Today is the 196th day of 2012 and the 25th day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1789, the French Revolution began with the storming of the Bastille in Paris.

In 1951, the George Washington Carver National Monument in Joplin, Mo., was dedicated, becoming the first U.S. national monument to honor an African-American.

In 2004, the U.S. Senate voted 50-48 against a proposed constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903), painter; Gustav Klimt (1862-1918), painter; Woody Guthrie (1912-1967), musician; Gerald Ford (1913-2006), 38th U.S. president; Ingmar Bergman (1918-2007), screenwriter/director; Harry Dean Stanton (1926- ), actor; Jane Lynch (1960- ), actress; Brian Selznick (1966- ), writer/illustrator; Tim Hudson (1975- ), baseball player.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1999, the Western Conference defeated the Eastern Conference 79-61 to win the first WNBA All-Star Game.

TODAY'S FACT: The French revolutionaries were called sans-culottes, or "without breeches," which referred to their preference for wearing long trousers rather than the breeches of the aristocracy.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Let me be known as just the man that told you something you already knew." -- Woody Guthrie

TODAY'S NUMBER: $192.7 million -- total price fetched for four paintings by Gustav Klimt at a Christie's auction in 2006.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (July 10) and new moon (July 19).

Today is the 195th day of 2012 and the 24th day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1787, the U.S. Congress adopted the Northwest Ordinance, which established governing rules for the Northwest Territory.

In 1863, New York City draft riots began. An estimated 1,000 people were killed or wounded.

In 1977, a 25-hour blackout hit the New York City area, leaving some 9 million people in darkness and resulting in looting and disorder.

In 1985, the Live Aid concerts were broadcast to more than 1 billion people in 110 countries to raise money for African famine relief.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Jack Kemp (1935-2009), football player/politician; Patrick Stewart (1940- ), actor; Harrison Ford (1942- ), actor; Cheech Marin (1946- ), actor/comedian; Cameron Crowe (1957- ), screenwriter; Ken Jeong (1969- ), actor/comedian.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1930, France defeated Mexico 4-1 and the United States defeated Belgium 3-0 in the first World Cup soccer matches, held in Montevideo, Uruguay.

TODAY'S FACT: Presidents Washington, Adams, Jefferson and Madison all proposed that Congress pass some form of mandatory military conscription or registration, but none of the proposals succeeded.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Pro football gave me a good sense of perspective to enter politics. I'd already been booed, cheered, cut, sold, traded and hung in effigy." -- Jack Kemp

TODAY'S NUMBER: 688,621 -- approximate area, in square miles, of the Northwest Territory (later divided into Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and parts of Minnesota).

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (July 10) and new moon (July 19).

Today is the 194th day of 2012 and the 23rd day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1871, rioting between Irish Catholics and Protestants in New York City left more than 50 dead.

In 1984, Democratic Rep. Geraldine Ferraro of New York became the first woman vice presidential candidate on a major party ticket.

In 2006, Hezbollah guerrillas raided northern Israel, marking the beginning of a 33-day conflict.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862), author/philosopher; George Washington Carver (1864-1943), scientist; Oscar Hammerstein II (1895-1960), lyricist; Buckminster Fuller (1895-1983), scientist/inventor; Pablo Neruda (1904-1973), poet; Milton Berle (1908-2002), comedian; Bill Cosby (1937- ), comedian/actor; Richard Simmons (1948- ), fitness trainer; Topher Grace (1978- ), actor; Michelle Rodriguez (1978- ), actress.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1979, the Chicago White Sox's Disco Demolition Night promotion caused the team to forfeit the second game of a doubleheader against the Detroit Tigers after unruly fans rushed the field.

TODAY'S FACT: George Washington Carver's "How to Grow the Peanut and 105 Ways of Preparing It for Human Consumption" included recipes for peanut bisque, peanut coffee and peanut sausage.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to let alone." -- Henry David Thoreau

TODAY'S NUMBER: 270 -- stacked height (in feet) of Buckminster Fuller's "Dymaxion Chronofile," a systematic record of personal notes and ephemera that he kept from 1920 until his death.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (July 10) and new moon (July 19).