Today is the 273rd day of 2014 and the ninth day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1935, the Boulder Dam (later renamed the Hoover Dam) was dedicated.

In 1947, Game 1 between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Yankees was the first World Series game broadcast on television.

In 1955, actor James Dean was killed in a car accident near Shandon, Calif., at age 24.

In 2005, a Danish newspaper published controversial cartoons about the Islamic prophet Muhammad, sparking protests and riots around the world.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Hans Geiger (1882-1945), physicist; Deborah Kerr (1921-2007), actress; Truman Capote (1924-1984), author; Elie Wiesel (1928- ), author/activist; Angie Dickinson (1931- ), actress; Johnny Mathis (1935- ), singer-songwriter; Barry Williams (1954- ), actor; Fran Drescher (1957- ), actress; Tony Hale (1970- ), actor; Jenna Elfman (1971- ), actress; Jose Lima (1972-2010), baseball player; Marion Cotillard (1975- ), actress; Martina Hingis (1980- ), tennis player; T-Pain (1985- ), rapper/producer.

TODAY'S FACT: When the Boulder Canyon dam project was christened the Hoover Dam (after then-President Herbert Hoover) in 1930, the name was met with derision, as many blamed the Depression on Hoover's policies. The dam was renamed Boulder Dam at its dedication in 1935. President Harry Truman signed a resolution restoring the name Hoover Dam in 1947.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1927, Babe Ruth broke his own record for home runs in a season by hitting his 60th, setting a record that stood for 34 years.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, but indifference between life and death." -- Elie Wiesel

TODAY'S NUMBER: 209 -- total weeks Martina Hingis was the top-ranked women's tennis player, beginning in 1997.

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

Today is the 272nd day of 2014 and the eighth day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1789, the U.S. Department of War established a regular army, maintaining several hundred troops.

In 1916, The New York Times reported that John D. Rockefeller, the head of Standard Oil, was almost certainly a billionaire, the world's first.

In 1966, the Chevrolet Camaro debuted for sale in U.S. dealerships.

In 2005, John G. Roberts Jr. was sworn in as chief justice of the United States.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616), writer; Caravaggio (1571-1610), painter; Enrico Fermi (1901-1954), nuclear physicist; Greer Garson (1904-1996), actress; Gene Autry (1907-1998), singer/actor; Jerry Lee Lewis (1935- ), singer-songwriter; Madeline Kahn (1942-1999), actress; Ian McShane (1942- ), actor; Lech Walesa (1943- ), labor leader/politician; Bryant Gumbel (1948- ), TV journalist; Ann Bancroft (1955- ), author/explorer; Russell Peters (1970- ), actor/comedian; Calvin Johnson (1985- ), football player; Kevin Durant (1988- ), basketball player.

TODAY'S FACT: Miguel de Cervantes' "Don Quixote" is widely considered to be the first modern novel. It was initially published in two volumes in 1605 and 1615.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1951, NBC broadcast a college football game between Duke University and the University of Pittsburgh. It was the first live sporting event to be televised nationwide.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Too much sanity may be madness, and maddest of all, to see life as it is and not as it should be." -- Miguel de Cervantes

TODAY'S NUMBER: 777.68 -- points lost by the Dow Jones Industrial Average on this day in 2008, following the bankruptcies of the financial services companies Lehman Brothers and Washington Mutual. It was the largest single-day point drop in history.

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

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).