Today is the fourth day of 2017 and the 15th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1896, Utah was admitted as the 45th U.S. state.

In 1965, President Lyndon Johnson presented the "Great Society" plan in his State of the Union address.

In 1995, the 104th U.S. Congress convened with Republican majorities in both the House and Senate for the first time since the Eisenhower presidency.

In 2004, NASA's Spirit rover landed on the surface of Mars.

In 2010, the 2,717-foot Burj Khalifa opened in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, as the world's tallest building.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Louis Braille (1809-1852), Braille alphabet inventor; Don Shula (1930- ), football coach; Floyd Patterson (1935-2006), boxer; Dyan Cannon (1937- ), actress; Doris Kearns Goodwin (1943- ), historian; Patty Loveless (1957- ), singer-songwriter; Michael Stipe (1960- ), singer-songwriter; Dave Foley (1963- ), actor/comedian; Julia Ormond (1965- ), actress; Kris Bryant (1992- ), baseball player.

TODAY'S FACT: Medicare, one of the largest reforms passed as part of President Lyndon Johnson's Great Society initiatives, insured 55.5 million Americans in 2016.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 2003, the Atlanta Falcons upset the Green Bay Packers, 27-7, in the wild card round of the playoffs. It was the first playoff loss at Lambeau Field in Packers history.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Sure, luck means a lot in football. Not having a good quarterback is bad luck." -- Don Shula

TODAY'S NUMBER: $1.5 billion -- estimated total cost (in U.S. dollars) of the Burj Khalifa project.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Dec. 28) and first quarter moon (Jan. 5).

Today is the third day of 2017 and the 14th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1777, Revolutionary forces under the command of George Washington defeated the British at Princeton, New Jersey.

In 1947, a session of Congress was televised for the first time to viewers in three East Coast cities.

In 1959, Alaska was admitted as the 49th state.

In 1993, President George H.W. Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed the second Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START).

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Lucretia Mott (1793-1880), women's rights pioneer; J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973), author; Victor Borge (1909-2000), comedian/pianist; Hank Stram (1923-2005), football coach; Sergio Leone (1929-1989), director; Robert Loggia (1930-2015), actor; Glen A. Larson (1937-2014), TV producer/writer; Victoria Principal (1950- ), actress; Mel Gibson (1956- ), actor/director; Michael Schumacher (1969- ), race car driver; Danica McKellar (1975- ), actress; Eli Manning (1981- ), football player.

TODAY'S FACT: C-SPAN was launched in 1979 to "provide live, gavel-to-gavel coverage of the U.S. House of Representatives." C-SPAN2, covering the Senate, was launched in 1986.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1983, Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Dorsett set an NFL record that still stands by running 99 yards from scrimmage for a touchdown.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "... The most improper job of any man, even saints (who at any rate were at least unwilling to take it on), is bossing other men. Not one in a million is fit for it, and least of all those who seek the opportunity." -- J.R.R. Tolkien

TODAY'S NUMBER: 738,432 -- estimated population of the state of Alaska in 2015 -- more than triple the population of the state at the time it attained statehood.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Dec. 28) and first quarter moon (Jan. 5).

Today is the second day of 2017 and the 13th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1492, the Moors were driven out of Spain as Granada fell to the forces of Ferdinand and Isabella.

In 1967, Ronald Reagan was sworn in as governor of California.

In 1974, President Richard Nixon signed legislation instituting a 55-mph highway speed limit in order to conserve gasoline during an OPEC embargo.

In 2006, a methane gas explosion in a Sago, West Virginia, coal mine trapped 13 miners. Only one survived.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Michael Tippett (1905-1998), composer; Isaac Asimov (1920-1992), author; Roger Miller (1936-1992), singer-songwriter; Jack Hanna (1947- ), zoologist; David Cone (1963- ), baseball player/sportscaster; Pernell Whitaker (1964- ), boxer; Tia Carrere (1967- ), actress; Cuba Gooding Jr. (1968- ), actor; Tommy Morrison (1969-2013), boxer; Christy Turlington (1969- ), model; Taye Diggs (1971- ), singer/actor; Dax Shepard (1975- ), actor; Kate Bosworth (1983- ), actress.

TODAY'S FACT: Castilian Spanish is the official language of Spain, but Catalan, Galician and Basque are all official regional languages.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1984, Miami upset heavily favored Nebraska in the Orange Bowl, 31-30, as Nebraska failed on a two-point conversion at game's end.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "I believe that only scientists can understand the universe. It is not so much that I have confidence in scientists being right, but that I have so much in nonscientists being wrong." -- Isaac Asimov, "Quasar, Quasar, Burning Bright"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 26,284 -- miles on the odometer of a rare, unrestored 1937 Bugatti Type 57S Atlanta Coupe found in the garage of a British doctor and reported by media outlets on this day in 2009. One of only 17 ever made, the car sold at a Paris auction a month later for $4.4 million.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Dec. 28) and first quarter moon (Jan. 5).