Today is the 39th day of 2014 and the 50th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1587, Mary, Queen of Scots, was executed on suspicion of plotting to murder her cousin Queen Elizabeth I.

In 1910, the Boy Scouts of America was incorporated.

In 1915, D.W. Griffith's "The Birth of a Nation" premiered in Los Angeles with the title "The Clansman."

In 1996, President Bill Clinton signed the Telecommunications Act of 1996 into law, leading to a drastic overhaul of U.S. media regulations.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: William Tecumseh Sherman (1820-1891), U.S. general; Jules Verne (1828-1905), author; Lana Turner (1921-1995), actress; Jack Lemmon (1925-2001), actor; James Dean (1931-1955), actor; Ted Koppel (1940- ), journalist; Nick Nolte (1941- ), actor; Mary Steenburgen (1953- ), actress; John Grisham (1955- ), author; Gary Coleman (1968-2010), actor; Mary McCormack (1969- ), actress; Seth Green (1974- ), actor/producer.

TODAY'S FACT: The first movie ever to be screened privately at the White House was "The Birth of a Nation," which Woodrow Wilson viewed in 1915.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1998, Finland beat Sweden 6-0 in the first women's Olympic ice hockey game.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Science, my lad, is made up of mistakes, but they are mistakes which it is useful to make, because they lead little by little to the truth." -- Jules Verne, "A Journey to the Center of the Earth"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 2.78 million -- youth membership of the Boy Scouts of America in 2012.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (Feb. 6) and full moon (Feb. 14).

Today is the 38th day of 2014 and the 49th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1904, the Great Fire of Baltimore began, resulting in the destruction of more than 1,500 buildings in 30 hours.

In 1917, a German U-boat sank the British ship California off the Irish coast.

In 1962, President John F. Kennedy imposed a near-total embargo on all trade between the United States and Cuba.

In 1964, the "British Invasion" began as the Beatles arrived in New York for their first U.S. tour.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: John Deere (1804-1886), businessman; Charles Dickens (1812-1870), author; Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867-1957), author; Sinclair Lewis (1885-1951), author/playwright; Eubie Blake (1887-1983), composer/pianist; Pete Postlethwaite (1946-2011), actor; James Spader (1960- ), actor; Garth Brooks (1962- ), singer-songwriter; Eddie Izzard (1962- ), actor/comedian; Chris Rock (1965- ), actor/comedian; Steve Nash (1974- ), basketball player; Ashton Kutcher (1978- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: Baltimore's population was 620,961 in the 2010 census, making it the 19th-largest city in the United States.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1969, Diane Crump became the first female jockey to ride in a thoroughbred race in the United States at the Hialeah Park race track in Florida.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "To conceal anything from those to whom I am attached, is not in my nature. I can never close my lips where I have opened my heart." -- Charles Dickens, "Master Humphrey's Clock"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 177 million -- albums sold by the Beatles, as certified by the Recording Industry Association of America.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (Feb. 6) and full moon (Feb. 14).

Today is the 37th day of 2014 and the 48th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1778, representatives of the United States and France signed an alliance in Paris.

In 1788, Massachusetts ratified the U.S. Constitution and became the sixth U.S. state.

In 1952, Elizabeth II became queen regnant of the United Kingdom when her father, King George VI, died of cancer.

In 1985, President Ronald Reagan defined the key concepts of his foreign policy, which the media dubbed "The Reagan Doctrine," during his State of the Union Address.

In 1998, President Bill Clinton signed a bill changing the name of Washington National Airport to Ronald Reagan National Airport.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Aaron Burr (1756-1836), politician/U.S. vice president; Babe Ruth (1895-1948), baseball player; Ronald Reagan (1911-2004), 40th U.S. president; Zsa Zsa Gabor (1917- ), actress; Francois Truffaut (1932-1984), filmmaker/critic; Tom Brokaw (1940- ), journalist/author; Bob Marley (1945-1981), singer-songwriter; Axl Rose (1962- ), singer-songwriter.

TODAY'S FACT: France is the most popular nation in the world among tourists, with 75 million travelers visiting per year.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1958, the Boston Red Sox signed Ted Williams for $135,000, which was then the highest salary in baseball.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Government exists to protect us from each other. Where government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves." -- Ronald Reagan

TODAY'S NUMBER: 75.2 -- percentage of Israel's population that is Jewish.

TODAY'S MOON: First quarter moon (Feb. 6).