Today is the 31st day of 2015 and the 42nd day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1606, Guy Fawkes was executed for his role in the Gunpowder Plot in Britain.

In 1958, Explorer 1 was launched, marking the first successful launch of an American satellite into orbit.

In 1968, the North Vietnamese Tet Offensive began in South Vietnam.

In 2010, James Cameron's "Avatar" became the first film to reach a worldwide gross of $2 billion.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Franz Schubert (1797-1828), composer; John O'Hara (1905-1970), author; Jackie Robinson (1919-1972), baseball player; Carol Channing (1921- ), actress; Norman Mailer (1923-2007), author/journalist; Ernie Banks (1931- ), baseball player; Jonathan Banks (1947- ), actor; Nolan Ryan (1947- ), baseball player; Minnie Driver (1970- ), actress; Portia de Rossi (1973- ), actress; Justin Timberlake (1981- ), singer-songwriter.

TODAY'S FACT: The first Social Security check, issued on this day in 1940, was for $22.54 and went to Ida May Fuller, who lived on a Vermont farm. Having worked less than three years under Social Security, she paid only $24.75 into the system, but she had collected $22,888.92 by the time of her death in 1975.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1999, Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway won his second consecutive Super Bowl and the final game of his NFL playing career, leading the Denver Broncos to a 34-19 victory over the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl XXXIII. Elway was also selected as the game's MVP.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "The feeling of joy came up in me again the way the lyric of a song might remind a man on the edge of insanity that soon he will be insane again and there is a world there more interesting than his own." -- Norman Mailer, "An American Dream"

TODAY'S NUMBER: $2.8 billion -- total worldwide gross of "Avatar," making it the highest-grossing film of all time.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (Jan. 26) and full moon (Feb. 3).

Today is the 30th day of 2015 and the 41st day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1649, England's King Charles I was executed for treason.

In 1835, a gunman attempted to shoot President Andrew Jackson near the U.S. Capitol and was subdued by a crowd, marking the first presidential assassination attempt.

In 1933, Adolf Hitler was sworn in as chancellor of Germany.

In 1948, Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated by a Hindu extremist.

In 2005, Iraq held its first free elections in a half-century.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945), 32nd U.S. president; Barbara Tuchman (1912-1989), historian; Dick Martin (1922-2008), actor/comedian; Gene Hackman (1930- ), actor; Vanessa Redgrave (1937- ), actress; Dick Cheney (1941- ), U.S. vice president; Phil Collins (1951- ), singer-songwriter; Charles Dutton (1951- ), actor; Christian Bale (1974- ), actor; Wilmer Valderrama (1980- ), actor; Kid Cudi (1984- ), actor/rapper.

TODAY'S FACT: Charles I was the first king of England to be tried for crimes against his kingdom. He refused to enter a plea, insisting that the court had no authority over a monarch.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 2002, Karl Malone became the second NBA player (after Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) to score 34,000 career points.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little." -- Franklin D. Roosevelt

TODAY'S NUMBER: 62 -- percentage of Iraqis who turned out to vote in parliamentary elections in 2010.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (Jan. 26) and full moon (Feb. 3).

Today is the 29th day of 2015 and the 40th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1861, Kansas was admitted as the 34th U.S. state.

In 1891, Queen Liliuokalani inherited the throne from her brother, Kalakaua, becoming the last monarch of the Hawaiian Islands.

In 2002, President George W. Bush described Iran, Iraq and North Korea as part of an "axis of evil" in his State of the Union address.

In 2009, former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was convicted on charges of corruption.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Thomas Paine (1737-1809), patriot/philosopher; William McKinley (1843-1901), 25th U.S. president; Anton Chekhov (1860-1904), author; W.C. Fields (1880-1946), actor/comedian; Edward Abbey (1927-1989), environmentalist/author; Tom Selleck (1945- ), actor; Oprah Winfrey (1954- ), TV personality; Edward Burns (1968- ), actor/director; Heather Graham (1970- ), actress; Paul Ryan (1970- ), politician; Sara Gilbert (1975- ), actress; Adam Lambert (1982- ), singer.

TODAY'S FACT: Edgar Allan Poe's famous poem "The Raven" was first published in the New York Evening Mirror on this day in 1845. Poe was paid $15.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1995, the San Francisco 49ers defeated the San Diego Chargers 49-26 in Super Bowl XXIX, becoming the first NFL team to win five Super Bowls.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "'Tis the business of little minds to shrink; but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death." -- Thomas Paine

TODAY'S NUMBER: 6 -- record number of Super Bowl wins for a franchise, held by the Pittsburgh Steelers.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (Jan. 26) and full moon (Feb. 3).