What was going on when I was born?

Companies U.S. Steel reported a $52 million profit for the third quarter, its first in more than a year. The company cited rising oil income and a smaller loss in its steel operations. Analysts said the improvement at the No. 1 steelmaker was an indication that most steel companies would show better results in the fourth quarter. (Page D1.) Exxon's third-quarter net rose 20.5 percent, and Standard Oil of California said its profit increased 10.9 percent, although both companies reported drops in revenues. They attributed the increase to higher earnings from overseas operations. But Unocal, the parent company of Union Oil, said its earnings dropped 15.3 percent. (D1.)

A Federal District Judge yesterday proposed that the Manville Corporation create a sinking fund to pay the future claims of those who have been exposed to asbestos but have not yet shown any sign of the illnesses that such exposure can cause. The money for the fund, United States District Court Judge David N. Edelstein said, should ''be supplied by sacrifices on the part of all the other creditors.'' Although Judge Edelstein was technically hearing only a small procedural question in Manville's 14- month-old Chapter 11 bankruptcy case, he said that because the bankruptcy court proceedings seemed inadequate to protect future claimants who have a ''moral right to compensation,'' he wanted all the parties to consider creating a 20-year sinking fund to pay future claims as they arose. A sinking fund is a pool of money earmarked to pay future obligations.

The Exxon Corporation, the world's largest industrial company, said yesterday that its net income in the third quarter rose 20.5 percent, to $1.23 billion, from a year earlier. The increase was due partly to sharply higher earnings from overseas operations. The Standard Oil Company of California, the nation's fourth-largest oil company, also reported a profit increase attributable partly to improved results from overseas. Its third-quarter earnings were up 10.9 percent, to $509 million.

At midday Saturday, as President Reagan was in the midst of a round of golf at the Augusta National Golf Course in Georgia, he had under active consideration a secret request from Caribbean nations to join in the invasion of Grenada. The President, already a legend in the Administration for keeping his own counsel, had begun the most secretive and momentous week of his incumbency with a golf club in his hands. One of his golfing partners, Secretary of State George P. Shultz, was receiving the latest details of Grenada plans going on back in Washington, and discussing them with the President on the golf course, according to White House officials. At the same time, the President's national security adviser, Robert C. McFarlane, was monitoring the situation nearby as the President stroked away.

Louis L. Hoynes Jr., an attorney with Willkie Farr & Gallagher in New York, settled into his wide, burgundy colored seat, took some papers from an attache case and got down to work on a flight to Chicago on the Midway Airlines' Metrolink service developed specifically for business travel. ''It's a very comfortable configuration,'' he said, noting that the two-across seating on the DC9-30 provided more elbow and leg room for his six-foot, one-inch frame. And instead of the usual 115 seats on such a plane, there are only 84. This year, a small group of airlines, such as Midway, Air 1 Inc. and America West Airlines, have started service aimed directly at business travelers, and have been gradually winning a steady following at the expense of the major carriers.

Gen. Paul X. Kelley, the United States Marine commandant, arrived here from Washington today as the Marine contingent was placed on its highest state of alert. Late in the day, it was announced that the number of American military personnel killed in Sunday's bombing of the Marine headquarters had risen to 216, with 20 to 30 bodies still believed buried in the rubble of the headqurters building at the Beirut airport. The alert was ordered after an early morning intelligence warning was passed to the marines by the Lebanese Army saying that three vehicles reportedly carrying high explosives were circling the area and might strike at the Marine compound. (Vice President Bush left Washington for Beirut, where he will meet with President Amin Gemayel and visit with the Marine force, The Associated Press reported. Mr. Bush, whose trip was announced after his departure, is expected to return Wednesday night, a White House spokesman said.) Removal of Barrier Reported In another development, a marine officer familiar with the bombed compound said that two long, thick pipes that had been placed as barriers in front of the entryway of the headquarters to protect against car-bomb attacks had been removed several days before Sunday's attack.

