ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 253rd day of 2018 and the 82nd day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1846, Elias Howe patented the first sewing machine.

In 1977, France used a guillotine in carrying out a death sentence for the last time.

In 2002, Switzerland became a member of the United Nations.

In 2008, the Large Hadron Collider was powered up for the first time in Geneva, Switzerland.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Adele Astaire (1896-1981), dancer; Arnold Palmer (1929-2016), golfer; Charles Kuralt (1934-1997), TV journalist; Roger Maris (1934-1985), baseball player; Buck Buchanan (1940-1992), football player; Stephen Jay Gould (1941-2002), biologist/writer; Bill O'Reilly (1949- ), TV host/author; Chris Columbus (1958- ), film director; Colin Firth (1960- ), actor; Randy Johnson (1963- ), baseball player; Guy Ritchie (1968- ), filmmaker; Ryan Phillippe (1974- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: The United Nations, which included 193 member states as of August 2017, began in 1945, when representatives of 50 countries met in San Francisco to draw the charter.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1972, the U.S. men's basketball team fell for the first time in Olympic competition, suffering a controversial 51-50 loss to the Soviet Union team on a last-second shot in the gold medal match.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "The human mind delights in finding pattern -- so much so that we often mistake coincidence or forced analogy for profound meaning. No other habit of thought lies so deeply within the soul of a small creature trying to make sense of a complex world not constructed for it." -- Stephen Jay Gould, "The Flamingo's Smile"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 106 -- countries that have abolished the death penalty as of 2018, according to Amnesty International.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Sept. 9) and first quarter moon (Sept. 16).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 252nd day of 2018 and the 81st day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1776, the Continental Congress officially changed the name of the "United Colonies" to the "United States" of America.

In 1791, the capital of the United States was named Washington, D.C., after President George Washington.

In 1850, California was admitted as the 31st U.S. state.

In 1893, Esther Cleveland, second child of President Grover Cleveland and first lady Frances, became the only child of a president to be born in the White House.

In 1956, Elvis Presley made his first appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show."

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910), author; Harland David "Colonel" Sanders (1890-1980), businessman; Cliff Robertson (1923-2011), actor; Otis Redding (1941-1967), singer-songwriter; Joe Theismann (1949- ), sportscaster/football player; Hugh Grant (1960- ), actor; Bob Stoops (1960- ), football coach; Adam Sandler (1966- ), comedian/actor; Eric Stonestreet (1971- ), actor; Michael Buble (1975- ), singer; Michelle Williams (1980- ), actress.

TODAY'S FACT: California did not go through a formal period as a U.S. territory. It quickly achieved the 60,000 residents required for statehood, due to the Gold Rush.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1965, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax threw a perfect game against the Chicago Cubs.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "If, then, I were asked for the most important advice I could give, that which I considered to be the most useful to the men of our century, I should simply say: In the name of God, stop a moment, cease your work, look around you." -- Leo Tolstoy, "Essays, Letters and Miscellanies"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 224.5 million -- albums certified sold by Elvis Presley, making him second only to the Beatles (271.9 million) as the greatest-selling artist of all time.

TODAY'S MOON: New moon (Sept. 9).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 251st day of 2018 and the 80th day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1664, New Amsterdam became New York as the Dutch surrendered Manhattan and surrounding land to the British.

In 1900, Galveston, Texas, was struck by a massive hurricane.

In 1966, the "Star Trek" TV series premiered on NBC.

In 1974, President Gerald Ford pardoned former president Richard Nixon for any crimes he might have committed in office.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Claude Pepper (1900-1989), U.S. senator; Sid Caesar (1922-2014), comedian/actor; Grace Metalious (1924-1964), author; Peter Sellers (1925-1980), comedian/actor; Patsy Cline (1932-1963), singer-songwriter; Aimee Mann (1960- ), singer-songwriter; Martin Freeman (1971- ), actor; Pink (1979- ), singer-songwriter; Wiz Khalifa (1987- ), rapper; Avicii (1989- ), DJ/record producer.

TODAY'S FACT: More than 8,000 people are estimated to have died in the 1900 Galveston hurricane, making it the deadliest natural disaster in American history.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1998, Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals hit his 62nd home run of the season, breaking the record held by Roger Maris since 1961. In January 2010, McGwire admitted that he used steroids during the 1998 season.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "The public loves to create a hero ... Sometimes I think they do it for the sheer joy of knocking him down from the highest peak. Like a child who builds a house of blocks and then destroys it with one vicious kick." -- Grace Metalious, "Peyton Place"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 492 -- approximate mean diameter (in meters) of 101955 Bennu, an asteroid to be visited and sampled in December 2018 by NASA's OSIRIS-Rex spacecraft, launched on this day in 2016.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (Sept. 2) and new moon (Sept. 9).