UNIVERSAL UCLICK ALMANAC

Today is the 336th day of 2013 and the 72nd day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1823, President James Monroe announced a policy establishing American neutrality in future European conflicts, later known as the Monroe Doctrine.

In 1927, Ford Motor Co. introduced the new Model A.

In 1942, a team led by Enrico Fermi engineered the first controlled nuclear fission chain reaction under the stands of the University of Chicago's Stagg Field.

In 1970, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency began operations.

In 1988, Benazir Bhutto was sworn in as prime minister of Pakistan, becoming the first female leader of an Islamic nation.

In 2001, the energy trading company Enron filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Georges Seurat (1859-1891), painter; Maria Callas (1923-1977), opera singer; Harry Reid (1939- ), Senate majority leader; Gianni Versace (1946-1997), fashion designer; Stone Phillips (1954- ), journalist; Ann Patchett (1963- ), author; Lucy Liu (1968- ), actress; Monica Seles (1973- ), tennis player; Britney Spears (1981- ), singer; Aaron Rodgers (1983- ), football player.

TODAY'S FACT: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency employed a workforce of 16,205 in 2013.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1967, Hall of Fame center Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia 76ers set an NBA record for missed free throws in a single game, missing 22 in a 133-109 win over the Seattle SuperSonics.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "It makes you wonder. All the brilliant things we might have done with our lives if only we suspected we knew how." -- Ann Patchett, "Bel Canto"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 112 -- days Barney Clark, the recipient of the first artificial heart, lived after it was implanted on this day in 1982.

TODAY'S MOON: New moon (Dec. 2).

UNIVERSAL UCLICK ALMANAC

Today is the 335th day of 2013 and the 71st day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1955, Rosa Parks refused to sit in the back of a bus in Montgomery, Ala., sparking a new era in the civil rights movement.

In 1969, the United States instituted its first draft lottery since World War II.

In 2008, the National Bureau of Economic Research declared that the United States had been in an official recession since December 2007.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Marie Tussaud (1761-1850), museum founder; Rex Stout (1886-1975), author; Mary Martin (1913-1990), actress; Lou Rawls (1933-2006), singer; Woody Allen (1935- ), filmmaker; Lee Trevino (1939- ), golfer; Richard Pryor (1940-2005), actor/comedian; Bette Midler (1945- ), singer/actress; Nestor Carbonell (1967- ), actor; Sarah Silverman (1970- ), actress/comedian; DeSean Jackson (1986- ), football player.

TODAY'S FACT: At the time of the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955, about 70 percent of bus riders in the city were African-American.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1924, Brooklyn pitcher Dazzy Vance (28 wins, 2.16 ERA, 262 strikeouts) won the National League MVP award over Rogers Hornsby, who batted .424 for the season.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "It's not that I'm afraid to die, I just don't want to be there when it happens." -- Woody Allen, "Without Feathers"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 1.7 million -- men inducted into the U.S. armed forces between 1965 and 1973 through the Selective Service System.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (Nov. 25) and new moon (Dec. 2).

UNIVERSAL UCLICK ALMANAC

Today is the 334th day of 2013 and the 70th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1782, provisional articles of peace were signed in Paris between Britain and the United States, under which Britain recognized U.S. independence.

In 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Finland.

In 1993, President Bill Clinton signed the Brady Bill, a major gun-control measure.

In 1999, Exxon Corp. and Mobil. Corp. completed their merger, creating the largest publicly held oil company in the world.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Jonathan Swift (1667-1745), clergyman/satirist; Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) (1835-1910), writer; Winston Churchill (1874-1965), British statesman; Dick Clark (1929-2012), TV personality/producer; Bill Walsh (1931-2007), football coach; Abbie Hoffman (1936-1989), political activist; Ridley Scott (1937- ), filmmaker; Mandy Patinkin (1952- ), singer/actor; Bo Jackson (1962- ), football and baseball player; Ben Stiller (1965- ), actor; Marc Forster (1969- ), filmmaker; Amy Ryan (1969- ), actress; Ivan Rodriguez (1971- ), baseball player; Clay Aiken (1978- ), singer.

TODAY'S FACT: Mark Twain was not a fan of fellow novelist Jane Austen, at one point writing in a letter, "Every time I read 'Pride and Prejudice' I want to dig her up and hit her over the skull with her own shin-bone."

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1991, the U.S. women's soccer team defeated Norway 2-1 to win the first Women's World Cup.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen." -- Winston Churchill

TODAY'S NUMBER: $2,520,700 -- total winnings of Ken Jennings during his record-shattering 74-game winning streak on the TV quiz show "Jeopardy!" (not including a $2,000 consolation prize for coming in second in his final game, on this day in 2004).

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (Nov. 25) and new moon (Dec. 2).