News Analysis WASHINGTON, Oct. 25 - Behind President Reagan's decision to invade Grenada today was his concern that the island not become either ''another Iran,'' where Americans were held hostage for 444 days, or ''another Beirut,'' where the United States was powerless on Sunday to prevent the death of more than 200 marines, Administration officials said. But in addition to these reasons, which Secretary of State George P. Shultz insisted were the paramount ones, there was additional motivation, officials said: to rid the Caribbean of a potential outpost for Cuba and the Soviet Union and to stop what the Administration perceived as a drift toward more radicalism in the region. Some officials said the White House could not afford ''another Nicaragua,'' the Cuban ally in Central America, while others said a more real concern was that there not be ''another Suriname,'' the former Dutch colony in northern South America that was taken over by leftists last year in a coup. What the move also demonstrated was the determination of this Administration not to appear passive in the face of foreign crisis. A French diplomat, who derided the Grenada invasion, said the President looked like he was ''flailing around,'' striking at the Grenadians out of his frustration at not being able to hit Damascus, Havana or Moscow. White House officials defended the President as being suitably cautious, but not wanting to run the risk of being viewed like his predecessor, Jimmy Carter, whose handling of the hostage crisis in Iran may have lost him the election to Mr. Reagan.

Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher said today that the British Government had urged President Reagan to reconsider his plans to launch an invasion of Grenada after learning of them Monday, and that no British ships or forces had taken part. The announcement in the House of Commons that Grenada, a member of the Commonwealth, had been invaded by an ally despite the Government's expressed misgivings led to harsh criticism of both the British Government and President Reagan by opposition parties and some of Mrs. Thatcher's own Conservatives. France described the invasion as ''a surprising action in relation to international law'' and said it had not been informed of the action. (Page A19.) The Soviet press called the invasion an ''act of undisguised banditry.'' Havana said Cuban workers in Grenada were ''heroically'' resisting American troops. Page A17.

''Insofar as our objectives are concerned, they are basically two and very simple.

ALBANY, THE CUOMO KITCHEN IS A FAMILY AFFAIR ALBANY MATILDA CUOMO may have moved to a 40- room mansion, complete with a staff that includes three chefs, but that has not kept her out of the kitchen. She's been there often since she moved to Albany in June: on one occasion to make 90 pounds of lasagna for her son's birthday; on many others to demonstrate the mysteries of Italian cooking to the chefs. Both her mother and mother-in-law have also paid ceremonial visits to the kitchen to make sure things are in order. A former schoolteacher who has been active in civic affairs for years, Mrs. Cuomo is an accomplished cook whose interest in food extends beyond the feeding of her own family. As the Governor's wife, she has been able to devote more time to her outside interests, most of which center around physical- and mental-health programs for children. She is working with the state's Board of Regents to have parenthood skills taught to children in school and to make nutrition education part of the core curriculum.

Schoolchildren passed around Dwayne Wigglesworth's picture and talked about why people were killing one another in Lebanon. Older men talked about why the young always had to die, and young boys talked about whether they would have to fight, too. Lance Corporal Wigglesworth, 19 years old, died Sunday in Beirut, a victim of the terrorist bombing against the Marines. Today, as word of his death spread, people here thought of how they could comfort members of his family, who live in this town of nearly 30,000. Neighbors and strangers called the Wigglesworth home, offering help or bringing food.

HAUTE pumpkin? It seems a contradiction in terms, for this gourdlike Goliath is usually associated with homespun simplicity: pies, breads, muffins, cookies and so on. With the current vogue for elevating native American products to exalted status - witness buffalo steaks, pit barbecues, catfish, crayfish, fiddlehead ferns - it seems that pumpkin has, to a certain extent, been left behind in the Colonial era. That is a shame, because pumpkin is one of the more flavorful, colorful and certainly economical members of the squash family. Beyond the traditional pie, pumpkin can be the basis for a number of excellent Recipes are on page C6. dishes, from a simple puree to soup to dumplings. But if the pumpkin has been somewhat slighted, there are some signs that its time to share the gastronomic spotlight is arriving.