TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1898, the U.S. battleship Maine blew up in Havana Harbor, ultimately touching off the Spanish-American War. In 1944, American planes bombed the historic abbey of Monte Cassino in Italy. In 1950, Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong signed a mutual defense pact. In 2005, the website YouTube was launched.
TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), scientist; Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906), Harold Arlen (1905-1986), songwriter; Claire Bloom (1931- ), actress, is 77; Matt Groening (1954- ), cartoonist, is 54; Chris Farley (1964-1997), comedian; Jaromir Jagr (1972- ), hockey player, is 36.
TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1998, after 19 losses, Dale Earnhardt Sr. won his first and only Daytona 500.
TODAY'S QUOTE: "But I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with senses, reason and intellect has intended us to forego their use and by some other means to give us knowledge which we can attain by them. " - Galileo Galilei
TODAY'S FACT: The Simpsons is the longest running American sitcom, currently in its 19th season.
TODAY'S NUMBER: 12,750 - total length, in miles, of sidewalks in New York City.
TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter (February 13) and full moon (February 20).
