Today is the 183rd day of 2014 and the 12th day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1777, Vermont became the first American territory to abolish slavery.

In 1839, 53 African slaves took over the slave ship Amistad.

In 1881, lawyer Charles Guiteau shot President James Garfield, who died from his wounds ten weeks later.

In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, outlawing major forms of discrimination.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Hermann Hesse (1877-1962), author; Thurgood Marshall (1908-1993), Supreme Court justice; Pierre Cardin (1922- ), fashion designer; Medgar Evers (1925-1963), civil rights activist; Dave Thomas (1932-2002), Wendy's fast-food chain founder; Richard Petty (1937- ), NASCAR driver; Larry David (1947- ), writer/actor; Jose Canseco (1964- ), baseball player; Johnny Weir (1984- ), figure skater; Lindsay Lohan (1986- ), actress.

TODAY'S FACT: The first zeppelin airship, which made its debut flight over Lake Constance, Germany, on this day in 1900, was 420 feet long and powered by a 16-horsepower engine.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 2002, Steve Fossett completed the first nonstop solo hot air balloon flight around the world.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Words do not express thoughts very well. They always become a little different immediately after they are expressed, a little distorted, a little foolish." -- Hermann Hesse

TODAY'S NUMBER: 11,003 -- Wal-Mart stores (including Walmart U.S., Sam's Club and Walmart International) worldwide, as of May 2014. The first Wal-Mart store opened in Rogers, Arkansas, on this day in 1962.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (June 27) and first quarter moon (July 5).

Today is the 182nd day of 2014 and the 11th day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1863, the Battle of Gettysburg began.

In 1908, SOS was adopted as the international distress signal.

In 1968, 62 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union, signed the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

In 1997, China resumed sovereignty of Hong Kong after 156 years of British rule.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Amantine-Lucile-Aurore Dupin aka George Sand (1804-1876), author; Walter Francis White (1893-1955), NAACP leader; Estee Lauder (1906-2004), cosmetics company co-founder; Jamie Farr (1934- ), actor; Sydney Pollack (1934-2008), filmmaker; Dan Aykroyd (1952- ), actor; Diana, Princess of Wales (1961-1997); Carl Lewis (1961- ), Olympic athlete; Pamela Anderson (1967- ), actress; Claire Forlani (1972- ), actress; Liv Tyler (1977- ), actress; Forrest Griffin (1979- ), mixed martial artist.

TODAY'S FACT: The International Criminal Court, established on this day in 2002, is an independent institution and is not part of the United Nations.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1903, the first Tour de France bicycle race began in Paris. Of the 60 cyclists who began the nearly 2,500-kilometer race, only 21 finished, including champion Maurice Garin.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "One is happy once one knows the necessary ingredients of happiness: simple tastes, a certain degree of courage, self denial to a point, love of work, and above all, a clear conscience." -- George Sand

TODAY'S NUMBER: $150 -- approximate price in U.S. dollars of the first Sony Walkman portable cassette player when it went on sale in Japan on this day in 1979.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (June 27) and first quarter moon (July 5).

Today is the 181st day of 2014 and the 10th day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1936, Margaret Mitchell's "Gone With the Wind" was published.

In 1966, the National Organization for Women (NOW) was formed.

In 1982, the proposed Equal Rights Amendment, designed to guarantee equal rights for women, failed when its ratification deadline passed.

In 2007, an SUV loaded with propane canisters exploded in a terrorist attack at Glasgow airport in Scotland.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Lena Horne (1917-2010), singer; Paul Berg (1926- ), biochemist; Robert Ballard (1942- ), oceanographer; David Alan Grier (1955- ), actor; Vincent D'Onofrio (1959- ), actor; Mike Tyson (1966- ), boxer; Monica Potter (1971- ), actress; Matisyahu (1979- ), rapper; Michael Phelps (1985- ), Olympic swimmer.

TODAY'S FACT: In 1953, the first Chevrolet Corvette was produced at the General Motors plant in Flint, Michigan.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1994, Tonya Harding was stripped of the national figure skating championship title and banned for life from the sport for planning an attack that injured rival skater Nancy Kerrigan.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Looking back, I realize that nurturing curiosity and the instinct to seek solutions are perhaps the most important contributions education can make. With time, many of the facts I learned were forgotten, but I never lost the excitement of discovery." -- Paul Berg

TODAY'S NUMBER: 999 -- telephone number of the world's oldest emergency call service, which was introduced in London on this day in 1937.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (June 27) and first quarter moon (July 5).