Today is the 333rd day of 2012 and the 68th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1905, Arthur Griffith formed the Sinn Fein political party, with the goal of independence for all of Ireland.

In 1925, the Grand Ole Opry debuted as the WSM Barn Dance.

In 1975, East Timor first declared its independence from Portugal.

In 1995, President Bill Clinton signed legislation repealing the federal 55-mph speed limit.

TODAY'S HISTORY: William Blake (1757-1827), poet/artist/philosopher; Friedrich Engels (1820-1895), social philosopher; Claude Levi-Strauss (1908-2009), social anthropologist; Berry Gordy (1929- ), Motown Records founder; Randy Newman (1943- ), composer; Paul Shaffer (1949- ), bandleader; Ed Harris (1950- ), actor; Jon Stewart (1962- ), TV personality.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1979, Billy Smith of the New York Islanders became the first goalie in National Hockey League history to be credited with a goal. After a Colorado Rockies player mistakenly hit the puck into his own team's net, Smith was awarded the goal as the last Islander to touch the puck.

TODAY'S FACT: Randy Newman was nominated for an Academy Award a record 15 times without winning before finally earning an Oscar in 2002 for the original song "If I Didn't Have You" from "Monsters, Inc."

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Language is a form of human reason, which has its internal logic of which man knows nothing." -- Claude Levi-Strauss

TODAY'S NUMBER: 7 -- Enron's rank among the largest U.S. companies before it went bankrupt in December 2001. Enron stock, which had reached a high of $90 per share in August 2000, plunged below $1 on this day in 2001.

TODAY'S MOON: Full moon (Nov. 28).

Today is the 332nd day of 2012 and the 67th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1895, Alfred Nobel signed his last will and testament, establishing the Nobel Prize.

In 1942, the French navy sank its fleet at Toulon to prevent its use by the Nazis.

In 1973, the U.S. Senate approved the nomination of House Minority Leader Gerald Ford, a Michigan Republican, as vice president.

In 2005, French surgeons completed the first known partial face transplant, grafting a new nose, lips and chin.

TODAY'S HISTORY: Anders Celsius (1701-1744), scientist/inventor; Robert Livingston (1746-1813), diplomat; Charles A. Beard (1874-1948), historian; Bruce Lee (1940-1973), actor/martial arts expert; Jimi Hendrix (1942-1970), musician; Bill Nye (1955- ), science educator/TV personality; Caroline Kennedy (1957- ), presidential daughter and writer; Michael Vartan (1968- ), actor.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1985, Vince Coleman became the fourth person ever to be unanimously named National League Rookie of the Year. He had stolen 110 bases for the St. Louis Cardinals.

TODAY'S FACT: Pierre and Marie Curie are the only husband and wife to receive the Nobel Prize in Physics (1903).

TODAY'S QUOTE: "The Nobel is a ticket to one's funeral. No one has ever done anything after he got it." -- T.S. Eliot

TODAY'S NUMBER: 44 -- Nobel Prizes that have been awarded to women since 1901.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter (Nov. 20) and full moon (Nov. 28).

Today is the 331st day of 2012 and the 66th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1789, the United States observed a day of Thanksgiving declared by George Washington in celebration of the new Constitution.

In 1992, it was announced that the Queen of England would begin paying income taxes, the first time a British monarch would do so since the 1930s.

In 2000, nearly three weeks after Election Day, Florida's presidential election results were certified in favor of George W. Bush.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Mary Edwards Walker (1832-1919), physician/feminist; Charles M. Schulz (1922-2000), cartoonist; Tina Turner (1939- ), singer/actress; Shawn Kemp (1969- ), basketball player; Peter Facinelli (1973- ), actor; Natasha Bedingfield (1981- ), singer.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1956, Bob Richards became the first pole vaulter to win a second Olympic gold medal and set an Olympic record in the process.

TODAY'S FACT: To preserve the length of the holiday shopping season, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed legislation on this day in 1941 that decreed Thanksgiving would always fall on the fourth Thursday of November. Thanksgiving had been celebrated on the last Thursday of November, which in some years was the fifth, since 1863.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master." -- George Washington

TODAY'S NUMBER: 537 -- number of votes by which George W. Bush secured victory in Florida in 2000.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter (Nov. 20) and full moon (Nov. 28).