Today is the 351st day of 2012 and the 86th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1773, patriots in Massachusetts held the infamous "Boston Tea Party."

In 1835, a huge fire destroyed nearly 700 buildings in New York City.

In 2000, President George W. Bush selected Colin Powell as the first African-American secretary of state.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), composer; Jane Austen (1775-1817), novelist; Noel Coward (1899-1973), playwright; Margaret Mead (1901-1978), anthropologist; Arthur C. Clarke (1917-2008), writer; Philip K. Dick (1928-1982), writer; Lesley Stahl (1941- ), journalist; William "The Refrigerator" Perry (1962- ), football player; Benjamin Bratt (1963- ), actor; Krysten Ritter (1981- ), actress.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1973, O.J. Simpson, playing for the Buffalo Bills, became the first player in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards in a season.

TODAY'S FACT: Margaret Mead was named "Mother of the World" by Time magazine in 1969.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible." -- Arthur C. Clarke

TODAY'S NUMBER: 1 -- opera written by Ludwig van Beethoven. It was called "Fidelio."

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Dec. 13) and first quarter moon (Dec. 20).

Today is the 350th day of 2012 and the 85th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1791, the Bill of Rights took effect after ratification by Virginia.

In 1939, the film "Gone With the Wind" premiered in Atlanta.

In 1961, Adolf Eichmann, considered the architect of the Nazis' "final solution," was convicted of war crimes and sentenced to death by an Israeli court.

In 1978, President Jimmy Carter announced his intention to grant diplomatic recognition to Communist China, severing ties with Taiwan, on Jan. 1, 1979.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Gustave Eiffel (1832-1923), engineer/architect; Maxwell Anderson (1888-1959), playwright; J. Paul Getty (1892-1976), oil tycoon/philanthropist; Tim Conway (1933- ), actor/comedian; Dave Clark (1942- ), musician; Don Johnson (1949- ), actor; Julie Taymor (1952- ), director; Adam Brody (1979- ), actor.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1982, Bill Parcells became the coach of the NFL's New York Giants.

TODAY'S FACT: "Gone With the Wind" author Margaret Mitchell died in 1949 at age 48 from injuries sustained when she was struck by a drunken driver on Peachtree Street in Atlanta.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "The meek shall inherit the earth, but not its mineral rights." -- J. Paul Getty

TODAY'S NUMBER: 11 -- points on the maple leaf on the Canadian flag. The number holds no particular symbolism or significance.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Dec. 13) and first quarter moon (Dec. 20).

Today is the 349th day of 2012 and the 84th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1799, George Washington died at Mount Vernon, his home in Virginia.

In 1911, explorer Roald Amundsen and his party became the first humans to reach the South Pole.

In 2001, after Hurricane Michelle devastated Cuba, a commercial shipment of food left the United States for the island nation for the first time since 1962.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Nostradamus (1503-1566), astrologer/physician; James Doolittle (1896-1993), military aviator; Margaret Chase Smith (1897-1995), politician; Shirley Jackson (1919-1965), author; Lee Remick (1935-1991), actress; Patty Duke (1946- ), actress; Vanessa Hudgens (1988- ), actress.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1988, after losing the first 17 games of the season, the Miami Heat defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 89-88 for the franchise's first win.

TODAY'S FACT: Historians have estimated that physicians drained five to seven pints of blood from President George Washington in the day prior to his death, in an attempt to cure him.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "I don't believe the American people will uphold any political party that puts political exploitation above national interest." -- Margaret Chase Smith

TODAY'S NUMBER: 3 -- actual poles at the South Pole: the ceremonial pole, the geographical pole and the magnetic pole.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Dec. 13) and first quarter moon (Dec. 20).