Today is the 244th day of 2015 and the 73rd day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1897, the first section of Boston's subway system -- the first underground public transportation in the United States -- opened.

In 1902, "A Trip to the Moon," widely considered the first science fiction film, was released in France.

In 1939, Germany invaded Poland, marking the beginning of World War II.

In 1985, American and French researchers discovered the wreckage of the luxury liner Titanic on the ocean floor near Newfoundland.

In 2004, Chechen militants took more than 1,100 people hostage at a school in Beslan, Russia.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Engelbert Humperdinck (1854-1921), composer; Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1950), author/journalist; Richard Farnsworth (1920-2000), actor; Rocky Marciano (1923-1969), boxer; Boxcar Willie (1931-1999), singer-songwriter; Conway Twitty (1933-1993), singer-songwriter; Alan Dershowitz (1938- ), attorney; Lily Tomlin (1939- ), actress/comedian; Barry Gibb (1946- ), singer-songwriter; James Rebhorn (1948-2014), actor; Gloria Estefan (1957- ), singer-songwriter.

TODAY'S FACT: Poland is believed to have lost about 20 percent of its citizens to war-related fatalities in World War II, the highest percentage Of all the countries involved in the conflict.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1964, San Francisco Giants pitcher Masanori Murakami became the first Japanese player to play in the American major leagues, pitching a scoreless eighth inning in a 4-1 loss to the New York Mets at Shea Stadium in New York City.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "I had gone thoroughly through some of the all-fiction magazines and I made up my mind that if people were paid for writing such rot as I read I could write stories just as rotten." -- Edgar Rice Burroughs

TODAY'S NUMBER: 900 -- unmarked graves unearthed by workers building the first section of the Boston subway system in the late 19th century.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (Aug. 29) and last quarter moon (Sept. 5).

Today is the 243rd day of 2015 and the 72nd day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1888, the body of the first victim of London serial killer Jack the Ripper was found.

In 1935, President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Neutrality Act.

In 1954, Hurricane Carol made landfall over Long Island and Connecticut and soon became one of the most destructive hurricanes to hit New England.

In 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales, was killed in a car accident in Paris.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Maria Montessori (1870-1952), physician/educator; William Saroyan (1908-1981), playwright; Buddy Hackett (1924-2003), comedian/actor; James Coburn (1928-2002), actor; Frank Robinson (1935- ), baseball player/manager; Van Morrison (1945- ), singer-songwriter; Itzhak Perlman (1945- ), violinist; Tom Coughlin (1946- ), football coach; Richard Gere (1949- ), actor; Debbie Gibson (1970- ), singer-songwriter; Chris Tucker (1972- ), actor; Larry Fitzgerald (1983- ), football player.

TODAY'S FACT: The last original episode of "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" aired on this day in 2001.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1990, Ken Griffey and Ken Griffey Jr., playing for the Seattle Mariners, became the first father-son duo to be in the same Major League Baseball lineup.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Good people are good because they've come to wisdom through failure. We get very little wisdom from success, you know." -- William Sayoran, "My Heart's in the Highlands"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 1 -- appearance on television in which Fred Rogers of "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" did not portray himself. Rogers played the role of a preacher in a 1996 episode of "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman."

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (Aug. 29) and last quarter moon (Sept. 5).

Today is the 242nd day of 2015 and the 71st day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1945, British forces ended Japan's occupation of Hong Kong.

In 1963, a United States-Soviet diplomatic teletype "hotline," intended to prevent accidental war, was installed.

In 1967, the U.S. Senate confirmed the appointment of Thurgood Marshall as the first African-American Supreme Court justice.

In 1996, Russian and Chechen leaders agreed to a ceasefire, ending the First Chechen War.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (1797-1851), author; Huey Long (1893-1935), politician; Shirley Booth (1898-1992), actress; Roy Wilkins (1901-1981), civil rights activist; Fred MacMurray (1908-1991), actor; Ted Williams (1918-2002), baseball player; Warren Buffett (1930- ), businessman/philanthropist; Robert Crumb (1943- ), writer/illustrator; Lewis Black (1948- ), comedian; Michael Chiklis (1963- ), actor; Mark Strong (1963- ), actor; Cameron Diaz (1972- ), actress; Andy Roddick (1982- ), tennis player.

TODAY'S FACT: The number of hours Americans spent online increased nearly 100 percent between 2000 and 2010, from 9.4 hours per week to 18.3 hours per week.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1905, Ty Cobb made his major league debut for the Detroit Tigers.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "My dreams were all my own; I accounted for them to nobody; they were my refuge when annoyed -- my dearest pleasure when free." -- Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, "Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 32 -- cases Thurgood Marshall had argued before the Supreme Court before he became a justice. He won 29 of them.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (Aug. 29) and last quarter moon (Sept. 5).