Today is the 285th day of 2015 and the 20th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1492, explorer Christopher Columbus' expedition made landfall in the Bahamas.

In 1892, the Pledge of Allegiance was recited by students in public schools for the first time, in celebration of the 400th anniversary of Columbus' voyage.

In 1945, the Allied Control Council in Germany decreed that the Nazi political party be dissolved.

In 2000, a suicide bomb attack on the USS Cole in Yemen killed 17 sailors and wounded 39.

In 2007, former Vice President Al Gore was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to increase public knowledge about climate change.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Dick Gregory (1932- ), comedian/author; Tony Kubek (1935- ), broadcaster/baseball player; Luciano Pavarotti (1935-2007), opera singer; Chris Wallace (1947- ), TV journalist; Hugh Jackman (1968- ), actor; Kirk Cameron (1970- ), actor; Marion Jones (1975- ), track and field athlete; Bode Miller (1977- ), Olympic skier; Josh Hutcherson (1992- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: The United Nations Population Fund estimated that the world's population reached 7 billion at the end of October 2011, but according to U.S. Census Bureau demographers, that number was not reached until four months later.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 2003, Michael Schumacher won his sixth Formula One Drivers' championship, breaking a record held for 48 years by Juan Manuel Fangio.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "People think I'm disciplined. It is not discipline. It is devotion. There is a great difference." -- Luciano Pavarotti

TODAY'S NUMBER: 42 -- the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything, according to Douglas Adams' comedy science fiction novel "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," published on this day in 1979.

TODAY'S MOON: New moon (Oct. 12).

Today is the 284th day of 2015 and the 19th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1779, Polish nobleman Casimir Pulaski died while fighting for American independence in the Revolutionary War.

In 1890, the Daughters of the American Revolution formed.

In 1975, William Jefferson Clinton and Hillary Diane Rodham were married.

In 1975, "Saturday Night Live" debuted on NBC.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962), first lady/writer/diplomat; Elmore Leonard (1925-2013), novelist; Daryl Hall (1946- ), singer-songwriter; David Morse (1953- ), actor; Steve Young (1961- ), football player; Joan Cusack (1962- ), actress; Artie Lange (1967- ), comedian; Jane Krakowski (1968- ), actress; Emily Deschanel (1976- ), actress; Matthew Bomer (1977- ), actor; Terrell Suggs (1982- ), football player; Michelle Trachtenberg (1985- ), actress; Michelle Wie (1989- ), golfer.

TODAY'S FACT: In 1910, Theodore Roosevelt became the first president (he was a former president at the time) to fly in an airplane, at Kinloch Field in St. Louis. He rode as a passenger for a four-minute flight in a plane built by the Wright Brothers.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1890, John Owens ran the first recorded 100-yard dash that broke 10 seconds.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "One thing life has taught me: If you are interested, you never have to look for new interests. They come to you." -- Eleanor Roosevelt, "You Learn by Living"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 16 -- "Saturday Night Live" guest host appearances by actor Alec Baldwin, the most ever. Dave Grohl has the most appearances by a musical guest on the show, with 11 appearances as a member of Nirvana, the Foo Fighters and other musical acts.

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

Today is the 283rd day of 2015 and the 18th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1845, the U.S. Naval Academy (then known as the U.S. Naval School) opened in Annapolis, Maryland.

In 1957, the core of a nuclear reactor caught fire in Cumbria, England.

In 1973, Spiro Agnew resigned the vice presidency after being charged with tax evasion.

In 2002, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to give President George W. Bush authority to use military force in Iraq.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901), composer; Helen Hayes (1900-1993), actress; Thelonious Monk (1917-1982), jazz pianist/composer; Harold Pinter (1930-2008), director/playwright; Ben Vereen (1946- ), actor/singer/dancer; David Lee Roth (1954- ), singer-songwriter; Bradley Whitford (1959- ), actor; Brett Favre (1969- ), football player; Dale Earnhardt Jr. (1974- ), race car driver; Aimee Teegarden (1989- ), actress.

TODAY'S FACT: The London Bridge that had spanned the River Thames in London since 1831 was disassembled in 1967 and reconstructed in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. It opened there on this day in 1971.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1948, the Green Bay Packers played so badly in a 17-7 loss to the Chicago Cardinals that coach Curly Lambeau legendarily fined his team and released two players as "an apology to the people who paid good money to see it."

TODAY'S QUOTE: "The piano ain't got no wrong notes." -- Thelonious Monk

TODAY'S NUMBER: 360,760 -- shareholders in the Green Bay Packers in 2015. It is the only publicly owned NFL franchise.

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