Today is the 266th day of 2016 and the first day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1776, the British hanged 21-year-old teacher/soldier Nathan Hale as a spy.

In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln announced the Emancipation Proclamation, making all slaves in seceding states free as of Jan. 1, 1863.

In 1975, President Gerald Ford survived a second assassination attempt in three weeks when his would-be assassin was thwarted by a bystander within a group of onlookers in San Francisco.

In 1980, Iraq invaded disputed territory in the Persian Gulf, officially beginning an eight-year war with Iran.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Michael Faraday (1791-1867), scientist; Charles Brenton Huggins (1901-1997), physician; Tommy Lasorda (1927- ), baseball player/manager; Eugene Roche (1928-2004), actor; David Stern (1942- ), NBA commissioner; Arthur O. Sulzberger Jr. (1951- ), publisher; Andrea Bocelli (1958- ), singer-songwriter; Joan Jett (1958- ), singer-songwriter; Scott Baio (1960- ), actor; Bonnie Hunt (1961- ), actress; Tom Felton (1987- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: Dr. Charles Brenton Huggins was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1966 for his discovery of the relationship between hormones and cancer, which led to advancements in chemotherapy.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1969, San Francisco Giants center fielder Willie Mays hit his 600th career home run in a 4-2 victory over the San Diego Padres.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "I figured out it was a social thing, what women were allowed to do. At a very young age, I decided I was not going to follow women's rules." -- Joan Jett

TODAY'S NUMBER: $990,445 -- purse (then the largest in the history of boxing) that Gene Tunney won for defending his heavyweight title against Jack Dempsey in the infamous "Long Count" bout held on this date in 1927.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (Sept. 16) and last quarter moon (Sept. 23).

Today is the 265th day of 2016 and the 94th day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1792, the French National Convention declared France a republic and voted to abolish the monarchy.

In 1897, the New York Sun published an editorial by Francis Pharcellus Church that included the now-famous phrase, "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus."

In 1937, J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit" was published.

In 1981, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved Sandra Day O'Connor as the first female Supreme Court justice.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: H.G. Wells (1866-1946), historian/author; Chuck Jones (1912-2002), animator; Larry Hagman (1931-2012), actor; Leonard Cohen (1934- ) singer-songwriter; Henry Gibson (1935-2009), comedian/actor; Jerry Bruckheimer (1945- ), film/TV producer; Stephen King (1947- ), author; Bill Murray (1950- ), actor; Ethan Coen (1957- ), filmmaker; Rob Morrow (1962- ), actor; Cheryl Hines (1965- ), actress; Faith Hill (1967- ), singer-songwriter; Luke Wilson (1971- ), actor; Lindsey Stirling (1986- ), violinist/composer; Jason Derulo (1989- ), singer-songwriter.

TODAY'S FACT: Best-selling author Stephen King wrote under two names (Stephen King and Richard Bachman) in his early career because publishers told him audiences wouldn't buy more than one book per year from the same writer.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1970, "Monday Night Football" made its ABC broadcast debut with a game between the New York Jets and the Cleveland Browns.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe ... Yet, clumsily or smoothly, the world, it seems, progresses and will progress." -- H.G. Wells, "The Outline of History"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 6 -- days of filming for Bill Murray on the set of the 1980 comedy "Caddyshack." Murray improvised all of his lines for his performance as groundskeeper Carl Spackler.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (Sept. 16) and last quarter moon (Sept. 23).

Today is the 264th day of 2016 and the 93rd day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1873, the New York Stock Exchange closed because of a banking panic.

In 1881, Chester A. Arthur was sworn in as president, one day after the death of James Garfield.

In 1977, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam was admitted to the United Nations.

In 1984, a suicide bombing killed 20 Americans at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon.

In 2001, President George W. Bush declared a "war on terror" before a joint session of Congress.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Upton Sinclair (1878-1968), author/social reformer; Leo Strauss (1899-1973), philosopher; Jacob "Red" Auerbach (1917-2006), basketball coach; Anne Meara (1929-2015), actress/comedian; Sophia Loren (1934- ), actress; George R.R. Martin (1948- ), author; Guy Lafleur (1951- ), hockey player; Gary Cole (1956- ), actor; Moon Bloodgood (1975- ), actress; Brian Joubert (1984- ), figure skater.

TODAY'S FACT: The first Cannes Film Festival, set in the resort city of Cannes on the French Riviera, began on this day in 1946. The festival was originally intended to debut in September 1939, but was canceled after the outbreak of World War II.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 2013, Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees hit the 24th grand slam of his career, breaking the major league record held by Lou Gehrig since 1938.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "All art is propaganda. It is universally and inescapably propaganda; sometimes unconsciously, but often deliberately, propaganda." -- Upton Sinclair

TODAY'S NUMBER: 9 -- NBA championship titles Red Auerbach won as head coach of the Boston Celtics, eight of which were consecutive (1959-1966).

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (Sept. 16) and last quarter moon (Sept. 23).