FRIDAY, MARCH 26, 2021

Today is the 85th day of 2021 and the seventh day of spring.

TODAY’S HISTORY: In 1830, the Book of Mormon went on sale at a bookstore in Palmyra, New York.

In 1979, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin signed the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty during a ceremony in Washington, D.C.

In 1997, police discovered the bodies of 39 victims of the Heaven’s Gate religious cult’s mass suicide in a mansion near San Diego, California.

In 1999, a Michigan jury found Dr. Jack Kevorkian guilty of second-degree murder for euthanizing a terminally ill patient.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Robert Frost (1874-1963), poet; Viktor Frankl, (1905- 1997), psychotherapist/ author; Tennessee Williams (1911-1983), playwright; Sandra Day O’Connor (1930- ), former U.S. Supreme Court justice; Leonard Nimoy (1931- 2015), actor; Alan Arkin (1934- ), actor; James Caan (1940- ), actor; Richard Dawkins (1941- ), biologist/ author; Diana Ross (1944- ), singer; Steven Tyler (1948- ), singer-songwriter; Martin Short (1950- ), actor; John Stockton (1962- ), basketball player; Keira Knightley (1985- ), actress.

TODAY’S FACT: The term “gerrymander” was first printed on this day in 1812 by the Boston Gazette; it described the shape of one of the election districts as redrawn in a bill signed by then-governor of Massachusetts Elbridge Gerry.

TODAY’S SPORTS: In 1917, the Seattle Metropolitans defeated the Montreal Canadiens 9-1 in Game 4 of the hockey championship series, becoming the first American team to win the Stanley Cup.

TODAY’S QUOTE: “A poem begins as a lump in the throat, a sense of wrong, a homesickness, a lovesickness.” -- Robert Frost

TODAY’S NUMBER: 1.46 million -- number of Mormons in Mexico, the country with the second-most Mormons after the United States.

TODAY’S MOON: Between first quarter moon (March 21) and full moon (March 28).

SATURDAY, MARCH 27, 2021

Today is the 86th day of 2021 and the eighth day of spring.

TODAY’S HISTORY: In 1794, the U.S. Congress passed the Act to Provide Naval Armament, establishing the force that would become the U.S. Navy.

In 1886, Apache leader Geronimo surrendered to U.S. forces at Skeleton Canyon in Arizona.

In 1915, Mary Mallon, better known as Typhoid Mary, was quarantined on North Brother Island in New York City.

In 1964, the strongest recorded earthquake in U.S. history (magnitude 9.2) struck Alaska, killing more than 120 people.

In 1998, the Food and Drug Administration approved Viagra, a medication to combat impotence.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Wilhelm Roentgen (1845- 1923), scientist/inventor; Henry Royce (1863-1933), founder of Rolls-Royce Limited; Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886-1969), architect; Gloria Swanson (1899-1983), actress; Sarah Vaughan (1924- 1990), singer; Quentin Tarantino (1963- ), filmmaker; Mariah Carey (1970- ), singer; Nathan Fillion (1971- ), actor; Fergie (1975- ), singer-songwriter; Buster Posey (1987- ), baseball player.

TODAY’S FACT: Silver prices plummeted on this day in 1980 when brothers Nelson Bunker Hunt and William Herbert Hunt attempted to corner the silver market and failed.

TODAY’S SPORTS: In 1939, Oregon defeated Ohio State 46-33 to win the first NCAA men’s basketball tournament.

TODAY’S QUOTE: “When I sing, trouble can sit right on my shoulder and I don’t even notice.” -- Sarah Vaughan

TODAY’S NUMBER: 5 -- consecutive No. 1 singles for singer-songwriter Mariah Carey, beginning with her August 1990 debut single, “Vision of Love,” and ending with her October 1991 single, “Emotions.” Carey is the only artist in history to reach No. 1 with her first five singles.

TODAY’S MOON: Between first quarter moon (March 21) and full moon (March 28).