SUNDAY, MARCH 14, 2021

Today is the 73rd day of 2021 and the 84th day of winter.

TODAY’S HISTORY: In 1794, inventor Eli Whitney received a patent for the cotton gin.

In 1900, the Gold Standard Act was signed into law by President William McKinley.

In 1950, the Federal Bureau of Investigation instituted the “Ten Most Wanted Fugitives” list.

In 1990, General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev was elected as the first (and last) president of the Soviet Union.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767), composer; Arthur O’Shaughnessy (1844-1881), poet; Albert Einstein (1879-1955), physicist/Nobel Prize winner; Lee Petty (1914-2000), race car driver; Hank Ketcham (1920-2001), cartoonist; Diane Arbus (1923-1971), photographer; Michael Caine (1933- ), actor; Quincy Jones (1933- ), record producer; Wolfgang Petersen (1941- ), filmmaker; Billy Crystal (1948- ), actor/comedian; Grace Park (1974- ), actress; Jamie Bell (1986- ), actor; Stephen Curry (1988- ), basketball player; Ansel Elgort (1994-), actor; Simone Biles (1997-), gymnast.

TODAY’S FACT: Of the 524 fugitives who have been on the FBI’s “Most Wanted” list since its inception in 1950, only 10 were women.

TODAY’S SPORTS: In 1967, the AFL and NFL held their first common draft of college football players. The Baltimore Colts selected defensive tackle Bubba Smith of Michigan State with the first pick.

TODAY’S QUOTE: “I’ve never been afraid of big moments. I get butterflies. I get nervous and anxious, but I think those are all good signs that I’m ready for the moment.” -- Stephen Curry

TODAY’S NUMBER: 80 -- record number of Grammy nominations for producer Quincy Jones.

TODAY’S MOON: Between new moon (March 13) and first quarter moon (March 21).

MONDAY, MARCH 15, 2021

Today is the 74th day of 2021 and the 85th day of winter.

TODAY’S HISTORY: In 44 B.C., Roman emperor Julius Caesar was assassinated by a group of senators led by Marcus Junius Brutus.

In 1820, Maine was admitted as the 23rd U.S. state.

In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson sent 4,800 U.S. troops into Mexico to capture revolutionary Pancho Villa.

In 1985, the computer manufacturing company Symbolics registered the first internet domain name.

In 2011, security forces opened fire on protesters in Damascus, marking the beginning of the Syrian Civil War.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Andrew Jackson (1767-1845), seventh U.S. president; Ruth Bader Ginsburg (1933-2020), U.S. Supreme Court justice; Judd Hirsch (1935- ), actor, Phil Lesh (1940- ), musician; Sly Stone (1943- ), singer-songwriter; Bobby Bonds (1946-2003), baseball player, Dee Snider (1955- ), singer-songwriter; Bret Michaels (1963- ), singer-songwriter; Mike Tomlin (1972- ), football coach; Eva Longoria (1975-), actress; will.i.am (1975- ), rapper/record producer, Jai Courtney (1986- ), actor.

TODAY’S FACT: The salary of the chief justice of the United States was $4,000 in 1789. Chief Justice John Roberts’ salary is currently $280,500.

TODAY’S SPORTS: In 1962, the NBA’s Wilt Chamberlain became the first and only player to score 4,000 points in a single season.

TODAY’S QUOTE: “Most of these people who are celebrities now don’t do anything to deserve it, so by that fact alone I don’t want to be one.” -- will.i.am

TODAY’S NUMBER: 2 --Ranking of “The Godfather,” which opened this day in 1972, on the 10th anniversary edition of the American Film Institute’s “100 Years ... 100 Movies” list of the greatest American movies of all time. Orson Welles’ “Citizen Kane” ranked No. 1.

TODAY’S MOON: Between new moon (March 13) and first quarter moon (March 21).