ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 254th day of 2024 and the 83rd day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1846, Elias Howe patented the first sewing machine.

In 1977, France used a guillotine in carrying out a death sentence for the last time.

In 2002, Switzerland became a member of the United Nations.

In 2008, the Large Hadron Collider was powered up for the first time in Geneva, Switzerland.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Adele Astaire (1896-1981), dancer; Arnold Palmer (1929-2016), golfer; Charles Kuralt (1934-1997), TV journalist; Roger Maris (1934-1985), baseball player; Buck Buchanan (1940-1992), football player; Stephen Jay Gould (1941-2002), biologist/writer; Chris Columbus (1958- ), filmmaker; Colin Firth (1960- ), actor; Randy Johnson (1963- ), baseball player; Guy Ritchie (1968- ), filmmaker; Ryan Phillippe (1974- ), actor; Ben Wallace (1974- ), basketball player.

TODAY'S FACT: The United Nations, which included 193 member states as of August 2024, began in 1945, when representatives of 50 countries met in San Francisco to draw up the charter.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1972, the U.S. men's basketball team fell for the first time in Olympic competition, suffering a controversial 51-50 loss to the Soviet Union team on a last-second shot in the gold medal match.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "The most erroneous stories are those we think we know best -- and therefore never scrutinize or question." -- Stephen Jay Gould

TODAY'S NUMBER: 112 -- countries that have abolished the death penalty as of 2024, according to Amnesty International.

TODAY'S MOON: First quarter moon (Sept. 10).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 253rd day of 2024 and the 82nd day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1776, the Continental Congress officially changed the name of the "United Colonies" to the "United States of America."

In 1791, the capital of the United States was named Washington, after President George Washington.

In 1850, California was admitted as the 31st U.S. state.

In 1893, Esther Cleveland, second child of President Grover Cleveland and first lady Frances, became the only child of a president to be born in the White House.

In 1956, Elvis Presley made his first appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show."

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910), author; Harland David "Colonel" Sanders (1890-1980), businessman; Cliff Robertson (1923-2011), actor; Otis Redding (1941-1967), singer-songwriter; Joe Theismann (1949- ), sportscaster/football player; Hugh Grant (1960- ), actor; Bob Stoops (1960- ), football coach; Adam Sandler (1966- ), comedian/actor; Eric Stonestreet (1971- ), actor; Michael Buble (1975- ), singer; Michelle Williams (1980- ), actress.

TODAY'S FACT: California did not go through a formal period as a U.S. territory. It quickly achieved the 60,000 residents required for statehood, due to the Gold Rush.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1965, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax threw a perfect game against the Chicago Cubs.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "I don't know who I touch and who I don't. I work hard trying to make people laugh. I try to do the kind of stuff that made me laugh growing up. I don't have any secrets. I don't know the reasons I've been so well received." -- Adam Sandler

TODAY'S NUMBER: 7 -- times that Sophia Tolstaya, wife of Russian author Leo Tolstoy, rewrote by hand the complete manuscript of "War and Peace" between 1865 and 1869 as Tolstoy revised the novel before publication.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Sept. 2) and first quarter moon (Sept. 10).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 252nd day of 2024 and the 81st day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1664, New Amsterdam became New York as the Dutch surrendered Manhattan and surrounding land to the British.

In 1966, the "Star Trek" TV series premiered on NBC.

In 1974, President Gerald Ford pardoned former President Richard Nixon for any crimes he might have committed in office.

In 2022, Queen Elizabeth II, Britain's longest-reigning monarch, died in Scotland at age 96.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Claude Pepper (1900-1989), U.S. senator; Sid Caesar (1922-2014), comedian/actor; Grace Metalious (1924-1964), author; Peter Sellers (1925-1980), comedian/actor; Patsy Cline (1932-1963), singer-songwriter; Bernie Sanders (1941- ), politician; Ruby Bridges (1954- ), civil rights activist; Martin Freeman (1971- ), actor; Pink (1979- ), singer-songwriter; Wiz Khalifa (1987- ), rapper; Avicii (1989-2018), DJ/record producer; Gaten Matarazzo (2002- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: More than 8,000 people are estimated to have died in the 1900 Galveston hurricane, making it the deadliest natural disaster in American history.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1998, Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals hit his 62nd home run of the season, breaking the record held by Roger Maris since 1961. In January 2010, McGwire admitted that he used steroids during the 1998 season.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "As African Americans, people of that generation felt pretty much if they were going to see changes in the world, they had to make sacrifices and step up to the plate. I'm very proud that my parents happened to be people who did." -- Ruby Bridges

TODAY'S NUMBER: 370 -- approximate mean diameter (in meters) of 99942 Apophis, a near-Earth asteroid to be studied by NASA's OSIRIS-APEX spacecraft (launched on this day in 2016) for 18 months after the asteroid's close approach to Earth in April 2029.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Sept. 2) and first quarter moon (Sept. 10).