ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 297th day of 2025 and the 33rd day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1926, magician Harry Houdini gave his last performance at the Garrick Theatre in Detroit.

In 1945, the charter establishing the United Nations took effect.

In 1987, the Teamsters union was readmitted to the AFL-CIO, 30 years after its expulsion.

In 2002, authorities arrested John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo in connection with sniper attacks in the Washington, D.C., area.

In 2003, the last commercial Concorde flight was made.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Sarah Josepha Hale (1788-1879), writer/publisher; Bob Kane (1915-1998), writer/illustrator; Jiles Perry "The Big Bopper" Richardson (1930-1959), singer-songwriter; Stephen Covey (1932-2012), author/educator; Bill Wyman (1936- ), musician; F. Murray Abraham (1939- ), actor; Kevin Kline (1947- ), actor; BD Wong (1960- ), actor; Monica (1980- ), singer; Wayne Rooney (1985- ), soccer player; Drake (1986- ), actor/rapper; Jalen Ramsey (1994- ), football player.

TODAY'S FACT: In 1901, teacher and adventurer Annie Edson Taylor celebrated her 63rd birthday by becoming the first person to survive a trip over Niagara Falls in a barrel.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 2014, computer scientist Alan Eustace broke the world record for a free-fall parachute jump from the stratosphere, free-falling from a height of 135,898 feet.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Most of us spend too much time on what is urgent and not enough time on what is important." -- Stephen Covey

TODAY'S NUMBER: 3 -- jersey numbers in the four major American professional sports leagues that are retired throughout the league. The No. 42 worn by Jackie Robinson (who died on this day in 1972) was retired by Major League Baseball in 1997; the No. 99 worn by Wayne Gretzky was retired by the NHL in 2000; and the No. 6 worn by Bill Russell was retired by the NBA in 2022.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Oct. 21) and first quarter moon (Oct. 29).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 296th day of 2025 and the 32nd day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1915, more than 25,000 women marched on Fifth Avenue in New York City to advocate for voting rights for women.

In 1946, the United Nations General Assembly met for the first time in New York City.

In 1983, a suicide truck bombing in Beirut killed 241 U.S. military personnel.

In 2001, Apple announced the first iPod, which cost $399 and offered five gigabytes of storage.

In 2002, armed Chechen separatists took more than 700 people hostage at a theater in Moscow.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Gertrude Ederle (1905-2003), swimmer; Johnny Carson (1925-2005), TV personality/comedian; Juan "Chi-Chi" Rodriguez (1935-2024), golfer; Pele (1940-2022), soccer player; Michael Crichton (1942-2008), writer; Ang Lee (1954- ), filmmaker; Dwight Yoakam (1956- ), singer-songwriter; Sam Raimi (1959- ), director; "Weird Al" Yankovic (1959- ), singer/satirist; Ryan Reynolds (1976- ), actor; Meghan McCain (1984- ), columnist/TV personality; Emilia Clarke (1986- ), actress; Margaret Qualley (1994- ), actress.

TODAY'S FACT: Sales of the new board game Twister skyrocketed in May 1966 after Johnny Carson played the game with Eva Gabor on "The Tonight Show."

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1993, right fielder Joe Carter of the Toronto Blue Jays hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth to defeat the Philadelphia Phillies 8-6 and earn the Blue Jays' second consecutive World Series title.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "If you don't know history, then you don't know anything. You are a leaf that doesn't know it is part of a tree." -- Michael Crichton

TODAY'S NUMBER: 51 -- members of the United Nations when it first convened in 1946.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Oct. 21) and first quarter moon (Oct. 29).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the 295th day of 2025 and the 31st day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1883, the original Metropolitan Opera House opened in New York City with a performance of Charles Gounod's "Faust."

In 1962, President John F. Kennedy announced a naval and air "quarantine" of Cuba in a televised speech, after the discovery of Soviet missiles there.

In 1979, President Jimmy Carter allowed the deposed Shah of Iran to enter the United States for medical treatment.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Franz Liszt (1811-1886), composer; Sarah Bernhardt (1844-1923), actress; Curly Howard (1903-1952), actor/comedian; Timothy Leary (1920-1996), psychologist/author; Christopher Lloyd (1938- ), actor; Annette Funicello (1942-2013), actress/singer; Deepak Chopra (1946- ), physician/author; Jeff Goldblum (1952- ), actor; Bob Odenkirk (1962- ), actor/comedian; Spike Jonze (1969- ), filmmaker; Ichiro Suzuki (1973- ), baseball player; Jesse Tyler Ferguson (1975- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: In 2005, Tropical Storm Alpha was the first Atlantic storm to be designated with a Greek letter, after the annual list of 21 names had been exhausted.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 2012, Lance Armstrong was formally stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned for life from competitive cycling after a U.S. Anti-Doping Agency investigation revealed he had used performance-enhancing drugs.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Here's what I can admit to right out of the gate, and it's tragic: I tried just as hard at the stuff that didn't work as I did at the stuff that worked." -- Bob Odenkirk, "Comedy Comedy Comedy Drama"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 4,367 -- career hits for Ichiro Suzuki (combining 1,278 hits as a pro in Japan and 3,089 hits in Major League Baseball), the professional baseball record.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Oct. 21) and first quarter moon (Oct. 29).