Today is the 200th day of 2012 and the 29th day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1863, Union troops attacked Fort Wagner in South Carolina, led by Col. Robert Gould Shaw and the African-American soldiers in the 54th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry.

In 1925, Adolf Hitler published his manifesto, Mein Kampf.

In 1936, Spanish army officials revolted, led by Gen. Francisco Franco, starting the Spanish Civil War.

In 1947, President Harry S. Truman signed the Presidential Succession Act, designating the speaker of the House and the president pro tempore of the Senate as next in line after the vice president.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Nelson Mandela (1918- ), South African president; John Glenn (1921- ), astronaut/U.S. senator; Hunter S. Thompson (1937-2005), journalist; James Brolin (1940- ), actor; Joe Torre (1940- ), baseball player/manager; Steve Forbes (1947- ), publisher; Sir Richard Branson (1950- ), entrepreneur; Vin Diesel (1967- ), actor; Torii Hunter (1975- ), baseball player; Kristen Bell (1980- ), actress.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1999, New York Yankee David Cone pitched the 14th perfect game in Major League Baseball's modern era (1900 to present).

TODAY'S FACT: Nelson Mandela and Oliver Tambo opened the first black-owned South African law practice in 1952.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Absolute truth is a very rare and dangerous commodity in the context of professional journalism." -- Hunter S. Thompson

TODAY'S NUMBER: 153 -- height (in feet) of the tower from which the late Hunter S. Thompson's ashes were launched by cannon, mixed with fireworks, in a private ceremony.

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

Today is the 199th day of 2012 and the 28th day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte made his final surrender to Britain aboard the HMS Bellerophon, 27 days after his defeat at Waterloo.

In 1945, President Harry S. Truman, Soviet Premier Josef Stalin and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill met to discuss postwar Europe and the ongoing war in the Pacific, as the Potsdam Conference began in Germany.

In 1955, Disneyland opened in Anaheim, Calif.

In 1975, a U.S. Apollo spacecraft docked with a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft and astronauts from both countries held the first international meeting in space.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: James Cagney (1899-1986), actor; Phyllis Diller (1917- ), comedian/actress; Diahann Carroll (1935- ), actress; Donald Sutherland (1935- ), actor; David Hasselhoff (1952- ), actor; Angela Merkel (1954- ), German chancellor.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1941, Joe DiMaggio's record hitting-streak ended at 56 games as he went hitless in a 4-3 Yankee victory over the Cleveland Indians.

TODAY'S FACT: On Disneyland's opening day, everything that could go wrong did: Power went out, wet paint ruined people's clothes, rides malfunctioned, eateries ran out of food, and many visitors found their shoes getting stuck in wet asphalt.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them." -- Walt Disney

TODAY'S NUMBER: 4 -- days after the conclusion of the Potsdam Conference that the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan.

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

Today is the 198th day of 2012 and the 27th day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1790, President George Washington signed legislation designating the District of Columbia as the permanent capital of the United States.

In 1918, abdicated czar Nicholas II and his family were executed at Yekaterinburg, Russia.

In 1951, J.D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye" was published.

In 1979, Saddam Hussein became the president of Iraq.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Andrea del Sarto (1486-1530), painter; Roald Amundsen (1872-1928), explorer; Barbara Stanwyck (1907-1990), actress; Ginger Rogers (1911-1995), dancer/actress; Tony Kushner (1956- ), playwright; Will Ferrell (1967- ), actor; Barry Sanders (1968- ), football player.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1932, Babe Didrikson singlehandedly won the Amateur Athletic Union's national women's team championship as the sole representative of Employers Casualty Co. of Dallas. She competed in eight of the 10 track and field events and set four world records over the course of the competition.

TODAY'S FACT: The world's first parking meter, installed on this day in 1935 in Oklahoma City, charged 5 cents per hour.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "When two people love each other, they don't look at each other; they look in the same direction." -- Ginger Rogers

TODAY'S NUMBER: 2 -- cities in which the U.S. Senate met formally before settling permanently in Washington, D.C., in 1800. The Senate convened in New York City from 1789 to 1790 and in Philadelphia from 1790 to 1800.

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