Today is the 35th day of 2008 and the 45th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1789, George Washington was unanimously elected as first president of the United States by the Electoral College. In 1922, the Ford Motor Co. acquired the Lincoln Motor Co. for $8 million. In 1974, newspaper heiress Patty Hearst was kidnapped in Berkeley, California. In 1999, Hugo Chávez was elected president of Venezuela.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Fernand Leger (1881-1955), artist; Charles Lindbergh (1902-1974), aviator; Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945), theologian/Holocaust victim; Rosa Parks (1913-2005), activist; Betty Friedan (1921-2006), writer/activist; Oscar de la Hoya (1973- ), boxer, is 35.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1987, skipper Dennis Conner sailed to victory in the America's Cup, redeeming his loss in 1983--the first time an American had failed to win the 132 year-old event.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "It is easier to live through someone else than to become complete yourself." - Betty Friedan

TODAY'S FACT: The 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, NY, were the first Olympic Games to use artificial snow.

TODAY'S NUMBER: -81°F - the coldest outdoor temperature recorded in North America to date, at Snag in Canada's Yukon Territory, on this day in 1947.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter (January 30) and new moon (February 6).