ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC
Today is the 280th day of 2017 and the 16th day of autumn.
TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1896, The Wall Street Journal began publishing what is known today as the Dow Jones Industrial Average as a daily feature.
In 1985, the cruise ship Achille Lauro was hijacked in the Mediterranean by Palestinian terrorists.
In 1996, Fox News Channel was launched on cable TV.
In 2001, the United States and Great Britain began air strikes against strategic targets in Afghanistan.
TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Niels Bohr (1885-1962), physicist; Elijah Muhammad (1897-1975), spiritual/political leader; June Allyson (1917-2006), actress; Al Martino (1927-2009), singer/actor; Desmond Tutu (1931- ), archbishop/Nobel laureate; Thomas Keneally (1935- ), novelist; John Mellencamp (1951- ), singer-songwriter; Vladimir Putin (1952- ), Russian politician; Yo-Yo Ma (1955- ), cellist; Simon Cowell (1959- ), record executive/TV personality; Thom Yorke (1968- ), musician; Charles Woodson (1976- ), football player.
TODAY'S FACT: The first photographs of the far side of the moon were transmitted by the Soviet probe Luna 3 on this day in 1959.
TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1984, running back Walter Payton of the Chicago Bears broke Jim Brown's career-rushing record of 12,312 yards during a 20-7 victory over the New Orleans Saints.
TODAY'S QUOTE: "The fact that religions through the ages have spoken in images, parables and paradoxes means simply that there are no other ways of grasping the reality to which they refer." -- Niels Bohr
TODAY'S NUMBER: 222 -- points scored by the Georgia Tech Engineers in a football game played on this day in 1916. Their opponents, the Cumberland College Bulldogs, were shut out. The final score of 222-0 marked the most lopsided game in college football history.
TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (Oct. 5) and last quarter moon (Oct. 12).