Today is the 274th day of 2012 and the ninth day of autumn.
TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1938, France and Britain reached an agreement with Hitler's Germany to allow German troops to occupy half of the Czech region of Sudetenland.
In 1949, the Berlin Airlift, which delivered fuel and food to West Berliners in avoidance of a Soviet blockade, ended.
In 2005, a Danish newspaper published controversial cartoons about the Islamic prophet Muhammad, sparking protests and riots around the world.
TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Deborah Kerr (1921-2007), actress; Truman Capote (1924-1984), writer; Elie Wiesel (1928- ), writer/activist; Angie Dickinson (1931- ), actress; Johnny Mathis (1935- ), singer; Fran Drescher (1957- ), actress; Eric Stoltz (1961- ), actor; Jenna Elfman (1971- ), actress; Marion Cotillard (1975- ), actress; Martina Hingis (1980- ), tennis player; T-Pain (1985- ), singer/rapper.
TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1927, Babe Ruth broke his own record for home runs in a season by hitting his 60th, setting a record that stood for 34 years.
TODAY'S FACT: When Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt set two world records at the World Championships in Berlin in 2009, the city gave him a portrait of himself painted on a 12-foot high chunk of the Berlin Wall that weighed nearly 3 tons.
TODAY'S QUOTE: "I believe more in the scissors than I do in the pencil." -- Truman Capote
TODAY'S NUMBER: 209 -- total weeks Martina Hingis was the top-ranked women's tennis player, beginning in 1997.
TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (Sept. 29) and last quarter (Oct. 8).