Today is the 291st day of 2012 and the 26th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1931, Al Capone was convicted of income tax evasion and sentenced to 11 years in prison.

In 1933, German refugee Albert Einstein immigrated to the United States, where he would live and work for the rest of his life.

In 1989, the strongest earthquake in the United States since 1906 rocked Northern California, killing more than 60 people.

In 2006, the U.S. population topped 300 million for the first time.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Jean Arthur (1900-1991), actress; Arthur Miller (1915-2005), playwright/novelist; Rita Hayworth (1918-1987), actress; Beverly Garland (1926-2008), actress; Evel Knievel (1938-2007), stunt performer; Michael McKean (1947- ), actor; Mae Jemison (1956- ), scientist/astronaut; Mike Judge (1962- ), animator/writer/director; Ziggy Marley (1968- ), musician; Ernie Els (1969- ), golfer; Wyclef Jean (1969- ), singer; Eminem (1972- ), rapper.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1968, American Olympic sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos were forced to return their medals for raising their fists in protest against racial discrimination during the victory ceremony.

TODAY'S FACT: In 1952, Albert Einstein was offered the post of Israeli president, which he politely declined.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Maybe all one can do is hope to end up with the right regrets." -- Arthur Miller

TODAY'S NUMBER: 32 -- U.S. state names that end in a vowel rather than a consonant.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Oct. 15) and first quarter (Oct. 21).

Today is the 290th day of 2012 and the 25th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1859, abolitionist John Brown led some 20 men in a raid on Harpers Ferry, Va.

In 1964, China detonated its first atomic bomb.

In 1995, hundreds of thousands of black men joined the Million Man March, led by Louis Farrakhan in Washington, D.C.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Noah Webster (1758-1843), lexicographer; Oscar Wilde (1854-1900), playwright; David Ben-Gurion (1886-1973), statesman/first Israeli prime minister; Eugene O'Neill (1888-1953), playwright; Angela Lansbury (1925- ), actress; Gunter Grass (1927- ), novelist; Suzanne Somers (1946- ), actress; Bob Weir (1947- ), musician; Tim Robbins (1958- ), actor; John Mayer (1977- ), musician; Bryce Harper (1992- ), baseball player.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1969, the 8-year-old New York Mets won the World Series over the Baltimore Orioles.

TODAY'S FACT: Noah Webster's stated goal in developing American spellers and textbooks was to rescue the American "native tongue" from "the clamour of pedantry."

TODAY'S QUOTE: "A thing is not necessarily true because a man dies for it." -- Oscar Wilde

TODAY'S NUMBER: 9 -- countries thought to have nuclear-weapon capabilities in 2012 (the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel).

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Oct. 15) and first quarter (Oct. 21).

Today is the 289th day of 2012 and the 24th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1917, infamous spy Mata Hari was executed by a firing squad outside Paris.

In 1951, "I Love Lucy," starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, premiered on CBS.

In 2003, China became the third nation (after the United States and Russia) to launch a manned space mission.

In 2005, Iraqi citizens voted to approve a new constitution.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), philosopher; P.G. Wodehouse (1881-1975), author/humorist; Arthur Schlesinger Jr. (1917-2007), historian; Lee Iacocca (1924- ), business leader; Penny Marshall (1942- ), film director/actress; Jim Palmer (1945- ), baseball player; Sarah Ferguson (1959- ), Duchess of York; Emeril Lagasse (1959- ), chef/TV personality; Carlo Janka (1986- ), Olympic skier.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1989, Wayne Gretzky, playing for the National Hockey League's Los Angeles Kings, tied and broke Gordie Howe's career scoring record of 1,850 points with an assist and a goal scored against the Edmonton Oilers. He then went on to score the game-winning goal in overtime.

TODAY'S FACT: When "I Love Lucy" star Lucille Ball became pregnant in 1952, the show's producers made the almost unprecedented decision to write the pregnancy into the series, but they were prohibited from using the word "pregnant."

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Sometimes we remain true to a cause simply because its opponents are unfailingly tasteless." -- Friedrich Nietzsche

TODAY'S NUMBER: 1,933 -- length (in miles) of the United States' border with Mexico, which is less than half as long as the United States-Canada border (3,987 miles, excluding Alaska).

TODAY'S MOON: New moon (Oct. 15).