Today is the 269th day of 2012 and the fourth day of autumn.
Advertisement
TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1513, Spanish explorer Vasco Nunez de Balboa became the first European to see the Pacific Ocean.
In 1957, U.S. Army troops stood guard as black students were admitted to Central High School in Little Rock, Ark., for the first time.
In 1981, Sandra Day O'Connor was sworn in as the first female Supreme Court justice.
TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: William Faulkner (1897-1962), novelist/short-story writer; Walter Wellesley "Red" Smith (1905-1982), sportswriter; Phil Rizzuto (1917-2007), baseball player; Barbara Walters (1929- ), TV journalist; Michael Douglas (1944- ), actor; Mark Hamill (1951- ), actor; Christopher Reeve (1952-2004), actor; Michael Madsen (1957- ), actor; Scottie Pippen (1965- ), basketball player; Will Smith (1968- ), actor/rapper; Catherine Zeta-Jones (1969- ), actress; Clifford "T.I." Harris Jr. (1980- ), rapper.
TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1882, Providence and Worcester competed in Major League Baseball's first doubleheader.
TODAY'S FACT: Of 158 nominations to the Supreme Court between 1789 and 2010, 12 were rejected by the Senate.
TODAY'S QUOTE: "A mule will labor ten years willingly and patiently for you, for the privilege of kicking you once." -- William Faulkner
TODAY'S NUMBER: 7.8 million -- area (in square miles) of the Southern Ocean, which was delimited in 2000 and includes portions of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans.
TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter (Sept. 22) and full moon (Sept. 29).