ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 253rd day of 2019 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; 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 2019, began in 1945, when representatives of 50 countries met in San Francisco to draw up 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: "Trying to keep an intellectual away from literature works about as well as recommending chastity to Homo sapiens, the sexiest primate of all." -- Stephen Jay Gould, "The Median Isn't the Message"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 106 -- countries that have abolished the death penalty as of 2019, according to Amnesty International.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (Sept. 5) and full moon (Sept. 13).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 252nd day of 2019 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: "It is amazing how complete is the delusion that beauty is goodness." -- Leo Tolstoy, "The Kreutzer Sonata"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 224.9 million -- albums certified sold by Elvis Presley, making him second only to the Beatles (278.2 million) as the greatest-selling artist of all time.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (Sept. 5) and full moon (Sept. 13).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 251st day of 2019 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 (1989-2018), 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: "If I'm a lousy writer, then an awful lot of people have lousy taste." -- Grace Metalious

TODAY'S NUMBER: 492 -- approximate mean diameter (in meters) of 101955 Bennu, an asteroid currently orbited by NASA's OSIRIS-Rex spacecraft, launched on this day in 2016. The mission's goal is to obtain samples of the asteroid and return them to Earth in 2023.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (Sept. 5) and full moon (Sept. 13).