TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1838, Samuel F. B. Morse publicly demonstrated the telegraph for the first time. In 1912, New Mexico was admitted to the Union as the 47th state. In 1919, former President Theodore Roosevelt died at age 60. In 1941, Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt declared the Four Freedoms (freedom of speech and religion, and freedom from want and fear) in a speech to Congress.
TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Joan of Arc (1412-1431), French saint and national heroine; Max Bruch (1838-1930), composer; Carl Sandburg (1878-1967), poet/biographer; Tom Mix (1880-1940), actor; Khalil Gibran (1883-1931), poet/novelist; Danny Thomas (1912-1991), comedian; Loretta Young (1913-2000), actress; Rowan Atkinson (1955- ), actor, is 53; Howie Long (1960- ), football player/broadcaster, is 48.
TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1994, U.S. champion figure skater Nancy Kerrigan is clubbed on the knee on the orders of a rival, Tonya Harding.
TODAY'S QUOTE: "Slang is a language that rolls up its sleeves, spits on its hands, and goes to work." - Carl Sandburg
TODAY'S FACT: Theodore Roosevelt, the youngest president to take office at age 42, was the first president to travel outside of the U.S.
TODAY'S NUMBER: $30,000 - amount Congress appropriated in 1843 for Samuel F. B. Morse to construct the first experimental telegraph line between Washington, DC, and Baltimore, MD.
TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter (December 31, 2007) and new moon (January 8, 2008).
