ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 255th day of 2024 and the 84th day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1857, settlers from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and members of the Utah Territorial Militia massacred 120 pioneers in Mountain Meadows, Utah.

In 2001, hijacked planes crashed into New York City's World Trade Center, the Pentagon in Virginia and a Pennsylvania field in terrorist attacks that claimed nearly 3,000 lives.

In 2007, Russia announced that it had successfully tested the world's most powerful nonnuclear bomb, a thermobaric weapon nicknamed the "father of all bombs."

In 2012, a heavily armed militia attacked the U.S. consulate and a CIA compound in Benghazi, Libya, killing four Americans, including the U.S. ambassador.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: O. Henry (1862-1910), short-story writer; D.H. Lawrence (1885-1930), author; Paul "Bear" Bryant (1913-1983), football coach; Tom Landry (1924-2000), football coach; Brian De Palma (1940- ), film director; Tony Gilroy (1956- ), filmmaker; Virginia Madsen (1961- ), actress; Moby (1965- ), singer-songwriter; Harry Connick Jr. (1967- ), actor/singer-songwriter; Ludacris (1977- ), rapper/actor; Ed Reed (1978- ), football player; Tyler Hoechlin (1987- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: John Tyler was the first vice president to assume the presidency because of a sitting president's death. During the term he served, after William Henry Harrison's monthlong presidency, Tyler was often referred to slightingly as "His Accidency" or "Acting President Tyler."

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1985, Pete Rose broke Ty Cobb's record with his 4,192nd career hit.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "One must learn to love, and go through a good deal of suffering to get to it, and the journey is always towards the other soul." -- D.H. Lawrence

TODAY'S NUMBER: 4,256 -- total career hits for Pete Rose, which remains the Major League Baseball record.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (Sept. 10) and full moon (Sept. 17).

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).