Today is the 34th day of 2014 and the 45th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1690, the Massachusetts colony printed the first American paper currency.

In 1913, the federal income tax was authorized with ratification of the 16th Amendment to the Constitution.

In 1959, rock pioneers Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. "Big Bopper" Richardson died in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa.

In 1962, President John Kennedy banned trade with Cuba.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847), composer; Horace Greeley (1811-1872), activist/newspaper editor; Gertrude Stein (1874-1946), writer; Norman Rockwell (1894-1978), artist/illustrator; James Michener (1907-1997), author; Blythe Danner (1943- ), actress; Morgan Fairchild (1950- ), actress; Nathan Lane (1956- ), actor; Maura Tierney (1965- ), actress; Isla Fisher (1976- ), actress.

TODAY'S FACT: Norman Rockwell's body of work is estimated at more than 4,000 original pieces.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1990, legendary jockey Willie Shoemaker rode the 40,350th and final race of his career.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "An age is called Dark not because the light fails to shine, but because people refuse to see it." -- James Michener

TODAY'S NUMBER: 17 -- age at which Felix Mendelssohn wrote his overture to Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Jan. 30) and first quarter moon (Feb. 6).

Today is the 33rd day of 2014 and the 44th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1626, Charles I was crowned king of England.

In 1790, the Supreme Court of the United States convened for the first time.

In 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed, ending the war between the United States and Mexico.

In 1943, the Russian victory at Stalingrad was concluded when German forces surrendered to the Soviets.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Solomon R. Guggenheim (1861-1949), businessman/philanthropist; James Joyce (1882-1941), author; George Halas (1895-1983), football coach/team owner; Ayn Rand (1905-1982), author/philosopher; Elaine Stritch (1925- ), actress/comedian; Stan Getz (1927-1991), jazz musician; Graham Nash (1942- ), singer-songwriter; Farrah Fawcett (1947-2009), actress; Christie Brinkley (1954- ), model; Shakira (1977- ), singer-songwriter.

TODAY'S FACT: Since the release of the popular movie "Groundhog Day" in 1993, crowds of up to 30,000 have visited Gobbler's Knob in Pennsylvania each year on Feb. 2 to see whether Punxsutawney Phil observes his shadow.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1876, the National League of Professional Baseball Clubs was established.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "A man of genius makes no mistakes. His errors are volitional and are the portals of discovery." -- James Joyce, "Ulysses"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 100 -- times in the 126-year history of Groundhog Day ceremonies that Punxsutawney Phil has seen his shadow and predicted six more weeks of winter.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Jan. 30) and first quarter moon (Feb. 6).

Today is the 32nd day of 2014 and the 43rd day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1861, a Texas state convention voted 166-8 in favor of a measure to secede from the Union.

In 1884, the first volume of the Oxford English Dictionary was published.

In 1965, Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested, along with more than 700 other demonstrators, at a protest in Selma, Ala.

In 2003, the U.S. space shuttle Columbia broke apart shortly after entering the atmosphere over Texas, killing its seven-member crew.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: John Ford (1895-1973), film director; Clark Gable (1901-1960), actor; Langston Hughes (1902-1967), poet; Renata Tebaldi (1922-2004), opera singer; Boris Yeltsin (1931-2007), Russian president; Sherman Helmsley (1937-2012), actor; Rick James (1948-2004), singer-songwriter; Princess Stephanie of Monaco (1965- ); Andrew Breitbart (1968-2012), publisher/political commentator; Michael C. Hall (1971- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: Harvard scholar Carter G. Woodson pioneered "Negro History Week" in 1926 and designated the second week in February for its celebration, to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. Negro History Week was later expanded to include all of February and renamed "Black History Month."

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 2004, a "wardrobe malfunction" during the Super Bowl halftime show resulted in the exposure of singer Janet Jackson's breast on live national television during a duet with Justin Timberlake.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Life is for the living, and death is for the dead. Let life be like music, and death a note unsaid." -- Langston Hughes

TODAY'S NUMBER: 12,345,678,987,654,321 -- product of multiplying 111,111,111 by 111,111,111.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Jan. 30) and first quarter moon (Feb. 6).