Today is the 247th day of 2016 and the 76th day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1783, the signing of the Treaty of Paris officially ended the Revolutionary War.

In 1838, abolitionist leader Frederick Douglass escaped slavery in Baltimore.

In 1939, France, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia declared war on Germany in response to the country's invasion of Poland.

In 2004, a three-day hostage situation at a school in Beslan, Russia, ended with a gun battle that killed more than 300 people, including 186 children.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Louis Sullivan (1856-1924), architect; Ferdinand Porsche (1875-1951), automotive engineer; Kitty Carlisle (1910-2007), actress; Alan Ladd (1913-1964), actor; Mort Walker (1923- ), cartoonist; Eileen Brennan (1932-2013), actress; Malcolm Gladwell (1963- ), journalist/author; Charlie Sheen (1965- ), actor; Jennie Finch (1980- ), softball player; Shaun White (1986- ), snowboarder/skateboarder.

TODAY'S FACT: Ferdinand Porsche, founder of the automobile company of the same name, designed the first hybrid gasoline-electric car. Known as the Lohner-Porsche Mixte Hybrid, the car went into production in 1900.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1950, Guiseppe "Nino" Farina won the Italian Grand Prix to become the first Formula One World Drivers' champion.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "(World War II) was the last war we had where everybody felt the same. Everybody cared. Everybody was on the same side, here. And so, everyone cared about those war movies." -- Kitty Carlisle

TODAY'S NUMBER: 13 -- record number of Winter X Games gold medals claimed by Shaun White from 2003 to 2013.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Sept. 1) and first quarter moon (Sept. 9).

Today is the 246th day of 2016 and the 75th 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: "If you enjoy the process, it's your dream. ... If you are enduring the process, just desperate for the result, it's somebody else's dream." -- Salma Hayek

TODAY'S NUMBER: 18 years -- age of amateur pilot Mathias Rust when he illegally landed a private airplane near Red Square in Moscow. His trial began on this day in 1987.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Sept. 1) and first quarter moon (Sept. 9).

Today is the 245th day of 2016 and the 74th 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: "All sides in a trial want to hide at least some of the truth." -- Alan Dershowitz

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: New moon (Sept. 1).