ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 246th day of 2017 and the 76th day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1783, the signing of the Treaty of Paris officially ended the Revolutionary War.

In 1838, abolitionist leader Frederick Douglass escaped slavery in Baltimore.

In 1939, France, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia declared war on Germany in response to the country's invasion of Poland.

In 2004, a three-day hostage situation at a school in Beslan, Russia, ended with a gun battle that killed more than 300 people, including 186 children.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Louis Sullivan (1856-1924), architect; Ferdinand Porsche (1875-1951), automotive engineer; Kitty Carlisle (1910-2007), actress; Alan Ladd (1913-1964), actor; Mort Walker (1923- ), cartoonist; Eileen Brennan (1932-2013), actress; Malcolm Gladwell (1963- ), journalist/author; Charlie Sheen (1965- ), actor; Jennie Finch (1980- ), softball player; Shaun White (1986- ), snowboarder/skateboarder.

TODAY'S FACT: Ferdinand Porsche, founder of the automobile company of the same name, designed the first hybrid gasoline-electric car. Known as the Lohner-Porsche Mixte Hybrid, the car went into production in 1900.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1950, Guiseppe "Nino" Farina won the Italian Grand Prix to become the first Formula One World Drivers champion.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "He should be taught that high ideals make a people strong. That decay comes when ideals wane." -- Louis Sullivan, "Kindergarten Chats and Other Writings"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 4,435 -- U.S. service members killed in battle during the Revolutionary War, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (Aug. 29) and full moon (Sept. 6).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 245th day of 2017 and the 75th day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1666, the Great Fire of London began as a small fire in a bakeshop, ending three days later after destroying more than 13,000 buildings.

In 1789, Congress created the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

In 1901, Vice President Theodore Roosevelt made his "speak softly and carry a big stick" speech on American foreign policy.

In 1963, Alabama Gov. George Wallace stationed state troopers around Tuskegee High School to prevent integration.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Romare Bearden (1911-1988), artist/author; Nathaniel "Tiny" Archibald (1948- ), basketball player; Terry Bradshaw (1948- ), sportscaster/football player; Christa McAuliffe (1948-1986), teacher/astronaut; Mark Harmon (1951- ), actor; Jimmy Connors (1952- ), tennis player; Eric Dickerson (1960- ), football player; Keanu Reeves (1964- ), actor; Lennox Lewis (1965- ), boxer; Salma Hayek (1966- ), actress; Katt Williams (1973- ), comedian.

TODAY'S FACT: The first ATM in the United States was put into service at Chemical Bank in Rockville Center, New York, on this day in 1969.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1960, Wilma Rudolph ran the 100-meter dash in 11 seconds to claim the gold medal at the Summer Olympic Games in Rome. She was awarded the world record for her sprint, only to have it revoked because wind speeds were higher than allowed.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "You should always respect what you are and your culture because if your art is going to mean anything, that is where it comes from." -- Romare Bearden

TODAY'S NUMBER: 3.8 million -- ATMs estimated to be in use worldwide, according to the World Bank Group.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (Aug. 29) and full moon (Sept. 6).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 244th day of 2017 and the 74th day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1897, the first section of Boston's subway system -- the first underground public transportation in the United States -- opened.

In 1939, Germany invaded Poland, marking the beginning of World War II.

In 1985, American and French researchers discovered the wreckage of the luxury liner Titanic on the ocean floor near Newfoundland.

In 2004, Chechen militants took more than 1,100 people hostage at a school in Beslan, Russia.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Engelbert Humperdinck (1854-1921), composer; Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1950), author/journalist; Richard Farnsworth (1920-2000), actor; Rocky Marciano (1923-1969), boxer; Conway Twitty (1933-1993), singer-songwriter; Alan Dershowitz (1938- ), attorney; Lily Tomlin (1939- ), actress/comedian; Barry Gibb (1946- ), singer-songwriter; James Rebhorn (1948-2014), actor; Gloria Estefan (1957- ), singer-songwriter; Padma Lakshmi (1970- ), actress.

TODAY'S FACT: "A Trip to the Moon," widely considered the first science fiction film, was released in France on this day in 1902.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1964, San Francisco Giants pitcher Masanori Murakami became the first Japanese player to play in the American major leagues, pitching a scoreless eighth inning in a 4-1 loss to the New York Mets at Shea Stadium in New York City.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "If it entertains and is clean, it is good literature, or its kind. If it forms the habit of reading, in people who might not read otherwise, it is the best literature." -- Edgar Rice Burroughs

TODAY'S NUMBER: 900 -- unmarked graves unearthed by workers building the first section of the Boston subway system in the late 19th century.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (Aug. 29) and full moon (Sept. 6).