Today is the 61st day of 2014 and the 72nd day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1836, Texas declared its independence from Mexico.

In 1877, the U.S. Congress declared Rutherford B. Hayes the winner of the 1876 presidential election, despite the fact that Samuel J. Tilden had won the popular vote.

In 1933, the film "King Kong" opened at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

In 1969, the Concorde supersonic airliner flew (at subsonic speeds) for the first time.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Sam Houston (1793-1863), soldier/politician; Pope Leo XIII (1810-1903); Pope Pius XII (1876-1958); Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel) (1904-1991), author; Mel Ott (1909-1958), baseball player; Desi Arnaz (1917-1986), actor/musician; Mikhail Gorbachev (1931- ), former Soviet leader; Tom Wolfe (1931- ), author/journalist; John Irving (1942- ), author; Jon Bon Jovi (1962- ), singer-songwriter; Daniel Craig (1968- ), actor; Method Man (1971- ), rapper/actor; Chris Martin (1977- ), singer-songwriter; Ben Roethlisberger (1982- ), football player.

TODAY'S FACT: "King Kong" was made in 1933 for about $11.7 million (in today's dollars). The 2005 remake cost $207 million to produce.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1962, Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia Warriors set the NBA single-game scoring record with 100 points in a win over the New York Knicks.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "If you care about something you have to protect it -- If you're lucky enough to find a way of life you love, you have to find the courage to live it." -- John Irving

TODAY'S NUMBER: 27 -- publishing companies that rejected the manuscript of Dr. Seuss' first book for children, "And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street."

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (March 1) and first quarter moon (March 8).

Today is the 60th day of 2014 and the 71st day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1781, the Continental Congress officially adopted the Articles of Confederation.

In 1803, Ohio was admitted as the 17th U.S. state.

In 1867, Nebraska was admitted as the 37th U.S. state.

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy issued an executive order establishing the Peace Corps.

In 2003, Pakistani counterterrorism forces captured al-Qaida operative Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, a principal planner of the 9/11 terror attacks.

In 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that capital punishment for crimes committed before the age of 18 was unconstitutional.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Glenn Miller (1904-1944), bandleader; David Niven (1910-1983), actor; Harry Caray (1914-1998), sportscaster; Ralph Ellison (1914-1994), author; Yitzhak Rabin (1922-1995), Israeli prime minister; Harry Belafonte (1927- ), singer-songwriter/actor; Roger Daltrey (1944- ), singer-songwriter; Ron Howard (1954- ), actor/director; Zack Snyder (1966- ), filmmaker; George Eads (1967- ), actor; Javier Bardem (1969- ), actor; Justin Bieber (1994- ), singer.

TODAY'S FACT: The International Criminal Court held its inaugural session in The Hague on this day in 2003.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1969, New York Yankees slugger Mickey Mantle announced his retirement.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Life is to be lived, not controlled; and humanity is won by continuing to play in face of certain defeat." -- Ralph Ellison, "Invisible Man"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 4,448,006 -- English-language pages on Wikipedia.org, as of mid-February 2014. Wikipedia estimates that without images, its pages would fill 1,969 volumes of the "Encyclopaedia Britannica."

TODAY'S MOON: New moon (March 1).

Today is the 59th day of 2014 and the 70th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1954, Cambridge University scientists James Watson and Francis Crick announced that they had identified the double-helix structure of DNA.

In 1993, federal agents raided the Branch Davidian cult compound in Waco, Texas.

In 1997, two heavily armed and armored bank robbers were killed in a shootout with police on the streets of North Hollywood.

In 2013, Pope Benedict XVI became the first Catholic pope to resign since 1415.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Vincente Minnelli (1903-1986), film director; Milton Caniff (1907-1988), cartoonist; Frank Gehry (1929- ), architect; Mario Andretti (1940- ), racecar driver; Bernadette Peters (1948- ), actress; Paul Krugman (1953- ), columnist/Nobel laureate; John Turturro (1957- ), actor; Robert Sean Leonard (1969- ), actor; Pat Monahan (1969- ), singer-songwriter; Lemony Snicket (1970- ), author; Eric Lindros (1973- ), hockey player; Jason Aldean (1977- ), singer-songwriter.

TODAY'S FACT: The 2 1/2-hour series finale of "M*A*S*H," which was watched by 60.2 percent of U.S. TV-owning households, remains the highest-rated single TV show in history, with a 77 percent share of the Nielsen ratings during its original airing on this day in 1983.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1967, Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia 76ers missed a shot for the first time in four games, ending his NBA-record streak of consecutive field goals at 35.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Everyone should be able to do one card trick, tell two jokes and recite three poems, in case they are ever trapped in an elevator." -- Lemony Snicket, "Horseradish: Bitter Truths You Can't Avoid"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 51 -- days that the 1993 Branch Davidian standoff in Waco, Texas, lasted.

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