TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1827, New Orleans held its first Mardi Gras celebration. In 1951, the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, limiting presidents to two terms. In 1973, members of the American Indian Movement occupied the village of Wounded Knee on Pine Ridge Sioux Reservation in South Dakota, beginning a standoff with federal marshals that lasted until May 8. In 1991, Kuwait was freed from Iraqi occupation by U.S.-led forces.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882), poet; Hugo Black (1886-1971), U.S. Supreme Court justice; John Steinbeck (1902-1968), writer; Marian Anderson (1902-1993), singer; Joanne Woodward (1930- ), actress, is 78; Elizabeth Taylor (1932- ), actress, is 76; Ralph Nader (1934- ), consumer activist, is 74.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1901, baseball's National League ruled that all fouls count as strikes except after two strikes.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "I guess a man is the only kind of varmint [that] sets his own trap, baits it, and then steps in it." - John Steinbeck

TODAY'S FACT: Mardi Gras, French for Fat Tuesday, is always 47 days before Easter Sunday. In 2008, it was celebrated on February 5, its earliest date since 1913.

TODAY'S NUMBER: 34 - number of years for which Hugo Black served on the U.S. Supreme Court.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (February 20) and last quarter (February 28).