Today is the 42nd day of 2015 and the 53rd day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1945, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin concluded their conference in Yalta.

In 1990, anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela was released from prison in South Africa after 27 years.

In 2011, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak ceded power in response to mass protests in Cairo's Tahrir Square, bringing nearly 30 years of rule to a close.

In 2013, the Vatican announced Pope Benedict XVI's intention to step down as leader of the Catholic Church.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Thomas Edison (1847-1931), inventor; Max Baer (1909-1959), boxer; Eva Gabor (1919-1995), actress; Leslie Nielsen (1926-2010), actor; Mary Quant (1934- ), fashion designer; Burt Reynolds (1936- ), actor; Sheryl Crow (1962- ), singer-songwriter; Sarah Palin (1964- ), politician/TV personality; Jennifer Aniston (1969- ), actress; Damian Lewis (1971- ), actor; Kelly Rowland (1981- ), singer; Taylor Lautner (1992- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: In 1970, Japan successfully launched its first satellite, becoming the world's fourth space power after the Soviet Union in 1957, the United States in 1958 and France in 1965.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1990, Buster Douglas knocked out undisputed heavyweight champion and 42-1 betting favorite Mike Tyson in the 10th round of their match in Tokyo, completing one of the biggest upsets in boxing history.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Doing nothing is very hard to do ... you never know when you're finished." -- Leslie Nielsen

TODAY'S NUMBER: 21 -- age at which Thomas Edison applied for his first patent, for an "Electric Vote Recorder."

TODAY'S MOON: Last quarter moon (Feb. 11).

Today is the 41st day of 2015 and the 52nd day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1840, Britain's Queen Victoria married Prince Albert.

In 1967, the 25th Amendment to the Constitution, establishing presidential succession, was ratified.

In 1996, the IBM supercomputer Deep Blue defeated reigning world champion Garry Kasparov for the first time in a game of chess.

In 2005, North Korea publicly acknowledged that it had acquired nuclear weapons.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Charles Lamb (1775-1834), author; William Allen White (1868-1944), author/journalist; Boris Pasternak (1890-1960), author; Jimmy Durante (1893-1980), singer/comedian; Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956), playwright; Robert Wagner (1930- ), actor; Mark Spitz (1950- ), swimmer; Greg Norman (1955- ), golfer; John Calipari (1959- ), basketball coach; George Stephanopoulos (1961- ), journalist; Laura Dern (1967- ), actress; Vince Gilligan (1967- ), TV writer/producer; Elizabeth Banks (1974- ), actress; Emma Roberts (1991- ), actress.

TODAY'S FACT: Playwright Arthur Miller died exactly 56 years after his "Death of a Salesman" opened in New York on this date in 1949.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1968, Peggy Fleming won the women's figure skating gold for the United States at the Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "The human race tends to remember the abuses to which it has been subjected rather than the endearments. What's left of kisses? Wounds, however, leave scars." -- Bertolt Brecht

TODAY'S NUMBER: 9 -- children Queen Victoria and Prince Albert had together. All married into royal houses in Europe.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (Feb. 3) and last quarter moon (Feb. 11).

Today is the 40th day of 2015 and the 51st day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1861, Jefferson Davis was elected president of the Confederate States of America.

In 1950, during a speech in West Virginia, Sen. Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin claimed to have a list of more than 200 "known communists" serving in the State Department.

In 1964, the Beatles made their first appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show."

In 1968, the first U.S. combat troops were sent to South Vietnam.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: William Henry Harrison (1773-1841), ninth U.S. president; Ronald Colman (1891-1958), actor; Brendan Behan (1923-1964), playwright; Roger Mudd (1928- ), TV journalist; Carole King (1942- ), singer-songwriter; Joe Pesci (1943- ), actor; Alice Walker (1944- ), author; Mia Farrow (1945- ), actress; Charlie Day (1976- ), actor; Tom Hiddleston (1981- ), actor; Michael B. Jordan (1987- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: No candidate took the majority of the electoral votes in the presidential election of 1824. As a result, the decision fell to the House of Representatives, which elected John Quincy Adams over Andrew Jackson on this day in 1825.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1971, pitcher Leroy "Satchel" Paige became the first Negro League veteran to be nominated for the Baseball Hall of Fame.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Hard times require furious dancing. Each of us is proof." -- Alice Walker

TODAY'S NUMBER: 73 million -- viewers estimated to have tuned in to see the Beatles' first appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show." At 45.3 percent of all U.S. television-owning households, it became the highest-rated TV telecast and is still the 26th-highest rated of all time.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (Feb. 3) and last quarter moon (Feb. 11).