Today is the 57th day of 2014 and the 68th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte escaped from exile on the island of Elba and began his return journey to France.

In 1935, Adolf Hitler secretly ordered the Luftwaffe to be reformed, in violation of the Treaty of Versailles.

In 1987, the Tower Commission released its report on the Iran-Contra affair, rebuking President Ronald Reagan for not controlling his national security staff.

In 1993, a truck bomb exploded in the parking garage of the World Trade Center in New York City, killing six people and injuring more than 1,000.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Victor Hugo (1802-1885), author; Levi Strauss (1829-1902), tailor/inventor; William "Buffalo Bill" Cody (1846-1917), frontiersman/showman; Tex Avery (1908-1980), animator; Jackie Gleason (1916-1987), actor/comedian; Tony Randall (1920-2004), actor; Fats Domino (1928- ), singer-songwriter/pianist; Ariel Sharon (1928-2014), Israeli prime minister; Robert Novak (1931-2009), columnist; Johnny Cash (1932-2003), singer-songwriter; Michael Bolton (1953- ), singer-songwriter; Erykah Badu (1971- ), singer-songwriter.

TODAY'S FACT: Levi Strauss, a Bavarian immigrant who went to San Francisco during the Gold Rush, made his first pair of "jeans" out of canvas.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1935, an aging Babe Ruth was released by the New York Yankees and signed a contract to become an assistant manager and player with the Boston Braves.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and cannot remain silent." -- Victor Hugo

TODAY'S NUMBER: 14 -- age at which "Buffalo Bill" Cody began riding for the Pony Express, after answering an advertisement for "skinny, expert riders willing to risk death daily."

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (Feb. 22) and new moon (March 1).

Today is the 56th day of 2014 and the 67th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1836, Samuel Colt received the patent for his revolving-cylinder pistol.

In 1901, J.P. Morgan incorporated the United States Steel Corporation.

In 1913, the 16th Amendment to the Constitution, which gives Congress the power to levy income taxes, went into effect.

In 1991, the Warsaw Pact, a mutual defense agreement between Central and Eastern European communist states, was declared disbanded.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919), artist; Enrico Caruso (1873-1921), opera singer; John Foster Dulles (1888-1959), diplomat; Zeppo Marx (1901-1979), actor; Bobby Riggs (1918-1995), tennis player; Ralph Stanley (1927- ), musician; Sally Jessy Raphael (1935- ), TV personality; George Harrison (1943-2001), singer-songwriter; Jack Handey (1949- ), humorist; Sean Astin (1971- ), actor; Chelsea Handler (1975- ), comedian; Rashida Jones (1976- ), actress.

TODAY'S FACT: Pierre-Auguste Renoir continued to paint in his later years, despite being wheelchair-bound and suffering from such severe rheumatoid arthritis that he could not pick up a brush on his own. An assistant had to place the brush in Renoir's hand.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1964, Cassius Clay defeated Sonny Liston in a stunning upset to win the heavyweight boxing crown. Clay changed his name to Muhammad Ali the following week.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "A man's accomplishments in life are the cumulative effect of his attention to detail." -- John Foster Dulles

TODAY'S NUMBER: 1,060 -- pairs of shoes notoriously left behind by Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos when she and her husband, President Ferdinand Marcos, were forced to flee the country on this day in 1986.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (Feb. 22) and new moon (March 1).

Today is the 55th day of 2014 and the 66th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1836, Colonel William Travis issued a call for help on behalf of the Texan troops defending the Alamo in San Antonio.

In 1868, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to impeach President Andrew Johnson.

In 1903, the United States acquired a naval station at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

In 2008, Fidel Castro's brother Raul Castro was officially named president by Cuba's parliament.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Wilhelm Grimm (1786-1859), author; Winslow Homer (1836-1910), artist; George A. Moore (1852-1933), poet/dramatist; Honus Wagner (1874-1955), baseball player; Abe Vigoda (1921- ), actor; Dominic Chianese (1931- ), actor; Phil Knight (1938- ), business magnate; Joseph Lieberman (1942- ), U.S. senator; Edward James Olmos (1947- ), actor; Steve Jobs (1955-2011), computer pioneer; Paula Zahn (1956- ), TV journalist; Billy Zane (1966- ), actor; Mitch Hedberg (1968-2005), comedian; Floyd Mayweather Jr. (1977- ), boxer.

TODAY'S FACT: Andrew Johnson was the only U.S. senator from a Southern state to remain loyal to the Union during the Civil War.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1980, the U.S. Olympic hockey team defeated Finland 4-2 to win the gold medal at the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, N.Y.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Reality can destroy the dream; why shouldn't the dream destroy reality?" -- George A. Moore

TODAY'S NUMBER: $1 -- annual salary Steve Jobs received as CEO of Apple Inc. (He made up for it with Apple stock options.)

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (Feb. 22) and new moon (March 1).