Today is the 20th day of 2014 and the 31st day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1841, China ceded the island of Hong Kong to the British.

In 1885, LaMarcus Thompson patented the first roller coaster.

In 1920, the American Civil Liberties Union was founded.

In 1981, the Iran hostage crisis ended as 52 American captives were released in Tehran, just after President Jimmy Carter left office.

In 2009, Barack Obama was sworn in as the first African-American president.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: George Burns (1896-1996), actor/comedian; Federico Fellini (1920-1993), director; DeForest Kelley (1920-1999), actor; Slim Whitman (1923-2013), singer-songwriter; Patricia Neal (1926-2010), actress; Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin (1930- ), astronaut; David Lynch (1946- ), director; Paul Stanley (1952- ), singer-songwriter; Bill Maher (1956- ), comedian/TV host; Rainn Wilson (1968- ), actor; Ahmir Thompson aka Questlove (1971- ), musician.

TODAY'S FACT: Martin Luther King Jr. Day was observed for the first time on this day in 1986.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1892, the first official basketball game was played in Springfield, Mass. The two nine-man teams used a soccer ball and peach baskets.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "I'd rather be a failure at something I enjoy than a success at something I hate." -- George Burns

TODAY'S NUMBER: 444 -- days the hostages were held in the U.S. embassy in Iran.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (Jan. 15) and last quarter moon (Jan. 23).

Today is the 19th day of 2014 and the 30th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1783, William Pitt the Younger became the youngest prime minister in British history at age 24.

In 1966, Indira Gandhi became India's first woman prime minister.

In 1977, snow fell in Miami for the first time in recorded history.

In 2006, NASA launched the New Horizons space probe to study the dwarf planet Pluto.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Robert E. Lee (1807-1870), Confederate general; Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849), short-story writer/poet; Paul Cezanne (1839-1906), artist; Jean Stapleton (1923-2013), actress; Tippi Hedren (1930- ), actress; Janis Joplin (1943-1970), singer-songwriter; Dolly Parton (1946- ), singer-songwriter; Paula Deen (1947- ), chef/author; Robert Palmer (1949-2003), singer-songwriter; Katey Sagal (1954- ), actress; Thomas Kinkade (1958-2012), painter; Junior Seau (1969-2012), football player; Drea de Matteo (1972- ), actress; Frank Caliendo (1974- ), comedian; Logan Lerman (1992- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: Robert E. Lee's U.S. citizenship was posthumously reinstated by an act of Congress in 1975.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1974, the Notre Dame men's basketball team defeated UCLA, snapping the Bruins' 88-game winning streak.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night." -- Edgar Allan Poe

TODAY'S NUMBER: 24.6 -- percentage of the population of Texas that did not have health insurance in 2012 (higher than any other U.S state).

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (Jan. 15) and last quarter moon (Jan. 23).

Today is the 18th day of 2014 and the 29th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1788, English settlers landed in Australia to establish a penal colony.

In 1943, the first armed uprising began at the Warsaw Ghetto in German-occupied Poland.

In 1964, planners unveiled the designs for New York's World Trade Center.

In 1993, Martin Luther King Jr. Day was officially observed in all 50 states for the first time.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Baron de Montesquieu (1689-1755), political philosopher; Daniel Webster (1782-1852), statesman/orator; A.A. Milne (1882-1956), children's author; Cary Grant (1904-1986), actor; Danny Kaye (1913-1987), entertainer; Kevin Costner (1955- ), actor; Mark Messier (1961- ), hockey player; Dave Attell (1965- ), actor/comedian; Dave Batista (1969- ), wrestler/actor; Jason Segel (1980- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: The United Nations designated 11 convict sites in Australia -- used as prisons by the British empire in the 18th and 19th centuries -- as World Heritage Sites in 2010.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1976, wide receiver Lynn Swann gained 161 yards on four receptions and was named MVP as Pittsburgh defeated Dallas 21-17 in Super Bowl X.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day so I never have to live without you." -- A.A. Milne, "Winnie-the-Pooh"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 139,797 -- square miles of Pacific Ocean encompassed by the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, designated by President Bush in June 2006.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (Jan. 15) and last quarter moon (Jan. 23).