Today is the 215th day of 2015 and the 44th day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1492, Christopher Columbus, seeking a sea route to the Far East, departed Palos de la Frontera, Spain.

In 1861, the final installment of Charles Dickens' serialized novel "Great Expectations" was published in Dickens' weekly periodical All the Year Round.

In 1914, Germany declared war on France.

In 1958, the U.S. nuclear-powered submarine Nautilus became the first vessel to cross the North Pole underwater.

In 1972, the U.S. Senate ratified the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Elisha Otis (1811-1861), inventor; Ernie Pyle (1900-1945), journalist/war correspondent; Leon Uris (1924-2003), author; Tony Bennett (1926- ), singer; Martin Sheen (1940- ), actor; Martha Stewart (1941- ), TV personality/business mogul; James Hetfield (1963- ), singer-songwriter; Tom Brady (1977- ), football player; Evangeline Lilly (1979- ), actress.

TODAY'S FACT: Santa Claus Land, the world's first theme park, opened on this day in 1946 in Santa Claus, Indiana.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1936, Jesse Owens won the first of his four gold medals during the Olympic Games in Berlin. Owens edged out teammate Ralph Metcalfe with a 10.3-second time in the 100-meter dash.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Life hinges on many factors we cannot control. Two of the most important factors, we can control. We can manage our relationships -- and what is life but a series of relationships? -- and we can correct our mistakes, here on Earth within our life span." -- Leon Uris, "Redemption"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 70 -- length (in days) of Christopher Columbus' first voyage across the Atlantic Ocean in 1492.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (July 31) and last quarter moon (Aug. 6).

Today is the 214th day of 2015 and the 43rd day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1790, the first official census of the United States was conducted.

In 1923, President Warren Harding died in San Francisco. Vice President Calvin Coolidge was sworn in as president before dawn the next day.

In 1934, Adolf Hitler united the chancellorship and presidency of Germany under the new title of Fuhrer.

In 1939, Albert Einstein wrote a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, requesting that the U.S. research the possibility of atomic weapons.

In 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Frederic Auguste Bartholdi (1834-1904), sculptor; Jack Warner (1892-1978), film executive; Myrna Loy (1905-1993), actress; Shimon Peres (1923- ), Israeli president; James Baldwin (1924-1987), writer; Carroll O'Connor (1924-2001), actor; Lamar Hunt (1932-2006), sports executive; Peter O'Toole (1932-2013), actor; Wes Craven (1939- ), filmmaker; Mary-Louise Parker (1964- ), actress; Kevin Smith (1970- ), filmmaker; Sam Worthington (1976- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: The familiar enlarged copy of the Declaration of Independence bearing the signatures of 56 congressional delegates was signed on this day in 1776.

TODAY'S SPORTS: The "Black Sox," eight former Chicago White Sox baseball players charged with defrauding the public in a conspiracy to throw the 1919 World Series, were acquitted on this day in 1921.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "I imagine one of the reasons people cling to their hates so stubbornly is because they sense, once hate is gone, they will be forced to deal with pain." -- James Baldwin

TODAY'S NUMBER: 3,929,214 -- population of the United States as recorded in the 1790 census.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (July 31) and last quarter moon (Aug. 6).

Today is the 213th day of 2015 and the 42nd day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1834, Britain abolished slavery in all of its colonies.

In 1876, Colorado was admitted as the 38th U.S. state.

In 1957, the United States and Canada announced the formation of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).

In 1966, ex-Marine Charles Whitman opened fire from a tower at the University of Texas at Austin, killing 14 people and wounding 32.

In 2007, a highway bridge in Minneapolis collapsed over the Mississippi River, killing 13 and injuring 145.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: William Clark (1770-1838), explorer; Francis Scott Key (1779-1843), poet/lawyer; Herman Melville (1819-1891), author; Dom DeLuise (1933-2009), actor/comedian; Yves Saint Laurent (1936-2008), fashion designer; Jerry Garcia (1942-1995), singer-songwriter; Coolio (1963- ), rapper; Sam Mendes (1965- ), film director; Zac Brown (1978- ), musician; Jason Momoa (1979- ), actor; Charlie and Max Carver (1988- ), actors; Madison Bumgarner (1989- ), baseball player.

TODAY'S FACT: "Video Killed the Radio Star" by the Buggles was the first music video aired on MTV when the network launched on this day in 1981.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1936, the Olympic Games opened in Berlin before a crowd of 100,000 spectators.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Would that all excellent books were foundlings, without father or mother, that so it might be, we could glorify them, without including their ostensible authors." -- Herman Melville

TODAY'S NUMBER: 14,130 -- final elevation (in feet) of Colorado's Mount Evans Scenic Byway, the highest paved road in North America.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (July 31) and last quarter moon (Aug. 6).