Today is the 38th day of 2014 and the 49th day of winter.
TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1904, the Great Fire of Baltimore began, resulting in the destruction of more than 1,500 buildings in 30 hours.
In 1917, a German U-boat sank the British ship California off the Irish coast.
In 1962, President John F. Kennedy imposed a near-total embargo on all trade between the United States and Cuba.
In 1964, the "British Invasion" began as the Beatles arrived in New York for their first U.S. tour.
TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: John Deere (1804-1886), businessman; Charles Dickens (1812-1870), author; Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867-1957), author; Sinclair Lewis (1885-1951), author/playwright; Eubie Blake (1887-1983), composer/pianist; Pete Postlethwaite (1946-2011), actor; James Spader (1960- ), actor; Garth Brooks (1962- ), singer-songwriter; Eddie Izzard (1962- ), actor/comedian; Chris Rock (1965- ), actor/comedian; Steve Nash (1974- ), basketball player; Ashton Kutcher (1978- ), actor.
TODAY'S FACT: Baltimore's population was 620,961 in the 2010 census, making it the 19th-largest city in the United States.
TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1969, Diane Crump became the first female jockey to ride in a thoroughbred race in the United States at the Hialeah Park race track in Florida.
TODAY'S QUOTE: "To conceal anything from those to whom I am attached, is not in my nature. I can never close my lips where I have opened my heart." -- Charles Dickens, "Master Humphrey's Clock"
TODAY'S NUMBER: 177 million -- albums sold by the Beatles, as certified by the Recording Industry Association of America.
TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (Feb. 6) and full moon (Feb. 14).