ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 272nd day of 2017 and the eighth day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1789, the U.S. Department of War established a regular army, maintaining several hundred troops.

In 1916, The New York Times reported that John D. Rockefeller, the head of Standard Oil, was almost certainly a billionaire, the world's first.

In 1966, the Chevrolet Camaro debuted for sale in U.S. dealerships.

In 1988, NASA launched STS-26, the 26th Space Shuttle mission and the first since the Challenger disaster of Jan. 28, 1986.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616), writer; Caravaggio (1571-1610), painter; Enrico Fermi (1901-1954), nuclear physicist; Greer Garson (1904-1996), actress; Gene Autry (1907-1998), singer/actor; Jerry Lee Lewis (1935- ), singer-songwriter; Madeline Kahn (1942-1999), actress; Ian McShane (1942- ), actor; Lech Walesa (1943- ), labor leader/politician; Bryant Gumbel (1948- ), TV journalist; Ann Bancroft (1955- ), author/explorer; Russell Peters (1970- ), actor/comedian; Kevin Durant (1988- ), basketball player.

TODAY'S FACT: Miguel de Cervantes' "Don Quixote" is widely considered to be the first modern novel. It was initially published in two volumes in 1605 and 1615.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1951, NBC broadcast a college football game between Duke University and the University of Pittsburgh. It was the first live sporting event to be televised nationwide.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "I think we all strive to push ourselves, to overcome our struggles. And when we do, we get to know ourselves better." -- Ann Bancroft

TODAY'S NUMBER: 777.68 -- points lost by the Dow Jones Industrial Average on this day in 2008, following the bankruptcies of the financial services companies Lehman Brothers and Washington Mutual. It was the largest single-day point drop in history.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (Sept. 27) and full moon (Oct. 5).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 271st day of 2017 and the seventh day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1066, William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy, invaded England.

In 1924, the first aerial circumnavigation of the world, conducted by a team of aviators from the U.S. Army Air Service, ended in Seattle, Washington, after 175 days.

In 2000, the Food and Drug Administration approved the use of the pregnancy-terminating drug RU-486 after a 12-year controversy.

In 2008, the space transportation company SpaceX launched Falcon 1, the first private spacecraft, into orbit.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Kate Douglas Wiggin (1856-1923), author; Ed Sullivan (1901-1974), TV personality; Max Schmeling (1905-2005), boxer; Al Capp (1909-1979), cartoonist; Marcello Mastroianni (1924-1996), actor; Brigitte Bardot (1934- ), actress; Ben E. King (1938-2015), singer-songwriter; Janeane Garofalo (1964- ), comedian/actress; Mira Sorvino (1967- ), actress; Naomi Watts (1968- ), actress; Fedor Emelianenko (1976- ), mixed martial artist; Hilary Duff (1987- ), singer/actress.

TODAY'S FACT: William the Conqueror rose to power despite early controversy that he was an illegitimate child. He was also known as "William the Bastard" before his conquest of England.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1941, Ted Williams hit 6-for-8 in a doubleheader to finish the season with a batting average over .400 (.406), a feat no player since has accomplished.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "There are certain narrow, unimaginative and autocratic old people who seem to call out the most mischievous and sometimes the worst traits in children." -- Kate Douglas Wiggin, "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 6,000 -- employees of SpaceX in September 2017. The company was founded by Elon Musk in 2002 and employed 160 people in November 2005.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (Sept. 27) and full moon (Oct. 5).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 270th day of 2017 and the sixth day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1908, the first Model T automobile left the Ford factory in Detroit.

In 1954, "Tonight Starring Steve Allen," the late-night talk show that eventually became "The Tonight Show," premiered on NBC.

In 1962, Rachel Carson's environmental science book "Silent Spring" was published.

In 1964, the Warren Commission report was released, stating that Lee Harvey Oswald had acted alone in assassinating President John F. Kennedy.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Thomas Nast (1840-1902), cartoonist; Jim Thompson (1906-1977), author; Jayne Meadows (1919-2015), actress; Arthur Penn (1922-2010), filmmaker; Earl Rudolph "Bud" Powell (1924-1966), jazz pianist; Wilford Brimley (1934- ), actor; Dick Schaap (1934-2001), sportscaster; Meat Loaf (1947- ), singer-songwriter; Shaun Cassidy (1958- ), singer/actor; Gwyneth Paltrow (1972- ), actress; Lil Wayne (1982- ), rapper; Avril Lavigne (1984- ), singer.

TODAY'S FACT: In 1777, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, served as the U.S. capital for one day, as the Continental Congress met there in the wake of the British capture of Philadelphia.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1998, Mark McGwire hit his 69th and 70th home runs in the last game of his record-setting season. McGwire admitted to steroid use in 2010.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "There are thirty-two ways to write a story, and I've used every one, but there is only one plot -- things are not as they seem." -- Jim Thompson

TODAY'S NUMBER: 8 -- inches of annual precipitation in the coastal regions of Antarctica. The inland portion of Antarctica receives even less, qualifying the continent as a desert.

TODAY'S MOON: First quarter moon (Sept. 27).