
Today is the 332nd day of 2023 and the 67th day of autumn.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: William Blake (1757-1827), poet/artist/philosopher; Friedrich Engels (1820-1895), social philosopher; Claude Levi-Strauss (1908-2009), social anthropologist; Berry Gordy Jr. (1929- ), Motown Records founder; Randy Newman (1943- ), composer; Paul Shaffer (1949- ), bandleader; Ed Harris (1950- ), actor; Alfonso Cuaron (1961- ), filmmaker; Jon Stewart (1962- ), TV personality; Chamillionaire (1979- ), rapper; Trey Songz (1984- ), singer-songwriter/rapper; Karen Gillan (1987- ), actress; Chase Elliott (1995- ), race car driver.
TODAY’S FACT: Berry Gordy Jr. fought 17 times as an amateur and professional boxer, winning 12 bouts, before founding Motown Records (as Tamla Records) in 1959 using an $800 loan from his family.
TODAY’S SPORTS: In 1979, Billy Smith of the New York Islanders became the first goalie in NHL history to be credited with a goal. After a Colorado Rockies player mistakenly hit the puck into his own team’s net, Smith was awarded the goal as the last Islander to touch the puck.
TODAY’S QUOTE: “If a thing loves, it is infinite.” — William Blake
TODAY’S NUMBER: 7 — Enron’s rank among the largest U.S. companies before it went bankrupt in December 2001. Enron stock, which had reached a high of $90 per share in August 2000, plunged below $1 on this day in 2001.
TODAY’S MOON: Between full moon (Nov. 27) and last quarter moon (Dec. 4).