Today is the first day of 2014 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 1908, the first Times Square "ball drop" triggered a fireworks show celebrating the New Year.

In 1912, 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; Betsy Ross (1752-1836), seamstress/U.S. flag designer; E.M. Forster (1879-1970), author; J. Edgar Hoover (1895-1972), FBI director; J.D. Salinger (1919-2010), author; Charlie Munger (1924- ), businessman/philanthropist; Frank Langella (1938- ), actor; Grandmaster Flash (1958- ), musician; Derrick Thomas (1967-2000), football player; Morris Chestnut (1969- ), actor.

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

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1902, the University of Michigan Wolverines defeated the Stanford University Cardinals, 49-0, in the first college football bowl game, the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Life is easy to chronicle, but bewildering to practice." -- E.M. Forster, "A Room With a View"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 1 million -- people processed through the Ellis Island immigration station in 1907, the peak year for immigration to the United States.

TODAY'S MOON: New moon (Jan. 1).

UNIVERSAL UCLICK ALMANAC

Today is the 365th day of 2013 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.

In 1999, the United States handed over complete control of the Panama Canal to Panama.

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; Lance Reddick (1962- ), actor; Nicholas Sparks (1965- ), writer; Psy (1977- ), singer-songwriter; Gabrielle "Gabby" Douglas (1995- ), gymnast.

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 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 QUOTE: "There are always flowers for those who want to see them." -- Henri Matisse

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

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (Dec. 25) and new moon (Jan. 1).

UNIVERSAL UCLICK ALMANAC

Today is the 364th day of 2013 and the 10th day of winter.

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

In 1916, a group of Russian aristocrats carried out the murder of Rasputin, private adviser to the ruling Romanov family.

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), singer-songwriter; 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; Sean Hannity (1961- ), TV host; Tiger Woods (1975- ), pro golfer; Tyrese Gibson (1978- ), Singer/actor; Eliza Dushku (1980- ), actress; LeBron James (1984- ), basketball player.

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

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1908, a special commission tasked with discovering the origins of baseball ruled that Abner Doubleday had invented the sport in Cooperstown, N.Y., in 1839. The finding has since been debunked.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "We're all islands shouting lies to each other across seas of misunderstanding." -- 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 last quarter moon (Dec. 25) and new moon (Jan. 1).