Today is the 337th day of 2012 and the 72nd day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1927, Ford Motor Co. introduced the new Model A.

In 1942, a team led by Enrico Fermi engineered the first controlled nuclear fission chain reaction under the stands of the University of Chicago's Stagg Field.

In 1970, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was established.

In 1988, Benazir Bhutto was sworn in as prime minister of Pakistan, becoming the first female leader of an Islamic nation.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Georges Seurat (1859-1891), painter; Maria Callas (1923-1977), opera singer; Harry Reid (1939- ), Senate majority leader; Gianni Versace (1946-1997), fashion designer; Ann Patchett (1963- ), writer; Lucy Liu (1968- ), actress; Monica Seles (1973- ), tennis player; Britney Spears (1981- ), singer.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1967, Hall of Fame center Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia 76ers set an NBA record for missed free throws in a single game, missing 22 in a 133-109 win over the Seattle SuperSonics.

TODAY'S FACT: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency employed a workforce of 17,278 in 2010.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black." -- Henry Ford

TODAY'S NUMBER: 112 -- days Barney Clark, the recipient of the first artificial heart, lived after it was implanted on this day in 1982.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (Nov. 28) and last quarter (Dec. 6).

Today is the 336th day of 2012 and the 71st day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1955, Rosa Parks refused to sit in the back of a bus in Montgomery, Ala., sparking a new era in the civil rights movement.

In 1969, the United States instituted its first draft lottery since World War II.

In 2008, the National Bureau of Economic Research declared that the United States had been in an official recession since December 2007.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Marie Tussaud (1761-1850), museum founder; Mary Martin (1913-1990), actress; Lou Rawls (1933-2006), singer; Woody Allen (1935- ), filmmaker; Lee Trevino (1939- ), golfer; Richard Pryor (1940-2005), actor/comedian; Bette Midler (1945- ), singer/actress; Sarah Silverman (1970- ), actress/comedian.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1924, Brooklyn pitcher Dazzy Vance (28 wins, 2.16 ERA, 262 strikeouts) won the National League MVP award over Rogers Hornsby, who batted .424 for the season.

TODAY'S FACT: At the time of the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955, about 70 percent of bus riders in the city were African-American.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Life doesn't imitate art. It imitates bad television." -- Woody Allen

TODAY'S NUMBER: 1.7 million -- men inducted into the U.S. armed forces between 1965 and 1973 through the Selective Service System.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (Nov. 28) and last quarter (Dec. 6).

Today is the 335th day of 2012 and the 70th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1782, provisional articles of peace were signed in Paris between Britain and the United States, under which Britain recognized U.S. independence.

In 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Finland.

In 1993, President Bill Clinton signed the Brady Bill, a major gun-control measure.

In 2004, Ken Jennings' record 74-game winning streak on the TV quiz show "Jeopardy!" came to an end.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Jonathan Swift (1667-1745), clergyman/satirist; Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) (1835-1910), writer; Winston Churchill (1874-1965), British statesman; Dick Clark (1929-2012), TV personality/producer; Abbie Hoffman (1936-1989), political activist; Ridley Scott (1937- ), director; Mandy Patinkin (1952- ), singer/actor; Ben Stiller (1965- ), actor; Ivan Rodriguez (1971- ), baseball player; Clay Aiken (1978- ), singer.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1991, the U.S. women's soccer team defeated Norway 2-1 to win the first Women's World Cup.

TODAY'S FACT: Mark Twain was not a fan of fellow novelist Jane Austen, at one point writing in a letter, "Every time I read 'Pride and Prejudice' I want to dig her up and hit her over the skull with her own shin-bone."

TODAY'S QUOTE: "A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject." -- Winston Churchill

TODAY'S NUMBER: $2,520,700 -- total winnings of Ken Jennings during his record-shattering "Jeopardy!" run (not including a $2,000 consolation prize for coming in second in his final game).

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (Nov. 28) and last quarter (Dec. 6).