Today is the 303rd day of 2014 and the 39th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1811, Jane Austen published her first novel, "Sense and Sensibility," under the pseudonym "a Lady."

In 1890, Oakland, Calif., became one of the first jurisdictions in the country to enact an anti-drug law, which banned non-prescription opium, morphine and cocaine.

In 1938, Orson Welles' radio production of "War of the Worlds" created panic in listeners who believed they were actually listening to reports of a Martian invasion.

In 1991, President George Bush opened the Madrid Conference, the first direct, official peace talks to include Israel and all its Arab neighbors.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: John Adams (1735-1826), second U.S. president; William Halsey (1882-1959), U.S. admiral/fleet commander; Ezra Pound (1885-1972), poet/critic; Charles Atlas (1893-1972), bodybuilder; Grace Slick (1939- ), singer; Henry Winkler (1945- ), actor; Harry Hamlin (1951- ), actor; Ben Bailey (1970- ), comedian/game show host; Nia Long (1970- ), actress; Matthew Morrison (1978- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: Cocaine was not nationally regulated in the United States until 1914, when the Harrison Narcotics Tax Act was passed.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1974, Muhammad Ali regained the world heavyweight title by knocking out George Foreman in the eighth round of the "Rumble in the Jungle."

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Properly, we should read for power. Man reading should be man intensely alive. The book should be a ball of light in one's hand." -- Ezra Pound

TODAY'S NUMBER: 60,000 -- weight (in pounds) of "Tsar Bomba," the Soviet hydrogen bomb detonated in a test on the Sukhoy Nos island in northern Russia on this day in 1961. With a blast yield of 50 to 58 megatons of TNT, the 26-foot-long bomb remains the most powerful nuclear weapon ever detonated.

TODAY'S MOON: First quarter moon (Oct. 30).

Today is the 302nd day of 2014 and the 38th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1929, the New York Stock Exchange crashed in what came to be called "Black Tuesday," beginning the Great Depression.

In 1966, the newly formed National Organization for Women held its first national conference.

In 1969, the first connection on ARPANET (the precursor to the Internet) was made between computers at UCLA and Stanford Research Institute.

In 2004, European leaders signed the first constitution of the European Union.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Fanny Brice (1891-1951), singer/comedian; Bill Mauldin (1921-2003), cartoonist; Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (1938- ), Liberian president; Bob Ross (1942-1995), painter/instructor; Richard Dreyfuss (1947- ), actor; Lee Child (1954- ), author; Dan Castellaneta (1957- ), actor; Joely Fisher (1967- ), actress; Winona Ryder (1971- ), actress; India Eisley (1993- ), actress.

TODAY'S FACT: Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is Africa's first female head of state.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1960, Cassius Clay (later known as Muhammed Ali) made his professional boxing debut, winning a six-round decision over Tunney Hunsaker.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Certainly none of the advances made in civilization has been due to counterrevolutionaries and advocates of the status quo." -- Bill Mauldin

TODAY'S NUMBER: 77 -- age of astronaut John Glenn when the Space Shuttle Discovery launched on this day in 1998, making Glenn the oldest person ever to travel in space.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Oct. 23) and first quarter moon (Oct. 30).

Today is the 301st day of 2014 and the 37th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1886, President Grover Cleveland dedicated the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor.

In 1919, Congress passed the Volstead Act over President Woodrow Wilson's veto, providing for enforcement of alcohol prohibition to take effect on Jan. 17, 1920.

In 1962, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev agreed to remove his country's nuclear missiles from Cuba, bringing an end to the Cuban Missile Crisis.

In 2005, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, resigned following his indictment on charges related to the leaking of a CIA agent's name.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Evelyn Waugh (1903-1966), writer; Francis Bacon (1909-1992), artist; Jonas Salk (1914-1995), medical researcher; Charlie Daniels (1936- ), singer-songwriter; Jane Alexander (1939- ), actress; Dennis Franz (1944- ), actor; Annie Potts (1952- ), actress; Bill Gates (1955- ), software pioneer; Lauren Holly (1963- ), actress; Andy Richter (1966- ), comedian/actor; Julia Roberts (1967- ), actress; Brad Paisley (1972- ), singer-songwriter; Joaquin Phoenix (1974- ), actor; Frank Ocean (1987- ), singer-songwriter.

TODAY'S FACT: Despite the agreement that ended the Cuban Missile Crisis on this day in 1962, U.S. forces worldwide remained at DEFCON 3 until Nov. 20.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 2006, legendary Hall of Fame basketball coach Red Auerbach died.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Punctuality is the virtue of the bored." -- Evelyn Waugh

TODAY'S NUMBER: 354 -- steps from the pedestal to the head of the Statue of Liberty.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Oct. 23) and first quarter moon (Oct. 30).