Today is the 278th day of 2012 and the 13th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the first artificial satellite, into orbit.

In 1958, trans-Atlantic passenger jet service began with commercial flights between New York and London.

In 1965, Pope Paul VI became the first reigning pontiff to visit the United States.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Edward Stratemeyer (1862-1930), children's author; Buster Keaton (1895-1966), comedian/filmmaker; Charlton Heston (1923-2008), actor; Jackie Collins (1937- ), novelist; Anne Rice (1941- ), novelist; Tony La Russa Jr. (1944- ), baseball player/manager; Susan Sarandon (1946- ), actress; Alicia Silverstone (1976- ), actress; Rachael Leigh Cook (1979- ), actress; Derrick Rose (1988- ), basketball player.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1955, the Brooklyn Dodgers finally won their first World Series after seven games against the New York Yankees. "Dem Bums" had lost four World Series in the previous eight seasons.

TODAY'S FACT: The longest nonstop scheduled passenger flight in 2010 departed from Newark, N.J., for Singapore and had a scheduled length of 18 hours, 50 minutes.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "I see nothing in space as promising as the view from a Ferris wheel." -- E.B. White

TODAY'S NUMBER: 184 -- weight (in pounds) of Sputnik, according to Soviet news agency Tass on the day of its launch.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (Sept. 29) and last quarter (Oct. 8).

Today is the 277th day of 2012 and the 12th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln designated the last Thursday in November as a national day of thanksgiving.

In 1990, East and West Germany were reunified.

In 1995, O.J. Simpson was acquitted of the murders of ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Thomas Wolfe (1900-1938), novelist; Gore Vidal (1925-2012), writer; Chubby Checker (1941- ), musician; Dave Winfield (1951- ), baseball player; Al Sharpton (1954- ), minister/activist; Clive Owen (1964- ), actor; Gwen Stefani (1969- ), singer; Talib Kweli (1975- ), rapper; Ashlee Simpson (1984- ), singer/actress.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1951, New York Giants player Bobby Thomson hit the "Shot Heard 'Round the World," a three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to clinch the National League pennant over the Brooklyn Dodgers.

TODAY'S FACT: In 1789, President George Washington announced that Nov. 26, 1789, would be "a day of public thanksgiving and prayer," the first in the nation's history.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "At any given moment, public opinion is a chaos of superstition, misinformation and prejudice." -- Gore Vidal

TODAY'S NUMBER: $1 trillion -- amount of public and private funds that eastern Germany received from western Germany in the five years following reunification.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (Sept. 29) and last quarter (Oct. 8).

Today is the 276th day of 2012 and the 11th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1835, the Texas Revolution began as American settlers battled Mexican troops near the Guadalupe River.

In 1919, President Woodrow Wilson suffered a stroke that left him partially paralyzed.

In 1950, the comic strip "Peanuts" (starring Charlie Brown) debuted in newspapers.

In 1967, Thurgood Marshall was sworn in as the first black Supreme Court justice.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948), political/spiritual leader; Cordell Hull (1871-1955), statesman; Groucho Marx (1890-1977), comedian/actor; Graham Greene (1904-1991), novelist; Rex Reed (1938- ), movie critic; Don McLean (1945- ), singer/songwriter; Sting (1951- ), musician; Lorraine Bracco (1954- ), actress; Kelly Ripa (1970- ), actress/TV personality.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 2005, at the first regular-season NFL game to take place outside the United States, the Arizona Cardinals beat the San Francisco 49ers in Mexico City.

TODAY'S FACT: After translating Leo Tolstoy's "Letter to a Hindu," Mohandas Gandhi began a regular correspondence with the novelist that lasted from October 1909 until Tolstoy's death in November 1910.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "I always remember that America was established not to create wealth ... but to realize a vision, to realize an ideal ... to discover and maintain liberty among men." -- Woodrow Wilson

TODAY'S NUMBER: 17,897 -- number of original "Peanuts" comic strips published between the strip's debut in 1950 and creator Charles Schulz's death in 2000.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (Sept. 29) and last quarter (Oct. 8).