Today is the 356th day of 2012 and the first day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1620, the Pilgrims went ashore at Plymouth Rock, setting foot on North America for the first time.

In 1937, Disney's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," the first feature-length animated film, premiered.

In 1970, Elvis Presley met with President Richard Nixon at the White House.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881), British prime minister; Jane Fonda (1937- ), actress; Frank Zappa (1940-1993), musician; Samuel L. Jackson (1948- ), actor; Chris Evert (1954- ), tennis player; Ray Romano (1957- ), actor/comedian; Florence Griffith Joyner (1959-1998), Olympic track athlete; Kiefer Sutherland (1966- ), actor; Philip Humber (1982- ), baseball player.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 2010, the University of Connecticut Huskies women's basketball team won its 89th consecutive game, setting a new Division I record for consecutive wins.

TODAY'S FACT: "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," derided by Hollywood insiders as "Disney's Folly" while it was in production, cost Disney Studios an estimated $1.5 million to create. Walt Disney mortgaged his home to help cover the unanticipated expenses.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "I have done an in-depth study of drug abuse and Communist brainwashing techniques and I am right in the middle of the whole thing where I can and will do the most good." -- Elvis Presley, in a letter to President Nixon proposing that he could be an ally in the service of the country.

TODAY'S NUMBER: 41 -- adult male Pilgrims on the Mayflower who signed the Mayflower Compact before disembarking on Plymouth Rock.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (Dec. 20) and full moon (Dec. 28).

Today is the 355th day of 2012 and the 90th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1803, the territory covered by the Louisiana Purchase was formally transferred to the United States from France.

In 1860, South Carolina seceded from the United States.

In 1941, with his army under pressure on the Russian front, Adolf Hitler ordered "no retreat."

In 1989, the United States invaded Panama to overthrow dictator Manuel Noriega in Operation Just Cause.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Harvey Firestone (1868-1938), business magnate; Branch Rickey (1881-1965), baseball executive; Irene Dunne (1898-1990), actress; Dick Wolf (1946- ), TV producer; Alan Parsons (1948- ), musician; Billy Bragg (1957- ), singer/songwriter; David Cook (1982- ), singer; David Wright (1982- ), baseball player; Jonah Hill (1983- ), actor.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1946, boxer Sugar Ray Robinson won the welterweight crown by a unanimous decision over Tommy Bell.

TODAY'S FACT: The United States turned over all parts of the Panama Canal, including its supporting areas and military bases, to Panama on Dec. 31, 1999.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Fighting, to me, seems barbaric. I really don't like it. I enjoy outthinking another man and outmaneuvering him, but I still don't like to fight." -- Sugar Ray Robinson

TODAY'S NUMBER: 1.5 million -- estimated number of U.S. students in grades K-12 who are home-schooled.

TODAY'S MOON: First quarter moon (Dec. 20).

Today is the 354th day of 2012 and the 89th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1777, the Continental Army under George Washington set up winter quarters in Valley Forge, Pa.

In 1932, the BBC World Service first aired, as "Empire Service."

In 1998, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to impeach President Bill Clinton.

In 2011, North Korea announced that dictator Kim Jong Il had died two days earlier.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Leonid Brezhnev (1906-1982), Soviet leader; Jean Genet (1910-1986), author; Edith Piaf (1915-1963), singer/actress; Cicely Tyson (1933- ), actress; Richard Leakey (1944- ), paleoanthropologist; Robert Urich (1946-2002), actor; Tyson Beckford (1970- ), model; Alyssa Milano (1972- ), actress; Jake Gyllenhaal (1980- ), actor.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1980, Brigham Young University's football team, down 20 points with three minutes to play, staged an amazing comeback to defeat Southern Methodist University in the Holiday Bowl, 46-45.

TODAY'S FACT: The first American president to be impeached by the House of Representatives was Andrew Johnson in 1868.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "To achieve harmony in bad taste is the height of elegance." -- Jean Genet

TODAY'S NUMBER: 12 -- astronauts in the Apollo program who set foot on the moon's surface.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Dec. 13) and first quarter moon (Dec. 20).