Today is the 318th day of 2012 and the 53rd day of autumn.
TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1942, the minimum draft age for U.S. armed service was lowered from 21 to 18.
In 1970, the Bhola cyclone in Bangladesh killed more than 300,000 people.
In 1982, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated in Washington, D.C.
In 1997, "The Lion King" opened on Broadway.
In 2001, President George W. Bush signed an executive order allowing military tribunals for suspected terrorists.
TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894), writer; Louis Brandeis (1856-1941), U.S. Supreme Court justice; Leon Leonwood Bean (1872-1967), retailer; Jack Elam (1916-2003), actor; Joe Mantegna (1947- ), actor; Whoopi Goldberg (1955- ), actress/comedian; Jimmy Kimmel (1967- ), comedian/TV host.
TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1985, Lynette Woodard made her debut as the first female member of the Harlem Globetrotters.
TODAY'S FACT: The Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba was established in 1903, when a stipulation in the Cuban-American Treaty designated the Guantanamo Bay area to be perpetually leased to the United States.
TODAY'S QUOTE: "If you would only recognize that life is hard, things would be so much easier for you." -- Louis Brandeis
TODAY'S NUMBER: 6,205 -- performances of Disney's "The Lion King" on Broadway since its 1997 debut, making the musical the fifth-longest-running show in Broadway history (as of Oct. 21, 2012).
TODAY'S MOON: New moon (Nov. 13).