Today is the 256th day of 2014 and the 85th day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1788, Congress chose New York City as the temporary federal capital.

In 1971, state police and National Guard soldiers stormed Attica Correctional Facility in New York, bringing a four-day riot to an end.

In 1993, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO chairman Yasser Arafat signed the Oslo Accords.

In 2001, civilian air traffic resumed in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Milton Hershey (1857-1945), Hershey Co. founder; John Pershing (1860-1948), U.S. Army general; Sherwood Anderson (1876-1941), author; Claudette Colbert (1903-1996), actress; Roald Dahl (1916-1990), author; Mel Torme (1925-1999), singer/actor; Judith Martin (1938- ), "Miss Manners" columnist; Jean Smart (1951- ), actress; Anne Geddes (1956- ), photographer; Michael Johnson (1967- ), Olympic sprinter; Tyler Perry (1969- ), actor/filmmaker; Fiona Apple (1977- ), singer; Thomas Muller (1989- ), soccer player.

TODAY'S FACT: Roald Dahl, best known as an author of children's books, was the screenwriter of the 1967 James Bond film "You Only Live Twice."

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1970, Gary Muhrcke won the first New York City Marathon with a time of 2:31:38.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Charming villains have always had a decided social advantage over well-meaning people who chew with their mouths open." -- Judith Martin

TODAY'S NUMBER: 70 million -- Hershey's Kisses produced daily by the Hershey Co.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (Sept. 8) and last quarter moon (Sept. 15).

Today is the 255th day of 2014 and the 84th day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1609, English explorer Henry Hudson entered the river that would later bear his surname.

In 1940, four teenagers discovered prehistoric paintings, estimated to be 15,000 to 17,000 years old, in a cave in Lascaux, France.

In 1953, Sen. John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts married Jaqueline Lee Bouvier in Newport, Rhode Island.

In 1959, the Western series "Bonanza" premiered on NBC.

In 2011, the National September 11 Memorial and Museum opened in New York City.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: H.L. Mencken (1880-1956), journalist/critic; Jesse Owens (1913-1980), Olympic athlete; Ian Holm (1931- ), actor; George Jones (1931-2013), singer-songwriter; Barry White (1944-2003), singer-songwriter; Joe Pantoliano (1951- ), actor; Ben Folds (1966- ), musician; Louis C.K. (1967- ), actor/comedian; Jason Statham (1967- ), actor; Paul Walker (1973-2013), actor; Yao Ming (1980- ), basketball player; Jennifer Hudson (1981- ), actress/singer; Andrew Luck (1989- ), football player.

TODAY'S FACT: In 1992, the space shuttle Endeavour embarked on the 50th NASA shuttle mission. Dr. Mae Carol Jemison, the crew's science mission specialist, became the first African-American woman in space.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1984, Dwight "Doc" Gooden of the New York Mets threw his 246th strikeout, breaking the rookie record for strikeouts in a single season. He finished the season with 276, a record that still stands.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard." -- H.L. Mencken, "A Little Book in C Major"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 45 -- minutes it took track legend Jesse Owens to break three world records and tie a fourth, at a college track meet in 1935.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (Sept. 8) and last quarter moon (Sept. 15).

Today is the 254th day of 2014 and the 83rd day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1857, Mormon guerillas and Paiute Indians massacred 120 pioneers in Mountain Meadows, Utah.

In 1939, Canada made its first declaration of war, joining the Allies in opposition to Nazi Germany.

In 2001, hijacked planes crashed into New York City's World Trade Center, the Pentagon in Virginia and a Pennsylvania field in terrorist attacks that claimed nearly 3,000 lives.

In 2012, a heavily armed militia attacked the U.S. embassy in Benghazi, Libya, killing four Americans.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: O. Henry (1862-1910), short-story writer; D.H. Lawrence (1885-1930), author; Paul "Bear" Bryant (1913-1983), football coach; Tom Landry (1924-2000), football coach; Brian De Palma (1940- ), film director; Virginia Madsen (1961- ), actress; Moby (1965- ), singer-songwriter; Harry Connick Jr. (1967- ), actor/singer-songwriter; Ludacris (1977- ), rapper/actor; Ed Reed (1978- ), football player; Jacoby Ellsbury (1983- ), baseball player.

TODAY'S FACT: John Tyler was the first vice president to assume the presidency because of a sitting president's death. During the term he served, after William Henry Harrison's month-long presidency, Tyler was often referred to slightingly as "His Accidency" or "Acting President."

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1985, Pete Rose broke Ty Cobb's record with his 4,192nd career hit.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "It ain't the roads we take; it's what's inside of us that makes us turn out the way we do." -- O. Henry, "The Roads We Take"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 4,256 -- total career hits for Pete Rose, which remains the Major League Baseball record.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (Sept. 8) and last quarter moon (Sept. 15).