Today is the 177th day of 2012 and the sixth day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1876, Lt. Col. George Custer and 263 soldiers under his command were killed by Cheyenne and Sioux fighters in the "last stand" Battle of Little Bighorn.

In 1938, the first federal hourly minimum wage was enacted (at 25 cents an hour).

In 1950, North Korean forces crossed the 38th parallel into South Korea, igniting the Korean War.

In 1998, the Supreme Court ruled the federal line-item veto unconstitutional.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Antoni Gaudi (1852-1926), architect; George Abbott (1887-1995), playwright/producer/director; George Orwell (1903-1950), essayist/novelist; Sidney Lumet (1924-2011), filmmaker; Sonia Sotomayor (1954- ), U.S. Supreme Court justice; Anthony Bourdain (1956- ), chef/author/TV personality; Ricky Gervais (1961- ), comedian/actor; George Michael (1963- ), singer; Linda Cardellini (1975- ), actress; Busy Philipps (1979- ), actress.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1968, San Francisco Giants rookie Bobby Bonds became the first player in the 20th century to hit a grand slam in his first major league game.

TODAY'S FACT: North Korea's military had 1.1 million active troops and 8.2 million reserve troops in 2011.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear." -- George Orwell

TODAY'S NUMBER: $9.04 -- hourly minimum wage in Washington state, which had the highest minimum wage of any state in 2012.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (June 19) and first quarter moon (June 26).

Today is the 176th day of 2012 and the fifth day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1821, Venezuelan revolutionaries under Simon Bolivar defeated the Spanish at the Battle of Carabobo and secured the nation's independence.

In 1901, the first major exhibition of Pablo Picasso's work opened in Paris.

In 1948, President Harry S. Truman signed the Selective Service Act, requiring all men between the ages of 18 and 25 to register for military service.

In 2011, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill into law that legalized same-sex marriage.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: John Ross (1777-1856), Arctic explorer; Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887), clergyman/abolitionist; Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914), writer/satirist; Gerrit Rietveld (1888-1964), architect; Jack Dempsey (1895-1983), boxer; Mick Fleetwood (1947- ), musician; Sherry Stringfield (1967- ), actress; Mindy Kaling (1979- ), actress/producer; Minka Kelly (1980- ), actress; Lionel Messi (1987- ), soccer player.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1995, South Africa defeated New Zealand in the finals of the Rugby World Cup as Nelson Mandela looked on. The event was dramatized in the 2009 film "Invictus."

TODAY'S FACT: Pablo Picasso was honored on his 90th birthday with an exhibition at the Louvre in Paris in 1971. It was the first time the Louvre had exhibited the work of a living artist.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination." -- Nelson Mandela

TODAY'S NUMBER: 16.5 million -- living U.S. wartime veterans, as of late 2011.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (June 19) and first quarter moon (June 26).

Today is the 175th day of 2012 and the fourth day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1894, the International Olympic Committee was founded in Paris.

In 1947, the Senate overrode President Harry S. Truman's veto of the Taft-Hartley Act.

In 1948, the Soviet Union began the Berlin Blockade.

In 1961, the Antarctic Treaty went into effect, demilitarizing the continent.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Alan Turing (1912-1954), mathematician; Bob Fosse (1927-1987), choreographer/director; June Carter Cash (1929-2003), singer; Wilma Rudolph (1940-1994), Olympic sprinter; Clarence Thomas (1948- ), U.S. Supreme Court justice; Randy Jackson (1956- ), musician/TV personality; Frances McDormand (1957- ), actress; LaDainian Tomlinson (1979- ), football player.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1963, Jimmy Piersall of the New York Mets celebrated his 100th career home run by running the bases backward.

TODAY'S FACT: Host country Greece won 47 medals, more than any other participating country, at the first modern Summer Olympics in 1896.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Within the first few months, I discovered that being a president is like riding a tiger. A man has to keep on riding or be swallowed." -- Harry S. Truman

TODAY'S NUMBER: 38 -- world records set at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (June 19) and first quarter moon (June 26).