Today is the 345th day of 2014 and the 81st day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1816, Indiana was admitted as the 19th U.S. state.

In 1941, the United States declared war on Germany and Italy.

In 1946, the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) was established.

In 1972, the lunar module for Apollo 17, the final manned mission of the Apollo space program, touched ground on the moon.

In 2008, investment banker Bernie Madoff was arrested for perpetrating one of the largest Ponzi-scheme frauds in U.S. history.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Hector Berlioz (1803-1869), composer; Fiorello La Guardia (1882-1947), New York City mayor; Alexandr Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008), novelist/dissident; Rita Moreno (1931- ), actress; John Kerry (1943- ), U.S. secretary of state; Teri Garr (1947- ), actress; Mo'Nique (1967- ), actress; Mos Def (1973- ), actor/rapper; Hailee Steinfeld, (1996- ), actress.

TODAY'S FACT: Apollo 17, which set records for the longest lunar surface exploration and the most lunar material collected, remains the most recent manned lunar mission.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 2009, pro golfer Tiger Woods announced he was taking "an indefinite break" from the sport due to chaos in his personal life. He returned in April 2010.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Own only what you can always carry with you: Know languages, know countries, know people. Let your memory be your travel bag." -- Alexandr Solzhenitsyn

TODAY'S NUMBER: $17.3 billion -- total (in principal) lost by clients in Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme. $48 billion more was lost in fictitious profits.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (Dec. 6) and last quarter moon (Dec. 14).

Today is the 344th day of 2014 and the 80th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1817, Mississippi was admitted as the 20th U.S. state.

In 1869, women in Wyoming Territory were granted the right to vote.

In 1898, the Spanish-American War officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris.

In 1901, the first Nobel Prizes were awarded.

In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt became the first American to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Cesar Franck (1822-1890), composer; Emily Dickinson (1830-1886), poet; Melvil Dewey (1851-1931), librarian; Dorothy Lamour (1914-1996), actress; Susan Dey (1952- ), actress; Michael Clarke Duncan (1957-2012), actor; Kenneth Branagh (1960- ), actor/director; Bobby Flay (1964- ), celebrity chef; Greg Giraldo (1965-2010), comedian; Meg White (1974- ), drummer; Raven-Symone (1985- ), actress.

TODAY'S FACT: Rodeo has been the official Wyoming state sport since 2003.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1935, Jay Berwanger of the University of Chicago won the first Downtown Athletic Club Trophy, which was renamed the Heisman Trophy in 1936.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "I know nothing in the world that has as much power as a word. Sometimes I write one, and I look at it, until it begins to shine." -- Emily Dickinson

TODAY'S NUMBER: 4 -- American presidents who have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize: Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (Dec. 6) and last quarter moon (Dec. 14).

Today is the 343rd day of 2014 and the 79th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1867, the capital of the Colorado Territory was moved from Golden to Denver.

In 1872, Pinkney Benton Stewart Pinchback became the first serving U.S. governor of African-American descent when he was named acting governor of Louisiana.

In 1968, engineer Douglas Engelbart demonstrated the first computer system to use hypertext links and a mouse.

In 1979, the World Health Organization certified that smallpox had been eradicated.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Emmett Kelly (1898-1979), clown; Jean de Brunhoff (1899-1937), author; Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill (1912-1994), politician; Kirk Douglas (1916- ), actor; Redd Foxx (1922-1991), comedian; Dick Van Patten (1928- ), actor; Judi Dench (1934- ), actress; Deacon Jones (1938-2013), football player; Beau Bridges (1941- ), actor; Dick Butkus (1942- ), football player; John Malkovich (1953- ), actor; Donny Osmond (1957- ), singer; Felicity Huffman (1962- ), actress; Kurt Angle (1968- ), wrestler/actor; Simon Helberg (1980- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: After Pinkney Benton Stewart Pinchback was appointed acting governor of Louisiana, it would be more than 100 years before the first African-American elected governor, Lawrence Douglas Wilder of Virginia, took office, in 1990.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1934, the New York Giants exchanged their cleats for sneakers during the third quarter, then outmaneuvered the Chicago Bears on a frozen field to turn a 13-3 deficit into a 30-13 victory.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "You hear all this stuff about inner peace. Hey, there’s nothing wrong with it, but I say, hit that line hard. Crack that book ... Do your very best all the time and inner peace will take care of itself. The Deacon guarantees it." -- Deacon Jones

TODAY'S NUMBER: 7 -- number of classic children's books about Babar the elephant written and illustrated by Jean de Brunhoff. He died of tuberculosis at age 37, and his son Laurent continued the series.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (Dec. 6) and last quarter moon (Dec. 14).