Today is the 311th day of 2012 and the 46th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1860, Abraham Lincoln defeated three other candidates to win the presidency.

In 1861, voters in the Confederate States of America elected Jefferson Davis president.

In 1947, "Meet the Press" made its television debut.

In 1975, punk rock pioneers the Sex Pistols played their first concert.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Charles Dow (1851-1902), economist/journalist; John Philip Sousa (1854-1932), composer; James Naismith (1861-1939), inventor of basketball; Mike Nichols (1931- ), film director; Sally Field (1946- ), actress; Ethan Hawke (1970- ), actor; Rebecca Romijn (1972- ), model/actress; Zoe McLellan (1974- ), actress; Emma Stone (1988- ), actress.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1869, the first modern intercollegiate football game was played between Rutgers and Princeton universities in New Brunswick, N.J.

TODAY'S FACT: "Meet the Press," which is the longest-running television series in history and is still on the air, began in 1945 as a radio show called "American Mercury Presents: Meet the Press."

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Public sentiment is everything. With public sentiment, nothing can fail; without it, nothing can succeed." -- Abraham Lincoln

TODAY'S NUMBER: 6 -- years in the term for which Jefferson Davis was elected to serve as president. The Civil War ended before his term expired.

TODAY'S MOON: Last quarter moon (Nov. 6).

Today is the 310th day of 2012 and the 45th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1872, suffragist Susan B. Anthony defied the law by voting, leading to a $100 fine.

In 1895, George B. Selden patented the first automobile.

In 1940, incumbent Franklin D. Roosevelt defeated challenger Wendell Willkie to win an unprecedented third presidential term.

In 2007, Chang'e-1, China's first unmanned lunar spacecraft, entered orbit around the moon.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Ida Tarbell (1857-1944), journalist; Roy Rogers (1911-1998), actor/singer; Vivien Leigh (1913-1967), actress; Art Garfunkel (1941- ), singer; Sam Shepard (1943- ), playwright/actor; Bill Walton (1952- ), basketball player/commentator; Tilda Swinton (1960- ), actress; Johnny Damon (1973- ), baseball player; Ryan Adams (1974- ), musician; Kevin Jonas (1987), musician.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1994, 45-year-old George Foreman knocked out Michael Moorer to claim the heavyweight boxing title.

TODAY'S FACT: Saudi Arabia announced in 2011 that women would have the right to vote beginning in 2015.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "It never occurred to me that patriotism had to be advertised. Patriotism (was) something you deeply felt. You didn't have to wear it on your lapel or show it in your window or on a bumper sticker." -- Sam Shepard

TODAY'S NUMBER: 4 -- countries that still deny women the right to vote in national elections.

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

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).