TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was established. In 1959, Hawaii was admitted as the 50th state of the U.S. In 1965, Russian cosmonaut Aleksei Leonov made the first spacewalk. In 1990, two men stole 12 paintings valued at $300 million from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Grover Cleveland (1837-1908), U.S. President; Nikolai Rimski-Korsakov (1844-1908), composer; George Plimpton (1927-2003), author/actor; Vanessa Williams (1963- ), actress/singer, is 45; Queen Latifah (1970- ), singer/actress, is 38.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1930, the NHL's Boston Bruins won a record 20th consecutive home game, which was tied by the Philadelphia Flyers in 1976.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Art has something to do with the arrest of attention in the midst of distraction." - George Plimpton

TODAY'S FACT: Hawaii is the only state with a single, unified school system; it contains 255 regular schools, 3 special schools, and 26 public charter schools.

TODAY'S NUMBER: 26 - number of countries in the NATO alliance after the addition of 7 former-Warsaw Pact nations in March 2004.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter (March 14) and full moon (March 21).