Today is the 17th day of 2016 and the 27th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1773, Capt. James Cook and his crew became the first to sail south of the Antarctic Circle.

In 1819, Simon Bolivar proclaimed Colombia a republic.

In 1917, the United States purchased the Virgin Islands from Denmark for $25 million.

In 1946, the United Nations Security Council held its first session.

In 1991, a United States-led coalition's planes struck targets in Kuwait and Iraq, launching the Persian Gulf War.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), statesman/inventor/author; Al Capone (1899-1947), organized crime boss; Betty White (1922- ), actress; Eartha Kitt (1927-2008), actress/singer; James Earl Jones (1931- ), actor; Muhammad Ali (1942- ), boxer; Andy Kaufman (1949-1984), actor/comedian; Steve Harvey (1957- ), comedian/actor; Jim Carrey (1962- ), actor; Michelle Obama (1964- ), U.S. first lady; Kid Rock (1971- ), singer-songwriter; Zooey Deschanel (1980- ), actress; Dwyane Wade (1982- ), basketball player.

TODAY'S FACT: Besides being well-known as a publisher and statesman, Benjamin Franklin was also a composer and viol player, and created a briefly popular new instrument known as the armonica (or glass harmonica).

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1971, the Baltimore Colts defeated the Dallas Cowboys 16-13 in Super Bowl V, a game so filled with errors it was nicknamed the "Blunder Bowl."

TODAY'S QUOTE: "I think the best way of doing good to the poor is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it." -- Benjamin Franklin

TODAY'S NUMBER: 26 -- age at which gangster Al Capone became boss of the "Chicago Outfit."

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (Jan. 16) and full moon (Jan. 23).

Today is the 16th day of 2016 and the 26th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1920, the first meeting of the League of Nations was held in Paris.

In 1945, Adolf Hitler moved into his underground bunker in Berlin.

In 1969, the Soviet spacecraft Soyuz 4 and Soyuz 5 completed the first docking of manned spacecraft.

In 1979, the Shah of Iran fled his homeland in the wake of a revolution.

In 2006, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf became the first female elected head of state of an African nation when she was sworn in as president of Liberia.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Ethel Merman (1908-1984), actress/singer; Dizzy Dean (1910-1974), baseball player; Dian Fossey (1932-1985), zoologist; Susan Sontag (1933-2004), author/critic; Ronnie Milsap (1946- ), singer-songwriter; Laura Schlessinger (1947- ), radio host/author; John Carpenter (1948- ), director; Ruth Reichl (1948- ), food writer/editor; Roy Jones Jr. (1969- ), boxer; Kate Moss (1974- ), model; Albert Pujols (1980- ), baseball player; Joe Flacco (1985- ), football player.

TODAY'S FACT: The world's busiest airport is Hartsfield-Jackson in Atlanta, which 96 million passengers traveled through in 2014.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1961, Mickey Mantle signed a contract for an annual salary of $75,000, making him the highest-paid player in the American League.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Compassion is an unstable emotion. It needs to be translated into action, or it withers." -- Susan Sontag, "Regarding the Pain of Others"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 23 -- countries that were members of the League of Nations for its entire duration. Forty other nations were members intermittently.

TODAY'S MOON: First quarter moon (Jan. 16).

Today is the 15th day of 2016 and the 25th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1759, the British Museum opened to the public.

In 1844, the University of Notre Dame received its official charter from the state of Indiana.

In 1892, Dr. James Naismith published his original 13 rules of "basket ball" in the Springfield College newspaper.

In 1943, the Pentagon was dedicated in Arlington, Virginia.

In 2009, a US Airways flight made an emergency landing in the Hudson River shortly after takeoff from LaGuardia Airport in New York.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Edward Teller (1908-2003), physicist; Gene Krupa (1909-1973), jazz drummer; Lloyd Bridges (1913-1998), actor; Gamal Abdel Nasser (1918-1970), Egyptian president; Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968), civil rights leader; Ronnie Van Zant (1948-1977), singer-songwriter; Mario Van Peebles (1957- ), actor/director; Bernard Hopkins (1965- ), boxer; Drew Brees (1979- ), football player; Matt Holliday (1980- ), baseball player; Pitbull (1981- ), rapper; Skrillex (1988- ), musician.

TODAY'S FACT: The Pentagon is the world's largest office building by floor area, with 3.7 million square feet of dedicated office space.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1967, the Green Bay Packers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 35-10 in the first Super Bowl.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Men often hate each other because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don't know each other; they don't know each other because they can not communicate; they can not communicate because they are separated." -- Martin Luther King Jr.

TODAY'S NUMBER: $4.34 million -- winning bid for the original document featuring Dr. James Naismith's 13 rules of basketball, which were sold at a Sotheby's auction in New York on Dec. 10, 2010.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Jan. 9) and first quarter moon (Jan. 16).