Today is the 294th day of 2012 and the 29th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1947, the House Un-American Activities Committee opened its first hearings on communist influence in the film industry.

In 1973, the "Saturday Night Massacre" occurred as President Richard Nixon had Watergate special prosecutor Archibald Cox fired by the solicitor general, after Attorney General Elliot Richardson and his deputy had resigned rather than fire Cox themselves.

In 1977, three members of the band Lynyrd Skynyrd were killed (along with their road manager and the two pilots) when their chartered plane crashed in Mississippi.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Arthur Rimbaud (1854-1891), poet; Bela Lugosi (1882-1956), actor; Art Buchwald (1925-2007), columnist; Mickey Mantle (1931-1995), baseball player; Jerry Orbach (1935-2004), actor; Tom Petty (1950- ), musician; Keith Hernandez (1953- ), baseball player/sportscaster; Viggo Mortensen (1958- ), actor; Snoop Dogg (1971- ), rapper/actor; John Krasinski (1979- ), actor; Gillian Jacobs (1982- ), actress.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1968, American Dick Fosbury won a gold medal and set an Olympic record when he high-jumped 7 feet 4 1/4 inches at the Olympic Games in Mexico City, marking the international debut of the "Fosbury Flop," his signature jump style.

TODAY'S FACT: There were only five self-defined communist states in the world in 2012: China, Cuba, Laos, North Korea and Vietnam.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Every time you think television has hit its lowest ebb, a new program comes along to make you wonder where you thought the ebb was." -- Art Buchwald

TODAY'S NUMBER: 18 -- World Series home runs hit by Mickey Mantle in his 18-year career, a record that still stands.

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

Today is the 293rd day of 2012 and the 28th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1781, Lord Charles Cornwallis' British troops surrendered at Yorktown, Va., heralding an imminent victory for the Continental Army.

In 1960, the United States imposed an embargo on exports to Cuba except for medical supplies and certain foods.

In 1987, "Black Monday" set a new Wall Street record for a single-day decline when the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 508 points.

In 2003, Mother Teresa was beatified by Pope John Paul II.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Auguste Lumiere (1862-1954), inventor/filmmaker; Charles Merrill (1885-1956), investment banker; Jack Anderson (1922-2005), columnist; John le Carre (1931- ), novelist; John Lithgow (1945- ), actor; Jennifer Holliday (1960- ), singer; Evander Holyfield (1962- ), boxer; Jon Favreau (1966- ), actor/director; Trey Parker (1969- ), TV producer/writer; Chris Kattan (1970- ), actor/comedian; Jason Reitman (1977- ), filmmaker.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1957, Maurice "Rocket" Richard became the first NHL player to score 500 goals.

TODAY'S FACT: Brothers Auguste and Louis Lumiere, inventors of the Cinematographe camera that helped kick-start the motion-picture era, declared cinema "an invention without any future."

TODAY'S QUOTE: "A desk is a dangerous place from which to watch the world." -- John le Carre

TODAY'S NUMBER: 16 -- seasons Trey Parker and Matt Stone's "South Park" has aired on Comedy Central.

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

Today is the 292nd day of 2012 and the 27th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1767, the boundary between Delaware, Maryland and Pennsylvania (the Mason-Dixon Line) was established.

In 1851, "Moby-Dick" was first published.

In 1962, Drs. James Watson, Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins were given the Nobel Prize in medicine/physiology, for uncovering the double-helix structure of DNA.

In 2001, four al-Qaida members were sentenced to life in prison for bombing the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Pierre Elliott Trudeau (1919-2000), Canadian prime minister; Jesse Helms (1921-2008), U.S. senator; Chuck Berry (1926- ), musician; Peter Boyle (1935-2006), actor; Mike Ditka (1939- ), football coach/player; Wendy Wasserstein (1950-2006), playwright; Martina Navratilova (1956- ), tennis player; Jean-Claude Van Damme (1960- ), actor; Wynton Marsalis (1961- ), jazz musician; Josh Gracin (1980- ), singer; Zac Efron (1987- ), actor.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1950, after 50 seasons as manager of the Philadelphia Athletics, Connie Mack announced his retirement.

TODAY'S FACT: The Mason-Dixon Line surveyed by Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon in 1767 left a "wedge" of land in dispute between Delaware and Pennsylvania until 1921.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Old age is always wakeful; as if, the longer linked with life, the less man has to do with aught that looks like death." -- Herman Melville, "Moby-Dick"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 41 -- record number of Grand Slam doubles (including mixed doubles) titles won by Martina Navratilova.

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