Today is the 309th day of 2012 and the 44th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1922, British archaeologist Howard Carter discovered the entrance to King Tutankhamen's tomb in Egypt.

In 1979, the Iran hostage crisis began when militants loyal to Ayatollah Khomeini took 65 American hostages at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.

In 1995, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by a right-wing Israeli gunman.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Will Rogers (1879-1935), humorist/writer/actor; Walter Cronkite (1916-2009), journalist; Art Carney (1918-2003), actor; Doris Roberts (1930- ), actress; Laura Bush (1946- ), former first lady; Kathy Griffin (1960- ), comedian/actress; Jeff Probst (1961- ), TV host; Sean "Diddy" Combs (1969- ), rapper/producer; Matthew McConaughey (1969- ), actor.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 2001, the Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the New York Yankees 3-2 in Game 7 to win the World Series.

TODAY'S FACT: King Tutankhamen's burial chamber comprised four rooms. The peripheral rooms were looted, while the room in which Tut was actually buried remained completely intact.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Advertising is the art of convincing people to spend money they don't have for something they don't need." -- Will Rogers

TODAY'S NUMBER: 444 -- days that 52 of the American hostages in Iran were held captive, until Jan. 20, 1981.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (Oct. 29) and last quarter (Nov. 6).

Today is the 308th day of 2012 and the 43rd day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 2 carrying a dog named Laika, the first creature to be sent into orbit.

In 1971, the first edition of the UNIX operating system's program manual was published.

In 1992, Democrat Bill Clinton defeated incumbent Republican George Bush and independent candidate Ross Perot to win the White House.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Walker Evans (1903-1975), photographer; Charles Bronson (1921-2003), actor; Michael Dukakis (1933- ), politician; Anna Wintour (1949- ), fashion journalist; Roseanne Barr (1952- ), comedian/actress; Dennis Miller (1953- ), comedian; Phil Simms (1955- ), football player/sportscaster; Evgeni Plushenko (1982- ), figure skater.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1990, quarterbacks David Klingler of Houston and Matt Vogler of Texas Christian University achieved a combined 80 completions and 12 touchdowns in Houston's 56-35 win.

TODAY'S FACT: Though he didn't receive a single electoral vote, third-party candidate Ross Perot won a substantial portion (18.9 percent) of the popular vote nationally in 1992.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Democracy is the recurrent suspicion that more than half of the people are right more than half the time." -- E.B. White

TODAY'S NUMBER: 162 -- days Sputnik 2 was in orbit. Laika, its canine passenger, died within hours of the launch due to overheating.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (Oct. 29) and last quarter (Nov. 6).

Today is the 307th day of 2012 and the 42nd day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1962, President John F. Kennedy announced that Cuban missile bases were being dismantled, ending a crisis that had threatened war.

In 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed legislation making the third Monday of January a federal holiday marking the birth of Martin Luther King Jr.

In 2000, the first permanent crew arrived at the International Space Station.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Marie Antoinette (1755-1793), queen of France; James Polk (1795-1849), 11th U.S. president; Warren G. Harding (1865-1923), 29th U.S. president; Burt Lancaster (1913-1994), actor; Steve Ditko (1927- ), comic-book artist/writer; Pat Buchanan (1938- ), political commentator; k.d. lang (1961- ), singer; David Schwimmer (1966- ), actor; Nelly (1974- ), rapper.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1991, down 49-14 in the third quarter against Weber State, the Nevada Wolf Pack football team scored 41 points, winning 55-49 and setting the record for the biggest comeback in NCAA history.

TODAY'S FACT: Jimmy Carter, elected president on this day in 1976, was the first U.S. president from the Deep South since before the Civil War.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "The food that enters the mind must be watched as closely as the food that enters the body." -- Pat Buchanan

TODAY'S NUMBER: 14 -- age at which Archduchess Maria Antonia of Austria married French King Louis XVI and became Marie Antoinette, Dauphine of France.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (Oct. 29) and last quarter (Nov. 6).