Today is the 337th day of 2014 and the 73rd day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1818, Illinois was admitted as the 21st U.S. state.

In 1967, a team headed by cardiac surgeon Christiaan Barnard carried out the world's first human-to-human heart transplant in Cape Town, South Africa.

In 1984, a leak at a Union Carbide chemical plant in Bhopal, India, killed more than 3,000 people within hours.

In 1999, NASA lost contact with the Mars Polar Lander as it entered the planet's atmosphere.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Joseph Conrad (1857-1924), author; Andy Williams (1927-2012), singer; Ozzy Osbourne (1948- ), musician; Daryl Hannah (1960- ), actress; Julianne Moore (1960- ), actress; Andrew Stanton (1965- ), writer/director/animator; Katarina Witt (1965- ), figure skater; Brendan Fraser (1968- ), actor; Sean Parker (1979- ), entrepreneur; Amanda Seyfried (1985- ), actress.

TODAY'S FACT: The successful 2007-2008 Mars mission was given the name "Phoenix" because it "rose from the ashes" of two unsuccessful earlier missions to Mars: the lost 1999 Mars Polar Lander and the canceled 2001 Mars Surveyor Lander.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1950, the Cleveland Browns defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 13-7. It remains the last professional football game in which the winning team did not complete a single pass.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "I don't like work -- no man does -- but I like what is in the work -- the chance to find yourself. Your own reality -- for yourself, not for others -- what no other man can ever know. They can only see the mere show, and never can tell what it really means." -- Joseph Conrad, "Heart of Darkness"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 6 -- Illinois governors since the 1920s who have been charged with crimes that took place during or after their time in office, including George H. Ryan (1999-2003) and Rod Blagojevich (2003-2009).

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (Nov. 29) and full moon (Dec. 6).

Today is the 336th day of 2014 and the 72nd day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1823, President James Monroe announced a policy establishing American neutrality in future European conflicts, later known as the Monroe Doctrine.

In 1927, Ford Motor Co. introduced the new Model A.

In 1942, a team led by Enrico Fermi engineered the first controlled nuclear fission chain reaction under the stands of the University of Chicago's Stagg Field.

In 1988, Benazir Bhutto was sworn in as prime minister of Pakistan, becoming the first female leader of an Islamic nation.

In 2001, the energy trading company Enron filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Georges Seurat (1859-1891), painter; Maria Callas (1923-1977), opera singer; Gianni Versace (1946-1997), fashion designer; Stone Phillips (1954- ), journalist; Ann Patchett (1963- ), author; Lucy Liu (1968- ), actress; Monica Seles (1973- ), tennis player; Britney Spears (1981- ), singer; Aaron Rodgers (1983- ), football player.

TODAY'S FACT: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which began operations on this day in 1970, employed a workforce of 15,913 in 2013.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1967, Hall of Fame center Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia 76ers set an NBA record for missed free throws in a single game, missing 22 in a 133-109 win over the Seattle SuperSonics.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Never be so focused on what you're looking for that you overlook the thing you actually find." -- Ann Patchett, "State of Wonder"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 112 -- days Barney Clark, the recipient of the first artificial heart, lived after it was implanted on this day in 1982.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (Nov. 29) and full moon (Dec. 6).

Today is the 335th day of 2014 and the 71st day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1955, Rosa Parks refused to sit in the back of a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, sparking a new era in the civil rights movement.

In 1969, the United States instituted its first draft lottery since World War II.

In 2008, the National Bureau of Economic Research declared that the United States had been in an official recession since December 2007.

In 2013, China launched Yutu, its first lunar rover.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Marie Tussaud (1761-1850), museum founder; Rex Stout (1886-1975), author; Mary Martin (1913-1990), actress; Lou Rawls (1933-2006), singer-songwriter; Woody Allen (1935- ), filmmaker; Lee Trevino (1939- ), golfer; Richard Pryor (1940-2005), actor/comedian; Bette Midler (1945- ), singer/actress; Nestor Carbonell (1967- ), actor; Sarah Silverman (1970- ), actress/comedian; DeSean Jackson (1986- ), football player.

TODAY'S FACT: At the time of the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955, about 70 percent of bus riders in the city were African-American.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1924, Brooklyn pitcher Dazzy Vance (28 wins, 2.16 ERA, 262 strikeouts) won the National League MVP award over Rogers Hornsby, who had batted .424 for the season.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Someone once asked me if my dream was to live on in the hearts of people, and I said I would prefer to live on in my apartment." -- Woody Allen

TODAY'S NUMBER: 1.86 million -- men inducted into the U.S. armed forces between 1965 and 1973 through the Selective Service System.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (Nov. 29) and full moon (Dec. 6).