Today is the 245th day of 2015 and the 74th day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1666, the Great Fire of London began as a small fire in a bakeshop, ending three days later after destroying more than 13,000 buildings.

In 1789, Congress created the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

In 1901, Vice President Theodore Roosevelt made his "speak softly and carry a big stick" speech on American foreign policy.

In 1963, Alabama Gov. George Wallace stationed state troopers around Tuskegee High School to prevent integration.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Romare Bearden (1911-1988), artist/author; Nathaniel "Tiny" Archibald (1948- ), basketball player; Terry Bradshaw (1948- ), sportscaster/football player; Christa McAuliffe (1948-1986), teacher/astronaut; Mark Harmon (1951- ), actor; Jimmy Connors (1952- ), tennis player; Eric Dickerson (1960- ), football player; Keanu Reeves (1964- ), actor; Lennox Lewis (1965- ), boxer; Salma Hayek (1966- ), actress; Katt Williams (1973- ), comedian.

TODAY'S FACT: The first automatic teller machine in the United States was put into service at Chemical Bank in Rockville Center, New York, on this day in 1969.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1960, Wilma Rudolph ran the 100-meter dash in 11 seconds to claim the gold medal at the Summer Olympic Games in Rome. She was awarded the world record for her sprint, only to have it revoked because wind speeds were higher than allowed.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "The artist confronts chaos. The whole thing of art is, how do you organize chaos?" -- Romare Bearden

TODAY'S NUMBER: 3.4 million -- automated teller machines in use worldwide, according to the World Bank Group.

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

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).