Today is the 271st day of 2014 and the seventh day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1066, William the Conqueror, duke of Normandy, invaded England.

In 1972, Japan and China agreed to re-establish diplomatic relations.

In 2000, the Food and Drug Administration approved the use of the pregnancy-terminating drug RU-486 after a 12-year controversy.

In 2008, the space transportation company SpaceX launched Falcon 1, the first private spacecraft, into orbit.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Ed Sullivan (1901-1974), TV personality; Max Schmeling (1905-2005), boxer; Al Capp (1909-1979), cartoonist; Marcello Mastroianni (1924-1996), actor; Brigitte Bardot (1934- ), actress; Ben E. King (1938- ), singer-songwriter; Jeffrey Jones (1946- ), actor; Janeane Garofalo (1964- ), comedian/actress; Mira Sorvino (1967- ), actress; Naomi Watts (1968- ), actress; Bam Margera (1979- ), skateboarder/stuntman; Hilary Duff (1987- ), singer/actress.

TODAY'S FACT: William the Conqueror rose to power despite early controversy that he was an illegitimate child. He was also known as "William the Bastard" before his conquest of England.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1941, Ted Williams hit 6-for-8 in a doubleheader to finish the season with a batting average over .400 (.406), a feat no player since has accomplished.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Abstract art is a product of the untalented, sold by the unprincipled to the utterly bewildered." -- Al Capp

TODAY'S NUMBER: 23 -- age at which future "Li'l Abner" cartoonist Al Capp became the youngest syndicated cartoonist in the United States.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Sept. 23) and first quarter moon (Oct. 1).

Today is the 270th day of 2014 and the sixth day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1908, the first Model T automobile left the Ford factory in Detroit.

In 1954, "Tonight Starring Steve Allen," the late-night talk show that eventually became "The Tonight Show," premiered on NBC.

In 1964, the Warren Commission report was released, stating that Lee Harvey Oswald had acted alone in assassinating President John F. Kennedy.

In 1990, David Souter was confirmed as associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Thomas Nast (1840-1902), cartoonist; Jim Thompson (1906-1977), author; Jayne Meadows (1920- ), actress; Arthur Penn (1922-2010), filmmaker; Earl Rudolph "Bud" Powell (1924-1966), jazz pianist; Wilford Brimley (1934- ), actor; Dick Schaap (1934-2001), sportscaster; Meat Loaf (1947- ), singer-songwriter; Shaun Cassidy (1958- ), singer/actor; Gwyneth Paltrow (1972- ), actress; Lil Wayne (1982- ), rapper; Avril Lavigne (1984- ), singer.

TODAY'S FACT: In 1777, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, served as the U.S. capital for one day, as the Continental Congress met there in the wake of the British capture of Philadelphia.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1998, Mark McGwire hit his 69th and 70th home runs in the last game of his record-setting season. McGwire admitted to steroid use in 2010.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "There are 32 ways to write a story, and I've used every one, but there is only one plot -- things are not as they seem." -- Jim Thompson

TODAY'S NUMBER: 8 -- inches of annual precipitation in the coastal regions of Antarctica. The inland portion of Antarctica receives even less, qualifying the continent as a desert.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Sept. 23) and first quarter moon (Oct. 1).

Today is the 269th day of 2014 and the fifth day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1789, Thomas Jefferson was named the first U.S. secretary of state, and John Jay was named the first chief justice of the United States.

In 1960, Vice President Richard Nixon and Democratic Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts met in the first televised presidential debate.

In 1990, the Motion Picture Association of America introduced the NC-17 rating, which was intended to replace the stigmatized X rating for films intended for viewers aged 17 and older.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Johnny Appleseed (1774-1845), environmentalist; Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936), physiologist; Winsor McCay (1867-1934), animator/cartoonist; T.S. Eliot (1888-1965), writer; George Gershwin (1898-1937), composer; Jack LaLanne (1914-2011), fitness expert; Marty Robbins (1925-1982), singer-songwriter; Olivia Newton-John (1948- ), actress/singer; Linda Hamilton (1956- ), actress; Jim Caviezel (1968- ), actor; Serena Williams (1981- ), tennis player.

TODAY'S FACT: In 1983, Stanislav Petrov, a Soviet military officer stationed at an early warning anti-nuclear center near Moscow, chose not to warn his superiors after correctly surmising that a computer malfunction was to blame for data that showed the United States had just launched a nuclear strike. Petrov's actions have since been credited with preventing global nuclear war.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1983, the Royal Perth Yacht Club's Australia II won the America's Cup, becoming the first non-American winner in the cup's 132-year history.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "To do the useful thing, to say the courageous thing, to contemplate the beautiful thing: that is enough for one man's life." -- T.S. Eliot

TODAY'S NUMBER: 2 -- X-rated films ever nominated for the best picture Academy Award. "Midnight Cowboy" is the only X-rated film ever to win the Oscar.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Sept. 23) and first quarter moon (Oct. 1).