Today is the first day of 2013 and the 12th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation took effect, freeing slaves in Confederate states.

In 1892, the Ellis Island immigration station opened in New York City.

In 1962, the Republic of China was established.

In 1994, provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) went into effect.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Paul Revere (1735-1818), American patriot; E.M. Forster (1879-1970), novelist; J. Edgar Hoover (1895-1972), FBI director; J.D. Salinger (1919-2010), writer; Frank Langella (1938- ), actor; Grandmaster Flash (1958- ), musician.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1961, the Houston Oilers won the first American Football League championship, 24-16, against the Los Angeles Chargers.

TODAY'S FACT: Kathleen Casey Wilkins, considered the first of some 78 million postwar "baby boomers," was born in Philadelphia one second after midnight on Jan. 1, 1946.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "In giving freedom to the slave we assure freedom to the free." -- Abraham Lincoln

TODAY'S NUMBER: 1.25 million -- people processed through the Ellis Island immigration station in 1907, the peak year for immigration to the United States.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (Dec. 28) and last quarter moon (Jan. 4).

Today is the 366th day of 2012 and the 11th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1759, the first Guinness brewery was founded in Dublin, Ireland.

In 1862, Abraham Lincoln signed a bill admitting West Virginia into the United States.

In 1879, Thomas Edison staged the first public demonstration of the electric light bulb.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Henri Matisse (1869-1954), artist; George C. Marshall (1880-1959), U.S. military commander/diplomat; Anthony Hopkins (1937- ), actor; John Denver (1943-1997), singer/songwriter; Ben Kingsley (1943- ), actor; Diane von Furstenberg (1946- ), fashion designer; Donna Summer (1948-2012), singer; Bebe Neuwirth (1958- ), actress; Val Kilmer (1959- ), actor; Nicholas Sparks (1965- ), writer; Gabrielle "Gabby" Douglas (1995- ), gymnast.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1967, the Green Bay Packers defeated the Dallas Cowboys, 21-17, in subzero weather. The game became known as the "Ice Bowl."

TODAY'S FACT: West Virginia, a new state created from Virginia counties that chose not to secede from the Union, was originally named Kanawha, after the Kanawha River.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "The artist begins with a vision -- a creative operation requiring effort. Creativity takes courage." -- Henri Matisse

TODAY'S NUMBER: 3,987 -- length in miles of the border between Canada and the lower 48 states.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (Dec. 28) and last quarter moon (Jan. 4).

Today is the 365th day of 2012 and the 10th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1853, the United States completed the Gadsden Purchase, establishing the border with Mexico.

In 1922, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was officially established.

In 2006, former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was executed.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936), writer; Bo Diddley (1928-2008), R&B singer; Sandy Koufax (1935- ), baseball player; Davy Jones (1945-2012), singer; Patti Smith (1946- ) singer/songwriter; Meredith Vieira (1953- ), TV journalist; Matt Lauer (1957- ), TV journalist; Tracey Ullman (1959- ), actress/comedian; Tiger Woods (1975- ), pro golfer; Eliza Dushku (1980- ), actress; LeBron James (1984- ), basketball player.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1936, Long Island University's 43-game winning streak in basketball came to an end with a 44-31 defeat by Stanford.

TODAY'S FACT: The geographical center of the United States lies 17 miles west of Castle Rock, S.D., but the center of population is about three miles northeast of Plato in Texas County, Mo.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "All the people like us are We, and everyone else is They." -- Rudyard Kipling

TODAY'S NUMBER: 28 -- record-setting number of tropical and subtropical storms in the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. This includes one unnamed storm in October that was identified after the season ended.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (Dec. 28) and last quarter moon (Jan. 4).