TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1831, William Lloyd Garrison launched publication of the abolitionist newspaper The Liberator. In 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing Confederate slaves, took effect. In 1892, the Ellis Island immigration station opened in New York City. In 1959, the Cuban government of Fulgencio Batista was overthrown by the rebel forces of Fidel Castro. In 2002, the Euro became the legal tender for all European Union member states.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Paul Revere (1735-1818), American patriot; E.M. Forster (1879-1970), novelist; J. Edgar Hoover (1895-1972), FBI chief; J.D. Salinger (1919- ), writer, is 89; Frank Langella (1940- ), actor, is 68; Grandmaster Flash (1958- ), hip hop performer, is 50; P.T. Anderson (1970- ), filmmaker, is 38.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1961, the Houston Oilers won the first American Football League championship, 24-16, against the Los Angeles Chargers.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "In giving freedom to the slave we assure freedom to the free." - Abraham Lincoln

TODAY'S FACT: Kathleen Casey Wilkins, considered the first of some 78 million postwar baby boomers, was born in Philadelphia, a minute after midnight on January 1, 1946.

TODAY'S NUMBER: 100 - number of light bulbs on the first-ever Times Square New Years Eve ball, made of iron and wood, dropped to celebrate the start of 1907.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter (December 31, 2007) and new moon (January 8, 2008).