Today is the third day of 2013 and the 14th day of winter.
TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1777, Revolutionary forces under the command of George Washington defeated the British at Princeton, N.J.
In 1947, a session of Congress was televised for the first time to viewers in three East Coast cities.
In 1959, Alaska entered the union as the 49th state.
In 2004, the unmanned NASA spacecraft Spirit landed on Mars.
TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Lucretia Mott (1793-1880), women's rights pioneer; J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973), author; Victor Borge (1909-2000), comedian/pianist; Robert Loggia (1930- ), actor; Victoria Principal (1950- ), actress; Mel Gibson (1956- ), actor; Danica McKellar (1975- ), actress; Eli Manning (1981- ), football player.
TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1983, Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Dorsett set an NFL record that still stands by running 99 yards from scrimmage for a touchdown.
TODAY'S FACT: C-SPAN was launched in 1979 to "provide live, gavel-to-gavel coverage of the U.S. House of Representatives." C-SPAN2, covering the Senate, was launched in 1986.
TODAY'S QUOTE: "We too often bind ourselves by authorities rather than by the truth." -- Lucretia Mott
TODAY'S NUMBER: 722,718 -- population of the state of Alaska in 2011 -- more than triple the population of the state at the time it attained statehood.
TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (Dec. 28) and last quarter moon (Jan. 4).