Today is the 21st day of 2014 and the 32nd day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1793, King Louis XVI of France was executed by guillotine in Paris.

In 1861, Jefferson Davis resigned from the U.S. Senate to lead the Confederacy during the Civil War.

In 1977, President Jimmy Carter pardoned nearly all Vietnam War draft evaders.

In 2003, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that for the first time, the largest minority group in the United States was Hispanics (who may be of any race).

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Ethan Allen (1738-1789), writer/military leader; Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson (1824-1863), Confederate army general; Christian Dior (1905-1957), fashion designer; Telly Savalas (1922-1994), actor; Wolfman Jack (1938-1995), disc jockey; Jack Nicklaus (1940- ), golfer; Placido Domingo (1941- ), opera singer; Eric Holder (1951- ), attorney general; Paul Allen (1953- ), co-founder of Microsoft; Geena Davis (1956- ), actress; Jam Master Jay (1965-2002), rapper; Ken Leung (1970- ), actor; Cat Power (1972- ), singer-songwriter.

TODAY'S FACT: The guillotine was used for executions in France as recently as 1977. The death penalty was abolished there in 1981.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1979, the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Dallas Cowboys 35-31 in Super Bowl XIII to become the first NFL team to win three Super Bowls.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "It is bad policy to fear the resentment of an enemy." -- Ethan Allen

TODAY'S NUMBER: 37.6 million -- Americans who primarily speak Spanish at home (more than 10 percent of the population), according to a 2011 survey by the Pew Research Center.

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

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).