Today is the 227th day of 2012 and the 56th day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act, fulfilling a 1932 campaign promise.

In 1945, President Harry Truman announced Japan's unconditional surrender and the end to World War II.

In 2003, 50 million people in the northeastern United States and Canada lost power in one of the largest blackouts in U.S. history.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Steve Martin (1945- ), comedian/actor/writer; Danielle Steel (1947- ), novelist; Gary Larson (1950- ), cartoonist; James Horner (1953- ), composer; Earvin "Magic" Johnson (1959- ), basketball player/businessman; Halle Berry (1966- ), actress; Mila Kunis (1983- ), actress; Tim Tebow (1987- ), football player.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 2007, Braves manager Bobby Cox was ejected from his 132nd major league game, passing the record previously set by John McGraw.

TODAY'S FACT: The New York Times reported in 1945 that an estimated 2 million people flooded New York City's Times Square following the announcement of Japanese surrender in World War II.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "I believe that entertainment can aspire to be art, and can become art, but if you set out to make art you're an idiot." -- Steve Martin

TODAY'S NUMBER: 12 -- NBA All-Star game appearances by Magic Johnson.

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

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).