Today is the ninth day of 2017 and the 20th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1788, Connecticut ratified the U.S. Constitution and became the fifth U.S. state.

In 1861, Confederates fired upon the steamship Star of the West at the garrison of Fort Sumter, South Carolina, an incident many historians consider the "first shots of the American Civil War."

In 1945, Gen. Douglas MacArthur and the American Sixth Army invaded the island of Luzon in the Philippines.

In 2015, the two perpetrators of the shooting at the offices of Charlie Hebdo in Paris two days earlier were killed by police after a hostage crisis.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Chic Young (1901-1973), cartoonist; Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986), author; Richard Nixon (1913-1994), 37th U.S. president; Judith Krantz (1928- ), author; Bart Starr (1934- ), football player; Bob Denver (1935-2005), actor; Joan Baez (1941- ), singer-songwriter; Jimmy Page (1944- ), musician; J.K. Simmons (1955- ), actor; Mark Martin (1959- ), NASCAR driver; Dave Matthews (1967- ), singer-songwriter; Sergio Garcia (1980- ), golfer; Kate Middleton (1982- ), duchess of Cambridge.

TODAY'S FACT: The comic strip "Blondie," launched by Chic Young in 1930, eventually appeared in more than 2,000 newspapers around the world and spawned 28 film adaptations between 1938 and 1950.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1972, the Milwaukee Bucks ended the Los Angeles Lakers' record 33-game winning streak with a 120-104 win.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "I tore myself away from the safe comfort of certainties through my love for truth -- and truth rewarded me." -- Simone de Beauvoir, "All Said and Done"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 1 billion -- iPhones sold (according to an announcement by Apple in July 2016) since Apple introduced the first-generation unit on this day in 2007.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (Jan. 5) and full moon (Jan. 12).

Today is the eighth day of 2017 and the 19th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1790, President George Washington gave the first State of the Union address.

In 1877, Crazy Horse lost his final battle against the U.S. Cavalry at Wolf Mountain in Montana Territory.

In 1918, President Woodrow Wilson outlined his "Fourteen Points" peace plan.

In 1982, AT&T agreed to give up its 22 local "Baby Bells."

In 2011, a gunman opened fire at a public event for Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona, killing six people and injuring 13, including Giffords.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Jose Ferrer (1912-1992), actor; Soupy Sales (1926-2009), TV personality; Elvis Presley (1935-1977), singer/actor; Bob Eubanks (1938- ), TV game show host; Graham Chapman (1941-1989), actor/comedian; Stephen Hawking (1942- ), physicist; Terry Brooks (1944- ), author; David Bowie (1947-2016), singer-songwriter; Michelle Forbes (1965- ), actress; R. Kelly (1967- ), singer-songwriter; Rachel Nichols (1980- ), actress; Kim Jong Un (1983- ), North Korean leader.

TODAY'S FACT: About 600,000 people annually visit Elvis Presley's Graceland estate in Memphis, Tennessee.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1901, the first tournament sanctioned by the American Bowling Congress was held in Chicago.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "If you do not hear music in your words, you have put too much thought into your writing and not enough heart." -- Terry Brooks, "Sometimes the Magic Works: Lessons from a Writing Life"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 641 -- projected width (in feet) of the Crazy Horse Memorial in South Dakota, which will be the largest sculpture in the world if it is completed.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (Jan. 5) and full moon (Jan. 12).

Today is the seventh day of 2017 and the 18th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1785, Jean-Pierre Blanchard and John Jeffries crossed the English Channel in a balloon.

In 1927, the first commercial trans-Atlantic telephone call was made between London and New York City.

In 1955, Marian Anderson made her debut at New York's Metropolitan Opera House, becoming the first African-American to perform there.

In 2015, gunmen killed 12 people at the Paris offices of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Millard Fillmore (1800-1874), 13th U.S. president; Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960), author; Francis Poulenc (1899-1963), composer; Charles Addams (1912-1988), cartoonist; Katie Couric (1957- ), TV news anchor; Rand Paul (1963- ), politician; Nicolas Cage (1964- ), actor; John Ondrasik aka Five for Fighting (1965- ), singer-songwriter; Jeremy Renner (1971- ), actor; John Rich (1974- ), singer-songwriter; Francisco Rodriguez (1982- ), baseball player; Jon Lester (1984- ), baseball player.

TODAY'S FACT: Millard Fillmore, who assumed the presidency in 1850 upon the death of Zachary Taylor, was the last president from the Whig party. Fillmore sought re-election in 1852, but the Whig party nominated Gen. Winfield Scott instead.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1927, the Harlem Globetrotters (who were actually from Chicago) played their first game in Hinckley, Illinois. The team didn't play a game in Harlem until 1968.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Sometimes, I feel discriminated against, but it does not make me angry. It merely astonishes me. How can any deny themselves the pleasure of my company? It's beyond me." -- Zora Neale Hurston

TODAY'S NUMBER: 2.5 hours -- length of the first balloon trip across the English Channel, which crossed at the channel's narrowest point (21 miles).

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (Jan. 5) and full moon (Jan. 12).