NEA DATEBOOK

TODAY’S HISTORY: In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act, guaranteeing income for retirees and the unemployed.

In 1945, President Harry S. Truman announced Japan’s unconditional surrender and the end of World War II.

In 2003, 50 million people in the northeastern United States and Ontario, Canada, lost power in one of the largest blackouts in history.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Doc Holliday (1851-1887), gambler; David Crosby (19412023), singer-songwriter; Steve Martin (1945- ), actor/writer/musician; Danielle Steel (1947- ), novelist; Gary Larson

(1950- ), cartoonist; James Horner (19532015), composer; Rusty Wallace (1956- ), race car driver; Earvin “Magic” Johnson (1959- ), basketball player/businessman; Halle Berry (1966- ), actress; Mila Kunis (1983- ), actress; Tim Tebow (1987- ), athlete/sportscaster.

TODAY’S FACT: The New York Times reported in 1945 that an estimated 2 million people flooded New York City’s Times Square following the announcement of the Japanese surrender in World War II.

TODAY’S SPORTS: In 2007, Atlanta Braves manager Bobby Cox was ejected from his 132nd major league game, passing the record previously set by John McGraw. Cox retired in 2010 with 158 regular season and three postseason ejections in his career.

TODAY’S QUOTE: “I’ve got to keep breathing. It’ll be my worst business mistake if I don’t.” — Steve Martin

TODAY’S NUMBER: $47.5 million — price paid by pop legend Michael Jackson when he purchased the company that owned the publishing rights to the majority of the Beatles’ catalog (251 compositions) on this day in 1985.