Today is the 340th day of 2015 and the 75th day of autumn.
TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1492, Christopher Columbus landed on the island of Hispaniola, now the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
In 1790, the U.S. Congress moved from New York City to Philadelphia.
In 1877, the first edition of The Washington Post was published.
In 1957, two months after the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the United States attempted to launch its first satellite, but the Vanguard rocket exploded on the launch pad.
TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Joyce Kilmer (1886-1918), poet; Ira Gershwin (1896-1983), lyricist; Alfred Eisenstaedt (1898-1995), photojournalist; Baby Face Nelson (1908-1934), criminal; Dave Brubeck (1920-2012), jazz pianist; Steven Wright (1955- ), comedian; Andrew Cuomo (1957- ), New York governor; Nick Park (1958- ), director/animator; Judd Apatow (1967- ), filmmaker; Johnny Manziel (1992- ), football player.
TODAY'S FACT: The world's first pediatric heart transplant (which was also the first human-to-human heart transplant in the United States) was performed at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York, on this day in 1967.
TODAY'S SPORTS: In 2003, after a loss to Navy, Army became the first Division I college football team in history to finish the season 0-13.
TODAY'S QUOTE: "When I was in school the teachers told me practice makes perfect; then they told me nobody's perfect, so I stopped practicing." -- Steven Wright
TODAY'S NUMBER: 898 -- steps to the top of the Washington Monument when it was completed on this day in 1884. (The bottom step was later converted to a wheelchair ramp, bringing the total to 897.)
TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (Dec. 3) and new moon (Dec. 11).