ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 244th day of 2017 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 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; 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; Padma Lakshmi (1970- ), actress.

TODAY'S FACT: "A Trip to the Moon," widely considered the first science fiction film, was released in France on this day in 1902.

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: "If it entertains and is clean, it is good literature, or its kind. If it forms the habit of reading, in people who might not read otherwise, it is the best literature." -- Edgar Rice Burroughs

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: Between first quarter moon (Aug. 29) and full moon (Sept. 6).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 243rd day of 2017 and the 73rd day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1888, the body of the first victim of London serial killer Jack the Ripper was found.

In 1935, President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Neutrality Act.

In 1954, Hurricane Carol made landfall over Long Island and Connecticut and soon became one of the most destructive hurricanes to hit New England.

In 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales, was killed in a car accident in Paris.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Maria Montessori (1870-1952), physician/educator; William Saroyan (1908-1981), playwright; Buddy Hackett (1924-2003), comedian/actor; James Coburn (1928-2002), actor; Frank Robinson (1935- ), baseball player/manager; Van Morrison (1945- ), singer-songwriter; Itzhak Perlman (1945- ), violinist; Tom Coughlin (1946- ), football coach; Richard Gere (1949- ), actor; Debbie Gibson (1970- ), singer-songwriter; Chris Tucker (1971- ), actor; Larry Fitzgerald (1983- ), football player.

TODAY'S FACT: The last original episode of "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" aired on this day in 2001.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1990, Ken Griffey and Ken Griffey Jr., playing for the Seattle Mariners, became the first father-son duo to be in the same Major League Baseball lineup.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Don't carry a grudge; while you're carrying a grudge, the other guy's out dancing." -- Buddy Hackett

TODAY'S NUMBER: 6 -- weeks atop the 1951 Billboard charts for Rosemary Clooney's recording of "Come on-a My House," written by Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Saroyen and his cousin Ross Bagdasarian, creator of Alvin and the Chipmunks.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (Aug. 29) and full moon (Sept. 6).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 242nd day of 2017 and the 72nd day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1945, British forces ended Japan's occupation of Hong Kong.

In 1963, a United States-Soviet diplomatic teletype "hotline," intended to prevent accidental war, was installed.

In 1967, the U.S. Senate confirmed the appointment of Thurgood Marshall as the first African-American Supreme Court justice.

In 1996, Russian and Chechen leaders agreed to a ceasefire, ending the First Chechen War.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (1797-1851), author; Huey Long (1893-1935), politician; Shirley Booth (1898-1992), actress; Roy Wilkins (1901-1981), civil rights activist; Fred MacMurray (1908-1991), actor; Ted Williams (1918-2002), baseball player; Warren Buffett (1930- ), businessman/philanthropist; Robert Crumb (1943- ), writer/illustrator; Lewis Black (1948- ), comedian; Michael Chiklis (1963- ), actor; Mark Strong (1963- ), actor; Cameron Diaz (1972- ), actress; Andy Roddick (1982- ), tennis player.

TODAY'S FACT: The number of hours Americans spent online increased nearly 100 percent between 2000 and 2010, from 9.4 hours per week to 18.3 hours per week.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1905, Ty Cobb made his major league debut for the Detroit Tigers.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "I feel my heart glow with an enthusiasm which elevates me to heaven, for nothing contributes so much to tranquillize the mind as a steady purpose -- a point on which the soul may fix its intellectual eye." -- Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, "Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 32 -- cases Thurgood Marshall had argued before the Supreme Court before he became a justice. He won 29 of them.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (Aug. 29) and full moon (Sept. 6).