Today is the 243rd day of 2012 and the 72nd day of summer.
TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1963, a United States-Soviet diplomatic teletype "hotline," intended to prevent accidental war, was installed.
In 1967, the U.S. Senate confirmed the appointment of Thurgood Marshall as the first African-American Supreme Court justice.
In 1996, Russian and Chechen leaders agreed to a ceasefire, ending the First Chechen war.
TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (1797-1851), writer; Huey Long (1893-1935), politician; Shirley Booth (1898-1992), actress; Roy Wilkins (1901-1981), civil rights activist; Fred MacMurray (1908-1991), actor; Ted Williams (1918-2002), baseball player; Cameron Diaz (1972- ), actress; Andy Roddick (1982- ), tennis player.
TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1905, Ty Cobb made his major league debut for the Detroit Tigers.
TODAY'S FACT: The number of hours Americans spent online increased nearly 100 percent between 2000 and 2010, from 9.4 hours per week to 18.3 hours per week.
TODAY'S QUOTE: "The task of winning our share was not the easy one of disengagement and flight but the hard one of work, of short as well as long jumps, of disappointment -- and of sweet success." -- Roy Wilkins
TODAY'S NUMBER: 32 -- cases Thurgood Marshall had argued before the Supreme Court before he became a justice. He won 29 of them.
TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (Aug. 24) and full moon (Aug. 31).