ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 266th day of 2024 and the first day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1776, the British hanged 21-year-old American teacher/soldier Nathan Hale as a spy.

In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln announced the Emancipation Proclamation, making all enslaved people in seceding states free as of Jan. 1, 1863.

In 1975, President Gerald Ford survived a second assassination attempt in three weeks when his would-be assassin was thwarted by a bystander within a group of onlookers in San Francisco.

In 1980, Iraq invaded disputed territory in the Persian Gulf, officially beginning a nearly eight-year war with Iran.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Michael Faraday (1791-1867), scientist; Charles Brenton Huggins (1901-1997), physician; Tommy Lasorda (1927-2021), baseball player/manager; Eugene Roche (1928-2004), actor; David Stern (1942-2020), NBA commissioner; Arthur O. Sulzberger Jr. (1951- ), publisher; Andrea Bocelli (1958- ), singer-songwriter; Joan Jett (1958- ), singer-songwriter; Bonnie Hunt (1961- ), actress; Tom Felton (1987- ), actor; Carlos Correa (1994- ), baseball player.

TODAY'S FACT: The first issue of National Geographic was published on this day in 1888.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1969, San Francisco Giants center fielder Willie Mays hit his 600th career home run in a 4-2 victory over the San Diego Padres.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Listen, if you start worrying about the people in the stands, before too long you’re up in the stands with them." -- Tommy Lasorda

TODAY'S NUMBER: $990,445 -- purse (then the largest in the history of boxing) that Gene Tunney won for defending his heavyweight title against Jack Dempsey in the infamous "Long Count" bout held on this date in 1927.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (Sept. 17) and last quarter moon (Sept. 24).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 265th day of 2024 and the 94th day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1792, the French National Convention declared France a republic and voted to abolish the monarchy.

In 1897, the New York Sun published an editorial by Francis Pharcellus Church that included the now-famous phrase, "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus."

In 1981, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved Sandra Day O'Connor as the first female Supreme Court justice.

In 2013, Islamic militants attacked the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya, killing at least 67 people.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: H.G. Wells (1866-1946), historian/author; Chuck Jones (1912-2002), animator; Leonard Cohen (1934-2016), singer-songwriter; Jerry Bruckheimer (1943- ), film/TV producer; Stephen King (1947- ), author; Bill Murray (1950- ), actor; Shinzo Abe (1954-2022), Japanese politician; Ethan Coen (1957- ), filmmaker; Rob Morrow (1962- ), actor; Cheryl Hines (1965- ), actress; Faith Hill (1967- ), singer-songwriter; Luke Wilson (1971- ), actor; Lindsey Stirling (1986- ), violinist/composer; Jason Derulo (1989- ), singer-songwriter.

TODAY'S FACT: There are no female characters in J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit," published on this day in 1937. Only one female, Belladonna Took, is mentioned by name.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1970, "Monday Night Football" made its ABC broadcast debut with a game between the New York Jets and the Cleveland Browns.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "It is possible to believe that all the past is but the beginning of a beginning, and that all that is and has been is but the twilight of the dawn. It is possible to believe that all the human mind has ever accomplished is but the dream before the awakening." -- H.G. Wells

TODAY'S NUMBER: 8 -- novels published by Stephen King under the pen name Richard Bachman, which King used in his early career because publishers told him audiences wouldn't buy more than one book per year from the same writer.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (Sept. 17) and last quarter moon (Sept. 24).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 264th day of 2024 and the 93rd day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1873, the New York Stock Exchange closed because of the Panic of 1873.

In 1881, Chester Arthur was sworn in as president, one day after the death of James Garfield.

In 1977, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam was admitted to the United Nations.

In 1984, a suicide bombing killed 23, including two Americans, at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon.

In 2001, President George W. Bush declared a "war on terror" before a joint session of Congress.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Upton Sinclair (1878-1968), author/social reformer; Leo Strauss (1899-1973), philosopher; Arnold Jacob "Red" Auerbach (1917-2006), basketball coach/executive; Anne Meara (1929-2015), actress/comedian; Sophia Loren (1934- ), actress; George R.R. Martin (1948- ), author; Guy Lafleur (1951-2022), hockey player; Gary Cole (1956- ), actor; Moon Bloodgood (1975- ), actress; Jon Bernthal (1976- ), actor; Aldis Hodge (1986- ), actor; Khabib Nurmagomedov (1988- ), mixed martial artist.

TODAY'S FACT: The first Cannes Film Festival, set in the resort city of Cannes on the French Riviera, began on this day in 1946.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 2013, Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees hit the 24th grand slam of his career, breaking the major league record held by Lou Gehrig since 1938. Rodriguez retired in 2016 with 25 career grand slams.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Truly it seemed that a great people had gone mad; but it is a fact well known to alienists that you cannot convince a madman of his own condition, and only make him madder by trying." -- Upton Sinclair, "Dragon's Teeth"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 9 -- NBA championship titles Red Auerbach won as head coach of the Boston Celtics, eight of which were consecutive (1959-1966).

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (Sept. 17) and last quarter moon (Sept. 24).