Today is the 226th day of 2012 and the 55th day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1521, Hernando Cortes captured Tenochtitlan (later Mexico City) after a three-month siege.

In 1907, the first motorized taxicab took fares in New York City.

In 1961, East Germany sealed off the boundary between the eastern and western parts of Berlin with a barbed wire fence.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Annie Oakley (1860-1926), sharpshooter; Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980), film director; Fidel Castro (1926- ), former Cuban president; Don Ho (1930-2007), singer; Danny Bonaduce (1959- ), actor; Shani Davis (1982- ), Olympic speed skater.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 2008, American swimmer Michael Phelps won his 10th and 11th career gold medals at the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing.

TODAY'S FACT: Fidel Castro, as a schoolboy in 1940, wrote a letter to U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt requesting a $10 bill.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it." -- Alfred Hitchcock

TODAY'S NUMBER: 13,237 -- medallion taxicabs in New York City in 2012.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (Aug. 9) and new moon (Aug. 17).

Today is the 218th day of 2012 and the 47th day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1884, the cornerstone for the Statue of Liberty was installed on Bedloe's Island in New York Harbor.

In 1962, Marilyn Monroe was found dead in her Los Angeles home.

In 1981, President Ronald Reagan began to fire striking air-traffic controllers for violating his order to return to work.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893), novelist/writer; John Huston (1906-1987), director; Neil Armstrong (1930- ), astronaut; Loni Anderson (1945- ), actress; Patrick Ewing (1962- ), basketball player; Adam Yauch (1964-2012), rapper; Carl Crawford (1981- ), baseball player.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1973, Phil Niekro threw a no-hitter as Atlanta defeated San Diego, 9-0.

TODAY'S FACT: Norma Jean Baker began using the name Marilyn Monroe in 1946, but did not legally change her name until 1956.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Patriotism is a kind of religion; it is the egg from which wars are hatched." -- Guy de Maupassant

TODAY'S NUMBER: 70,000 -- average daily flights in the United States, according to the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (Aug. 1) and last quarter moon (Aug. 9).

Today is the 217th day of 2012 and the 46th day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1944, the Gestapo arrested diarist Anne Frank and the other inhabitants of the "Secret Annex" in Amsterdam.

In 1972, Arthur Bremer was sentenced to 63 years in prison for shooting Alabama Gov. George Wallace.

In 1977, President Jimmy Carter signed the measure that established the Department of Energy.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822), poet; Louis Armstrong (1901-1971), musician; Billy Bob Thornton (1955- ), director/actor; Barack Obama (1961- ), 44th U.S. president; Roger Clemens (1962- ), baseball player; Jeff Gordon (1971- ), race car driver.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 2007, 32-year-old Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees became the youngest player ever to hit 500 career home runs.

TODAY'S FACT: According to the U.S. Department of Energy, Wyoming and Alaska consume more energy per capita than any other states.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "I've found that there is always some beauty left -- in nature, sunshine, freedom, in yourself." -- Anne Frank

TODAY'S NUMBER: 67 -- minimum number of languages into which "The Diary of Anne Frank" has been translated since its Dutch publication in 1947.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (Aug. 1) and last quarter moon (Aug. 9).