Today is the 344th day of 2016 and the 79th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1793, Noah Webster published New York City's first daily newspaper, the American Minerva.

In 1872, Pinkney Benton Stewart Pinchback became the first serving U.S. governor of African-American descent when he was named acting governor of Louisiana.

In 1968, engineer Douglas Engelbart demonstrated the first computer system to use hypertext links and a mouse.

In 1979, the World Health Organization certified that smallpox had been eradicated.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Emmett Kelly (1898-1979), clown; Jean de Brunhoff (1899-1937), author; Kirk Douglas (1916- ), actor; Redd Foxx (1922-1991), comedian; Dick Van Patten (1928-2015), actor; Judi Dench (1934- ), actress; Deacon Jones (1938-2013), football player; Beau Bridges (1941- ), actor; Dick Butkus (1942- ), football player; John Malkovich (1953- ), actor; Donny Osmond (1957- ), singer; Felicity Huffman (1962- ), actress; Kurt Angle (1968- ), wrestler/actor; Simon Helberg (1980- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: After Pinkney Benton Stewart Pinchback was appointed acting governor of Louisiana, it would be more than 100 years before the first African-American elected governor, Lawrence Douglas Wilder of Virginia, took office, in 1990.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1934, the New York Giants exchanged their cleats for sneakers during the third quarter, then outmaneuvered the Chicago Bears on a frozen field to turn a 13-3 deficit into a 30-13 victory.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "I think you should take your job seriously, but not yourself -- that is the best combination." -- Judi Dench

TODAY'S NUMBER: 7 -- number of classic children's books about Babar the elephant written and illustrated by Jean de Brunhoff. He died of tuberculosis at age 37, and his son Laurent continued the series.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (Dec. 7) and full moon (Dec. 13).

Today is the 343rd day of 2016 and the 78th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1941, the United States declared war on Japan and officially entered World War II.

In 1980, John Lennon was shot to death outside his Manhattan apartment building.

In 1991, the leaders of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine signed an agreement dissolving the Soviet Union and establishing the Commonwealth of Independent States.

In 1993, President Bill Clinton signed into law the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Eli Whitney (1765-1825), inventor; James Thurber (1894-1961), humorist; Sammy Davis Jr. (1925-1990), entertainer; David Carradine (1936-2009), actor; Jim Morrison (1943-1971), singer-songwriter; Kim Basinger (1953- ), actress; Ann Coulter (1961- ), political commentator; Teri Hatcher (1964- ), actress; Kevin Harvick (1975- ), race car driver; Ryan Newman (1977- ), race car driver; Ian Somerhalder (1978- ), actor; Nicki Minaj (1982- ), rapper; Dwight Howard (1985- ), basketball player; Josh Donaldson (1985- ), baseball player.

TODAY'S FACT: The Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), encompassing the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and the United States, was ratified by the last country, Costa Rica, on Oct. 7, 2007.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1940, the Chicago Bears routed the Washington Redskins in the NFL championship game, 73-0. It remains the largest margin of victory in NFL history.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "There are two kinds of light -- the glow that illumines, and the glare that obscures." -- James Thurber, "Lanterns and Lances"

TODAY'S NUMBER: $1.14 trillion -- value of total U.S. trade with Canada and Mexico in 2015.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (Dec. 7) and full moon (Dec. 13).

Today is the 342nd day of 2016 and the 77th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1787, Delaware became the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.

In 1941, Japan launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, killing 2,403 American soldiers and civilians.

In 1999, the Recording Industry Association of America filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against the online file-sharing service Napster.

In 2002, Iraq denied that it had weapons of mass destruction in a United Nations declaration.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Willa Cather (1873-1947), author; Eli Wallach (1915-2014), actor; Ted Knight (1923-1986), actor; Ellen Burstyn (1932- ), actress; Harry Chapin (1942-1981), singer-songwriter; Johnny Bench (1947- ), baseball player; Tom Waits (1949- ), singer-songwriter; Larry Bird (1956- ), basketball player; Jeffrey Wright (1965- ), actor; Patrice O'Neal (1969-2011), actor/comedian; Sara Bareilles (1979- ), singer-songwriter; Emily Browning (1988- ), actress; Nicholas Hoult (1989- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the Senate voted for a war resolution 82-0. The House of Representatives approved the resolution 388-1.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 2007, home-run record holder Barry Bonds pleaded not guilty to lying to investigators about using performance-enhancing drugs.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Only solitary men know the full joys of friendship. Others have their family -- but to a solitary and an exile his friends are everything." -- Willa Cather, "Shadows on the Rock"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 64 -- servicemen lost by the Imperial Japanese Navy during the attack on Pearl Harbor on this day in 1941.

TODAY'S MOON: First quarter moon (Dec. 7).