SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2020

Today is the 362nd day of 2020 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 percent 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: “We are flawed creatures, all of us. Some of us think that means we should fix our flaws. But get rid of my flaws and there would be no one left.” -- Sarah Vowell, “Take the Cannoli”

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 first quarter moon (Dec. 21) and full moon (Dec. 29).

MONDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2020

Today is the 363rd day of 2020 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: “My mother never gave up on me. I messed up in school so much they were sending me home, but my mother sent me right back.” -- 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 first quarter moon (Dec. 21) and full moon (Dec. 29).