ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 270th day of 2020 and the fifth day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1789, Thomas Jefferson was named the first U.S. secretary of state, and John Jay was named the first chief justice of the United States.

In 1960, Vice President Richard Nixon and Democratic Sen. John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts met in the first televised presidential debate.

In 1983, Soviet military officer Stanislav Petrov correctly dismissed an early warning system report of an American nuclear missile launch as a computer error.

In 1990, the Motion Picture Association of America introduced the NC-17 rating, replacing the stigmatized X rating for films intended for viewers aged 17 and older.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Johnny Appleseed (1774-1845), environmentalist; Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936), physiologist; Winsor McCay (1867-1934), animator/cartoonist; T.S. Eliot (1888-1965), writer; George Gershwin (1898-1937), composer; Jack LaLanne (1914-2011), fitness expert; Marty Robbins (1925-1982), singer-songwriter; Olivia Newton-John (1948- ), actress/singer; Linda Hamilton (1956- ), actress; Jim Caviezel (1968- ), actor; Serena Williams (1981- ), tennis player.

TODAY'S FACT: "Abbey Road," the last album for which all four members of The Beatles participated in the recording sessions, was released on this day in 1969.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1983, the Royal Perth Yacht Club's Australia II won the America's Cup, becoming the first non-American winner in the cup's 132-year history.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "I am lucky that whatever fear I have inside me, my desire to win is always stronger." -- Serena Williams

TODAY'S NUMBER: 732 -- performances of "West Side Story" during its original Broadway run, which opened on this day in 1957 and closed on June 27, 1959.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (Sept. 23) and full moon (Oct. 1).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 269th day of 2020 and the fourth day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1513, Spanish explorer Vasco Nunez de Balboa became the first European to see the Pacific Ocean.

In 1789, Congress approved the 10 constitutional amendments collectively known as the Bill of Rights and sent them to the states for ratification.

In 1957, U.S. Army troops stood guard as black students were admitted to Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, for the first time.

In 2005, the Irish Republican Army officially disarmed.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: William Faulkner (1897-1962), author; Walter "Red" Smith (1905-1982), sportswriter; Phil Rizzuto (1917-2007), baseball player; Barbara Walters (1929- ), TV journalist; Shel Silverstein (1930-1999), author; Michael Douglas (1944- ), actor; Mark Hamill (1951- ), actor; Christopher Reeve (1952-2004), actor; Heather Locklear (1961- ), actress; Scottie Pippen (1965- ), basketball player; Will Smith (1968- ), actor/rapper; Catherine Zeta-Jones (1969- ), actress; T.I. (1980- ), rapper; Donald Glover (1983- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: Of the 163 nominations to the Supreme Court since 1789, 12 were rejected by the Senate.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1882, Providence and Worcester competed in Major League Baseball's first doubleheader.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Adversity builds character, and character takes you places money can't." -- T.I.

TODAY'S NUMBER: $813 million -- estimated total cost of the Mars Observer mission, launched on this day in 1992. The probe failed 11 months later, three days prior to its orbital insertion around Mars.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (Sept. 23) and full moon (Oct. 1).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 268th day of 2020 and the third day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1789, Congress passed the First Judiciary Act, which provided for the Supreme Court and the office of attorney general.

In 1960, the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the USS Enterprise, was launched.

In 1968, "60 Minutes," American prime-time television's longest-running program, premiered on CBS.

In 2005, Hurricane Rita hit Texas and southwestern Louisiana.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: John Marshall (1755-1835), chief justice of the United States; F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940), author; Jim McKay (1921-2008), sportscaster; Jim Henson (1936-1990), puppeteer; Linda McCartney (1941-1998), singer; Lou Dobbs (1945- ), journalist; Phil Hartman (1948-1998), actor; Nia Vardalos (1962- ), actress/screenwriter; Rafael Palmeiro (1964- ), baseball player; Eddie George (1973- ), football player/sportscaster.

TODAY'S FACT: Motorcycle builder Soichiro Honda founded the Honda Motor Company in Hamamatsu, Japan, on this day in 1948. Before finding success with motorcycles, Honda tried manufacturing weaving machines, frosted glass windows and bamboo roof panels.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1988, Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson won the gold medal in the 100-meter dash at the Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea. Johnson tested positive for steroids three days later and was stripped of the medal.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "I don't want to repeat my innocence. I want the pleasure of losing it again." -- F. Scott Fitzgerald, "This Side of Paradise"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 867 -- height (in feet, from base to summit) of Devils Tower in Wyoming. President Theodore Roosevelt declared the monolithic rock formation the first U.S. National Monument on this day in 1906.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (Sept. 23) and full moon (Oct. 1).