Today is the 344th day of 2012 and the 79th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1867, the capital of the Colorado Territory was moved from Golden to Denver.

In 1872, Pinkney Benton Stewart Pinchback became the first black governor in the United States when he was named acting governor of Louisiana.

In 1968, Douglas Engelbart demonstrated the first computer system to use hypertext links and a mouse.

In 1979, the World Health Organization certified that smallpox had been eradicated.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: John Milton (1608-1674), poet; Emmett Kelly (1898-1979), clown; Jean de Brunhoff (1899-1937), author; Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill (1912-1994), politician; Kirk Douglas (1916- ), actor; Redd Foxx (1922-1991), comedian; Judi Dench (1934- ), actress; Dick Butkus (1942- ), football player; Donny Osmond (1957- ), singer; Felicity Huffman (1962- ), actress; Simon Helberg (1980- ), actor.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1934, the New York Giants exchanged their cleats for sneakers during the third quarter, then outmaneuvered the Chicago Bears on a frozen field to turn a 13-3 deficit into a 30-13 victory.

TODAY'S FACT: After Pinkney Benton Stewart Pinchback was appointed acting governor of Louisiana, it would be more than a hundred years before the first black elected governor, Lawrence Douglas Wilder of Virginia, took office, in 1990.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Men of most renowned virtue have sometimes by transgressing most truly kept the law." -- John Milton

TODAY'S NUMBER: 7 -- number of classic children's books about Babar the elephant written and illustrated by Jean de Brunhoff. He died of tuberculosis at age 37 and his son Laurent continued the series.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (Dec. 6) and new moon (Dec. 13).

Today is the 343rd day of 2012 and the 78th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1941, the U.S. Congress declared war on Japan and the United States officially entered World War II.

In 1980, former member of The Beatles John Lennon was shot to death outside his Manhattan apartment building.

In 1993, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was signed into law by President Bill Clinton.

TODAY'S BIRTDHAYS: Mary, Queen of Scots (1542-1587); Eli Whitney (1765-1825), inventor; James Thurber (1894-1961), humorist; Sammy Davis Jr. (1925-1990), singer/dancer/actor; Jim Morrison (1943-1971), singer; Kim Basinger (1953- ), actress; Ann Coulter (1961- ), writer/commentator; Teri Hatcher (1964- ), actress; Sinead O'Connor (1966- ), singer; Dominic Monaghan (1976- ), actor; Ian Somerhalder (1978- ), actor.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1940, the Chicago Bears crushed the Washington Redskins in the National Football League championship game, 73-0, for the biggest victory margin in NFL championship history.

TODAY'S FACT: The Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), encompassing the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and the United States, was ratified by the last country, Costa Rica, on Oct. 7, 2007.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "The wit makes fun of other persons; the satirist makes fun of the world; the humorist makes fun of himself." -- James Thurber

TODAY'S NUMBER: $1.1 trillion -- value of total U.S. trade with Canada and Mexico in 2011.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (Dec. 6) and new moon (Dec. 13).

Today is the 342nd day of 2012 and the 77th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1787, Delaware became the first state to ratify the Constitution.

In 1941, the Japanese launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, bringing the United States into World War II.

In 2002, Iraq denied that it had weapons of mass destruction in a United Nations declaration.

In 2011, former Democratic Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was sentenced to 14 years in prison for multiple felonies, including the attempted sale of the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Willa Cather (1873-1947) novelist; Eli Wallach (1915- ), actor; Ellen Burstyn (1932- ), actress; Harry Chapin (1942-1981), singer/songwriter; Johnny Bench (1947- ), baseball player; Tom Waits (1949- ), singer/songwriter; Larry Bird (1956- ), basketball player; Terrell Owens (1973- ), football player; Emily Browning (1988- ), actress.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 2007, home-run record holder Barry Bonds pleaded not guilty to lying to investigators about using performance-enhancing drugs.

TODAY'S FACT: Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the Senate voted for a war resolution 82-0. The House of Representatives approved the resolution 388-1.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "The dead might as well try to speak to the living as the old to the young." -- Willa Cather

TODAY'S NUMBER: 73 -- record number of home runs hit during a Major League Baseball season, held by Barry Bonds since 2001.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (Dec. 6) and new moon (Dec. 13).