Today is the 243rd day of 2012 and the 72nd day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1963, a United States-Soviet diplomatic teletype "hotline," intended to prevent accidental war, was installed.

In 1967, the U.S. Senate confirmed the appointment of Thurgood Marshall as the first African-American Supreme Court justice.

In 1996, Russian and Chechen leaders agreed to a ceasefire, ending the First Chechen war.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (1797-1851), writer; Huey Long (1893-1935), politician; Shirley Booth (1898-1992), actress; Roy Wilkins (1901-1981), civil rights activist; Fred MacMurray (1908-1991), actor; Ted Williams (1918-2002), baseball player; Cameron Diaz (1972- ), actress; Andy Roddick (1982- ), tennis player.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1905, Ty Cobb made his major league debut for the Detroit Tigers.

TODAY'S FACT: The number of hours Americans spent online increased nearly 100 percent between 2000 and 2010, from 9.4 hours per week to 18.3 hours per week.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "The task of winning our share was not the easy one of disengagement and flight but the hard one of work, of short as well as long jumps, of disappointment -- and of sweet success." -- Roy Wilkins

TODAY'S NUMBER: 32 -- cases Thurgood Marshall had argued before the Supreme Court before he became a justice. He won 29 of them.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (Aug. 24) and full moon (Aug. 31).

Today is the 242nd day of 2012 and the 71st day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1957, Democratic Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina concluded his 24-hour-long filibuster against the Civil Rights Act of 1957.

In 1991, the parliament of the Soviet Union suspended all Communist Party activities indefinitely.

In 2005, Category 3 storm Hurricane Katrina made landfall near New Orleans.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: John Locke (1632-1704), philosopher; Ingrid Bergman (1915-1982), actress; Charlie Parker (1920-1955), musician; Sir Richard Attenborough (1923- ), filmmaker; William Friedkin (1935- ), film director; John McCain (1936- ), U.S. senator; Elliott Gould (1938- ), actor; GG Allin (1956-1993), musician; Michael Jackson (1958-2009), singer; Roy Oswalt (1977- ), baseball player; Lea Michelle (1986- ), actress.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1977, St. Louis Cardinal Lou Brock stole two bases to match, then break, Ty Cobb's record for career stolen bases, which had stood at 892 bases for 49 years.

TODAY'S FACT: Strom Thurmond's 1957 civil rights filibuster is still the longest one-man filibuster in history. It lasted 24 hours, 18 minutes and opened with Thurmond reading the voting laws of all 48 states.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "The end of law is not to abolish or restrain, but to preserve and enlarge freedom." -- John Locke

TODAY'S NUMBER: 175 -- top sustained wind speed (in mph) during Hurricane Katrina.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (Aug. 24) and full moon (Aug. 31).

Today is the 241st day of 2012 and the 70th day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1917, 10 suffragettes were arrested for picketing the White House.

In 1963, the March on Washington drew hundreds of thousands of civil rights activists to Washington, D.C.

In 1968, the Democratic National Convention nominated Hubert Humphrey for president as demonstrators confronted Chicago police officers on the streets outside.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832), writer; Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910), writer; Bruno Bettelheim (1903-1990), psychologist; Donald O'Connor (1925-2003), actor/performer; Ben Gazzara (1930- ), actor; Lou Piniella (1943- ), baseball player/manager; Shania Twain (1965- ), singer; Jack Black (1969- ), actor; Jason Priestley (1969- ), actor; LeAnn Rimes (1982- ), singer.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1977, in Pele's last competitive game, his New York Cosmos defeated the Seattle Sounders 2-1 for the National American Soccer League championship.

TODAY'S FACT: Twenty-three nations in the world require all eligible citizens to vote in elections, but the policy is actively enforced in fewer than a dozen nations.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Boredom: the desire for desires." -- Leo Tolstoy

TODAY'S NUMBER: 641 -- people arrested at the Democratic National Convention in 1968.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (Aug. 24) and full moon (Aug. 31).