Today is the 278th day of 2015 and the 13th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1877, Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce tribe surrendered to U.S. Cavalry troops after a 1,700-mile retreat.

In 1947, President Harry Truman delivered the first address to be televised from the White House.

In 1969, "Monty Python's Flying Circus" debuted on the BBC.

In 1970, the Public Broadcasting Service was founded.

In 2005, the U.S. Senate voted 90-9 to prohibit the use of "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment" on detainees.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758), theologian/evangelist; Chester A. Arthur (1829-1886), 21st U.S. president; Louis Lumiere (1864-1948), inventor/filmmaker; Ray Kroc (1902-1984), founder of McDonald's Corp.; Bil Keane (1922-2011), cartoonist; Vaclav Havel (1936-2011), playwright/Czech president; Steve Miller (1943- ), musician; Bernie Mac (1957-2008), comedian/actor; Mario Lemieux (1965- ), hockey player; Guy Pearce (1967- ), actor; Kate Winslet (1975- ), actress; Jesse Eisenberg (1983- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: In the first televised White House address (on this day in 1947), President Truman asked the American people to stop eating meat on Tuesdays and poultry on Thursdays to help relieve food shortages in Europe.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 2001, Barry Bonds set a new single-season home run record with his 71st and 72nd home runs.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "I'm not a star, and I don't want to be a star. Stars fall. I'm an ordinary guy with an extraordinary job." -- Bernie Mac

TODAY'S NUMBER: 1.9 million -- McDonald's employees worldwide in 2015.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (Oct. 4) and new moon (Oct. 12).

Today is the 277th day of 2015 and the 12th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1535, the complete English translation of the Bible was printed for the first time.

In 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the first artificial satellite, into orbit.

In 1958, trans-Atlantic passenger jet service began with commercial flights between New York and London.

In 1965, Pope Paul VI became the first reigning pontiff to visit the United States.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Rutherford B. Hayes (1822-1893), 19th U.S. president; Edward Stratemeyer (1862-1930), children's author; Buster Keaton (1895-1966), comedian/filmmaker; Charlton Heston (1923-2008), actor; Jackie Collins (1937-2015), author; Anne Rice (1941- ), author; Tony La Russa (1944- ), baseball manager; Susan Sarandon (1946- ), actress; Christoph Waltz (1956- ), actor; Liev Schreiber (1967- ), actor; Alicia Silverstone (1976- ), actress; Rachael Leigh Cook (1979- ), actress; Derrick Rose (1988- ), basketball player.

TODAY'S FACT: Singapore Airlines Flight 21 was the longest regularly scheduled nonstop passenger flight in the world before it was discontinued in November 2013. The flight departed from Newark, New Jersey, for Singapore with a scheduled length of 18 hours, 50 minutes.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1955, the Brooklyn Dodgers, who had earned the nickname "Dem Bums" after losing four World Series in the previous eight seasons, defeated the New York Yankees to finally win their first championship.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "As knowledge spreads, wealth spreads. To diffuse knowledge is to diffuse wealth. To give all an equal chance to acquire knowledge is the best and surest way to give all an equal chance to acquire property." -- Rutherford B. Hayes

TODAY'S NUMBER: 184 -- weight (in pounds) of Sputnik, according to Soviet news agency TASS on the day of its launch.

TODAY'S MOON: Last quarter moon (Oct. 4).

Today is the 276th day of 2015 and the 11th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln designated the last Thursday in November as a national day of thanksgiving.

In 1952, the United Kingdom conducted a successful test of an atomic bomb off the coast of Australia, becoming the world's third nuclear power.

In 1990, East and West Germany were reunified.

In 1993, Somali forces shot down two U.S. Black Hawk helicopters, setting off the two-day "Battle of Mogadishu."

In 1995, O.J. Simpson was acquitted of the murders of ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Thomas Wolfe (1900-1938), author; Harvey Kurtzman (1924-1993), cartoonist; Gore Vidal (1925-2012), author; Chubby Checker (1941- ), singer-songwriter; Al Sharpton (1954- ), minister/activist; Stevie Ray Vaughan (1954-1990), singer-songwriter; Fred Couples (1959- ), golfer; Clive Owen (1964- ), actor; Gwen Stefani (1969- ), singer-songwriter; Neve Campbell (1973- ), actress; Lena Headey (1973- ), actress; Talib Kweli (1975- ), rapper; Seann William Scott (1976- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: In 1789, President George Washington announced that Nov. 26 of that year would be "a day of public thanksgiving and prayer," the first in U.S. history.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1951, New York Giants player Bobby Thomson hit the "Shot Heard 'Round the World," a three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to clinch the National League pennant over the Brooklyn Dodgers.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Everybody likes a bit of gossip to some point, as long as it's gossip with some point to it. That's why I like history. History is nothing but gossip about the past, with the hope that it might be true." -- Gore Vidal, "Julian"

TODAY'S NUMBER: $1 trillion -- amount of public and private funds that eastern Germany received from western Germany in the five years following reunification.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (Sept. 27) and last quarter moon (Oct. 4).