Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, a principal planner of the 9/11 terror attacks.

In 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that capital punishment for crimes committed before the age of 18 was unconstitutional.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Frederic Chopin (1810-1849), composer; Glenn Miller (1904-1944), bandleader; David Niven (1910-1983), actor; Harry Caray (1914-1998), sportscaster; Ralph Ellison (1914-1994), author; Harry Belafonte (1927-2023), singer-songwriter/actor/activist; Roger Daltrey (1944- ), singer-songwriter; Ron Howard (1954- ), actor/director; Zack Snyder (1966- ), filmmaker; Javier Bardem (1969- ), actor; Lupita Nyong'o (1983- ), actress; Kesha (1987- ), singer; Justin Bieber (1994- ), singer; Tyreek Hill (1994- ), football player.

TODAY'S FACT: In 1961, President John F. Kennedy issued an executive order establishing the Peace Corps.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1969, New York Yankees slugger Mickey Mantle announced his retirement.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "The understanding of art depends finally upon one's willingness to extend one's humanity." –- Ralph Ellison

TODAY'S NUMBER: 50 -- estimated percentage of the U.S. population that lives within 500 miles of Columbus, the state capital of Ohio.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Feb. 27) and first quarter moon (March 6).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 59th day of 2025 and the 70th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1935, DuPont scientist Wallace Carothers invented nylon.

In 1993, federal agents raided the Branch Davidian cult compound in Waco, Texas.

In 1997, two heavily armed and armored bank robbers were killed in a shootout with police on the streets of North Hollywood.

In 2013, Pope Benedict XVI became the first Catholic pope to resign since 1415.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Vincente Minnelli (1903-1986), film director; Milton Caniff (1907-1988), cartoonist; Frank Gehry (1929- ), architect; Mario Andretti (1940- ), race car driver; Bernadette Peters (1948- ), actress; Paul Krugman (1953- ), columnist/Nobel laureate; John Turturro (1957- ), actor; Daniel Handler aka Lemony Snicket (1970- ), author; Eric Lindros (1973- ), hockey player; Jason Aldean (1977- ), singer-songwriter; Luka Doncic (1999- ), basketball player.

TODAY'S FACT: The 2-1/2-hour series finale of "M*A*S*H," which was watched by 60.3% of U.S. TV-owning households, remains the highest-rated TV series finale in history, with a 77 share of the Nielsen ratings during its original airing on this day in 1983.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1967, Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia 76ers missed a shot for the first time in four games, ending his NBA-record streak of consecutive field goals at 35.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "It is one of life's bitterest truths that bedtime so often arrives just when things are really getting interesting." -- Lemony Snicket, "The Grim Grotto"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 51 -- days that the 1993 Branch Davidian standoff in Waco, Texas, lasted.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Feb. 27) and first quarter moon (March 6).