Today is the 62nd day of 2014 and the 73rd day of winter.
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TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1845, Florida was admitted as the 27th U.S. state.
In 1931, President Herbert Hoover signed a congressional resolution adopting "The Star-Spangled Banner" as the U.S. national anthem.
In 1991, an amateur videographer captured the beating and arrest of construction worker Rodney King by Los Angeles police officers after a high-speed car chase.
In 2005, American millionaire Steve Fossett made the first solo, nonstop, unrefueled flight around the world in a fixed-wing aircraft.
TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922), inventor; Jean Harlow (1911-1937), actress; James Doohan (1920-2005), actor; James Merrill (1926-1995), poet; Perry Ellis (1940-1986), fashion designer; Ira Glass (1959- ), radio personality; Jackie Joyner-Kersee (1962- ), athlete; Julie Bowen (1970- ), actress; Jessica Biel (1982- ), actress.
TODAY'S FACT: "The Star-Spangled Banner" is set to the tune of "To Anacreon in Heaven," a piece originally composed around 1775 as the official song of the Anacreontic Society, an English musicians' club.
TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1974, heavyweight boxing champion George Foreman successfully defended his title with a second-round knockout of Ken Norton, improving his overall record to 40-0 with 37 knockouts.
TODAY'S QUOTE: "Wherever you may find the inventor, you may give him wealth or you may take from him all that he has; and he will go on inventing. He can no more help inventing than he can help thinking or breathing." -- Alexander Graham Bell
TODAY'S NUMBER: 2.7 -- gallons of wine per capita Americans consume annually.
TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (March 1) and first quarter moon (March 8).