TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1920, the Negro National League, the first black professional baseball league, was established. 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 2006, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered a debilitating stroke that prevented him from governing.
TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Isaac Newton (1642-1727), mathematician/physicist; Louis Braille (1809-1852), Braille alphabet inventor; King Camp Gillette (1855-1932), safety razor inventor; Jane Wyman (1914- ), actress, is 93; Floyd Patterson (1935- ), boxer, is 72; Dyan Cannon (1937- ), actress, is 70; Michael Stipe (1960- ), rock musician, is 47; Julia Ormond (1965- ), actress, is 42.
TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1991, 12-year-old Fu Mingxia from China won the women's 10-meter platform at the World Swimming Championships in Perth, Australia, becoming the youngest aquatic world champion ever.
TODAY'S QUOTE: "It's easy to do anything in victory. It's in defeat that a man reveals himself." - Floyd Patterson
TODAY'S FACT: King Camp Gillette wanted to devise a new product that consumers would need to purchase repeatedly; his safety razors were one of the first and most successful disposable products ever made.
TODAY'S NUMBER: 17 - number of Negro League and pre-Negro League members inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006.
TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter (December 31, 2007) and new moon (January 8, 2008).
