Today is the 351st day of 2014 and the 87th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1903, Orville Wright made the first controlled, sustained flight in a power-driven airplane.

In 1989, the first episode of "The Simpsons" aired.

In 1992, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was signed by the leaders of the United States, Canada and Mexico.

In 2010, street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire in protest of government mistreatment in Tunisia, becoming a catalyst for Arab Spring protests in the region.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892), poet; Ford Madox Ford (1873-1939), novelist; William Safire (1929-2009), columnist; Eugene Levy (1946- ), actor/comedian; Wes Studi (1947- ), actor; Bill Pullman (1953- ), actor; Peter Farrelly (1956- ), director; Chuck Liddell (1969- ), mixed martial artist; Paula Radcliffe (1973- ), long-distance runner; Sarah Paulson (1974- ), actress; Giovanni Ribisi (1974- ), actor; Milla Jovovich (1975- ), actress; Manny Pacquiao (1978- ), boxer; Chase Utley (1978- ), baseball player.

TODAY'S FACT: An attempt to re-create the Wright brothers' inaugural flight on North Carolina's Outer Banks failed to take off in 2003, on the first flight's 100-year anniversary.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1933, the Chicago Bears defeated the New York Giants 23-21 to win the first NFL Championship game.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "No longer forward or behind / I look in hope or fear, / But grateful, take the good I find, / The best of now and here." -- John Greenleaf Whittier

TODAY'S NUMBER: 31 -- Emmy Awards won by "The Simpsons" as of 2014.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (Dec. 14) and new moon (Dec. 21).

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1773, Tea Act protesters dumped hundreds of crates of tea into Boston harbor, an act that came to be known as the "Boston Tea Party."

In 1835, a huge fire destroyed nearly 700 buildings in New York City.

In 1944, German forces began a 90-minute artillery barrage against the Allied front, signaling the onset of the Battle of the Bulge.

In 2000, President George W. Bush selected Colin Powell as the first African-American secretary of state.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Jane Austen (1775-1817), author; Noel Coward (1899-1973), playwright; Margaret Mead (1901-1978), anthropologist; Arthur C. Clarke (1917-2008), writer; Philip K. Dick (1928-1982), author; Lesley Stahl (1941- ), journalist; Steven Bochco (1943- ), screenwriter/producer; Shane Black (1961- ), actor/screenwriter/director; William "The Refrigerator" Perry (1962- ), football player; Benjamin Bratt (1963- ), actor; Krysten Ritter (1981- ), actress.

TODAY'S FACT: Margaret Mead was named "Mother of the World" by Time magazine in 1969.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1973, Buffalo Bills running back O.J. Simpson became the first player in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards in a season.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible." -- Arthur C. Clarke

TODAY'S NUMBER: $2.8 billion -- worldwide box-office gross of James Cameron's "Avatar," which began its wide international release on this day in 2009. It remains the highest-grossing film of all time.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (Dec. 14) and new moon (Dec. 21).

Today is the 350th day of 2014 and the 86th day of autumn.

Today is the 349th day of 2014 and the 85th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1791, the Bill of Rights took effect after ratification by Virginia.

In 1939, the film "Gone With the Wind" premiered in Atlanta.

In 1961, Adolf Eichmann, considered the architect of the Nazis' "final solution," was convicted of war crimes and sentenced to death by an Israeli court.

In 1978, President Jimmy Carter announced his intention to grant diplomatic recognition to Communist China, severing ties with Taiwan, on Jan. 1, 1979.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Gustave Eiffel (1832-1923), engineer/architect; Maxwell Anderson (1888-1959), playwright; J. Paul Getty (1892-1976), oil tycoon/philanthropist; Betty Smith (1896-1972), author; Tim Conway (1933- ), actor/comedian; Dave Clark (1942- ), musician; Don Johnson (1949- ), actor; Julie Taymor (1952- ), director; Rodney Harrison (1972- ), football player; Adam Brody (1979- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: In 2001, the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy was reopened after being closed for more than a decade for stabilization and reconstruction efforts.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1982, Bill Parcells became the coach of the NFL's New York Giants.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Look at everything always as though you were seeing it either for the first or last time: Thus is your time on earth filled with glory." -- Betty Smith, "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn"

TODAY'S NUMBER: $17 million -- ransom demanded of billionaire J. Paul Getty by the kidnappers of his 16-year-old grandson in 1973, which Getty refused to pay. After the kidnappers sent his grandson's severed ear by mail a few weeks later, Getty secured his grandson's release by agreeing to pay no more than $2.2 million (the maximum amount that would be tax deductible).

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (Dec. 14) and new moon (Dec. 21).