Today is the 207th day of 2014 and the 36th day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1775, the Second Continental Congress established a postal system.

In 1788, New York ratified the Constitution and became the 11th U.S. state.

In 1947, President Truman signed the National Security Act, uniting the Army, Navy and Air Force under the Department of Defense and creating the National Security Council, Joint Chiefs of Staff and Central Intelligence Agency.

In 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed the Americans With Disabilities Act.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950), playwright/critic; Carl Jung (1875-1961), psychiatrist; Aldous Huxley (1894-1963), author; Blake Edwards (1922-2010), film director; Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999), film director; Mick Jagger (1943- ), singer-songwriter; Helen Mirren (1945- ), actress; Nicholas Evans (1950- ), author; Dorothy Hamill (1956- ), figure skater; Kevin Spacey (1959- ), actor; Sandra Bullock (1964- ), actress; Jeremy Piven (1965- ), actor; Kate Beckinsale (1973- ), actress.

TODAY'S FACT: Stanley Kubrick's "Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb" has the longest title of any film nominated for the Best Picture Oscar.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1992, Nolan Ryan struck out his 100th batter of the season, setting a major league record of 23 consecutive seasons with at least 100 strikeouts.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "There are two tragedies in life. One is to lose your heart's desire. The other is to gain it." -- George Bernard Shaw, "Man and Superman"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 9 -- Joint Chiefs of Staff chairmen (out of 18) who have been Army officers. Only one (Peter Pace, 2005-2007) was a Marine Corps officer.

TODAY'S MOON: New moon (July 26).

Today is the 206th day of 2014 and the 35th day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1952, Puerto Rico became a self-governing U.S. commonwealth.

In 1978, Louise Joy Brown, the first baby to be conceived via in vitro fertilization, was born in Manchester, England.

In 2005, two major unions, the Teamsters and the Service Employees International Union, withdrew from the AFL-CIO.

In 2010, the website Wikileaks released the "Afghan War Diary," containing more than 75,000 secret documents from the United States' war in Afghanistan.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Henry Knox (1750-1806), first U.S. secretary of war; Maxfield Parrish (1870-1966), painter/illustrator; Eric Hoffer (1902-1983), philosopher; Rosalind Franklin (1920-1958), biophysicist; Estelle Getty (1923-2008), actress; John Gibson (1946- ), radio/TV personality; Walter Payton (1954-1999), football player; Iman (1955- ), model/actress; Thurston Moore (1958- ), musician; Matt LeBlanc (1967- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: The Viking Orbiter 1 spacecraft, while searching for potential landing sites for the Viking 2 Lander, snapped the famous "Face on Mars" photo of the planet's surface on this day in 1976.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1976, American Edwin Moses ran in his first international track and field event at the Montreal Olympics -- the 400m hurdles -- and won a gold medal with a world record-setting time of 47.64 seconds.

TODAY'S QUOTE: " A man is likely to mind his own business when it is worth minding. When it is not, he takes his mind off his own meaningless affairs by minding other people's business." -- Eric Hoffer

TODAY'S NUMBER: 3.1 million -- approximate combined membership of the Teamsters and the Service Employees International unions in 2014.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (July 18) and new moon (July 26).

Today is the 205th day of 2014 and the 34th day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1847, Brigham Young and the first Mormon pioneers arrived at Utah's Salt Lake Valley.

In 1866, Tennessee became the first Confederate state to be re-admitted to the Union following the Civil War.

In 1959, the "Kitchen Debate" between Vice President Richard Nixon and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev took place in Moscow.

In 1998, a lone gunman opened fire in the U.S. Capitol building, killing two police officers.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Simon Bolivar (1783-1830), South American liberator; Alexandre Dumas, pere (1802-1870), playwright/novelist; Amelia Earhart (1897-1937), aviator; Pat Oliphant (1935- ), cartoonist; Gallagher (1946- ), comedian; Michael Richards (1949- ), actor/comedian; Gus Van Sant (1952- ), filmmaker; Karl Malone (1963- ), basketball player; Barry Bonds (1964- ), baseball player; Jennifer Lopez (1969- ), actress/singer; Elisabeth Moss (1982- ), actress; Anna Paquin (1982- ), actress.

TODAY'S FACT: In 1911, American historian Hiram Bingham rediscovered the ancient Incan city of Machu Picchu, which had been largely forgotten by those outside the immediate area in Peru.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1983, umpires at Yankee Stadium in New York nullified a 2-run home run by George Brett of the Kansas City Royals, due to excessive pine tar on Brett's bat. The ruling made Brett the third out in the top of the ninth inning, giving the Yankees a 4-3 victory.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "The difference between treason and patriotism is only a matter of dates." -- Alexandre Dumas, "The Count of Monte Cristo"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 6.4 million -- reported membership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (aka Mormons) in the United States in 2014.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (July 18) and new moon (July 26).