Today is the 217th day of 2014 and the 46th day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1884, the cornerstone for the Statue of Liberty was installed on Bedloe's Island in New York Harbor.

In 1962, Marilyn Monroe was found dead in her Los Angeles home.

In 1981, President Ronald Reagan began to fire 11,359 striking air-traffic controllers for violating his order to return to work.

In 2010, a cave-in at the San Jose Mine near Copiapo, Chile, trapped 33 miners 2,300 feet underground.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893), author/poet; Joseph Merrick, aka "The Elephant Man" (1862-1890); John Huston (1906-1987), actor/director; Neil Armstrong (1930-2012), astronaut; Herb Brooks (1937-2003), hockey coach; Loni Anderson (1945- ), actress; Patrick Ewing (1962- ), basketball player; Adam Yauch (1964-2012), rapper; James Gunn (1970- ), filmmaker; Carl Crawford (1981- ), baseball player; Lolo Jones (1982- ), Olympic athlete.

TODAY'S FACT: Norma Jeane Baker began using the name Marilyn Monroe in 1946, but did not legally change her name until 1956.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1979, Pete Rose of the Phillies hit his 2,427th career single, breaking Honus Wagner's National League record. Rose would finish his career with 3,215 singles, a record that still stands.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Words dazzle and deceive because they are mimed by the face. But black words on a white page are the soul laid bare." -- Guy de Maupassant

TODAY'S NUMBER: 91 -- minutes legendary magician Harry Houdini spent underwater in a sealed coffin before emerging unharmed, on this day in 1926. The event was Houdini's last public escape.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (Aug. 3) and full moon (Aug. 10).

Today is the 216th day of 2014 and the 45th day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1914, Germany invaded Belgium, prompting Great Britain to declare war on Germany.

In 1944, the Gestapo arrested diarist Anne Frank and the other inhabitants of the "Secret Annex" in Amsterdam.

In 1977, President Jimmy Carter signed legislation establishing the Department of Energy.

In 1993, two Los Angeles police officers were sentenced to 30 months in prison for violating motorist Rodney King's civil rights.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822), poet; Louis Vuitton (1821-1892), fashion designer; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother (1900-2002), queen consort of the United Kingdom; Louis Armstrong (1901-1971), musician; Billy Bob Thornton (1955- ), director/actor; Barack Obama (1961- ), 44th U.S. president; Roger Clemens (1962- ), baseball player; Dennis Lehane (1965- ), author; Daniel Dae Kim (1968- ), actor; Jeff Gordon (1971- ), race car driver; Kurt Busch (1978- ), race car driver.

TODAY'S FACT: "Poor Little Fool" by Ricky Nelson was the No. 1 song on the first Billboard Hot 100 chart, published on this day in 1958.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 2007, 32-year-old Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees became the youngest player ever to hit 500 career home runs.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "A story of particular facts is as a mirror which obscures and distorts that which should be beautiful; poetry is a mirror which makes beautiful that which is distorted." -- Percy Bysshe Shelley, "A Defence of Poetry"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 7 -- Cy Young Awards won by Hall of Fame pitcher Roger Clemens, the most in MLB history.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (Aug. 3) and full moon (Aug. 10).

Today is the 215th day of 2014 and the 44th day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1492, Christopher Columbus, seeking a sea route to the Far East, departed Palos de la Frontera, Spain.

In 1914, Germany declared war on France.

In 1958, the U.S. nuclear-powered submarine Nautilus became the first vessel to cross the North Pole underwater.

In 1972, the U.S. Senate ratified the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Elisha Otis (1811-1861), inventor; Ernie Pyle (1900-1945), journalist/war correspondent; Leon Uris (1924-2003), author; Tony Bennett (1926- ), singer; Martin Sheen (1940- ), actor; Martha Stewart (1941- ), TV personality/business mogul; James Hetfield (1963- ), singer-songwriter; Tom Brady (1977- ), football player; Evangeline Lilly (1979- ), actress.

TODAY'S FACT: Santa Claus Land, the world's first theme park, opened on this day in 1946 in Santa Claus, Indiana.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1936, Jesse Owens won the first of his four gold medals during the Olympic Games in Berlin. Owens edged out teammate Ralph Metcalfe with a 10.3-second time in the 100-meter dash.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "After all, the only thing that is going to save mankind is if enough people live their lives for something or someone other than themselves." -- Leon Uris, "QB VII"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 70 -- length (in days) of Christopher Columbus' first voyage across the Atlantic Ocean in 1492.

TODAY'S MOON: First quarter moon (Aug. 3).