Today is the 362nd day of 2012 and the seventh day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1831, the HMS Beagle, with naturalist Charles Darwin aboard, set sail from Great Britain.

In 2002, North Korea announced it would resume developing nuclear-grade plutonium and ordered International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors to leave the country.

In 2007, former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated after a campaign rally in Rawalpindi.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Johannes Kepler (1571-1630), astronomer; Louis Pasteur (1822-1895), biologist/chemist; Marlene Dietrich (1901-1992), actress/singer; John Amos (1939- ), actor; Cokie Roberts (1943- ), journalist; Gerard Depardieu (1948- ), actor; Sarah Vowell (1969- ), social commentator; Masi Oka (1974- ), actor; Carson Palmer (1979- ), football player; Cole Hamels (1983- ), baseball player.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 2004, retired NFL defensive end Reggie White died of cardiac arrhythmia at age 43. White, who remains second on the career sack list with 198.5, was voted to the Pro Bowl 13 times during his 15-year career and was a first-ballot Hall of Fame inductee in 2006.

TODAY'S FACT: France is far more reliant on nuclear power than any other nation in the world. More than 75 percent of the country's electricity is nuclear-generated.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "I much prefer the sharpest criticism of a single intelligent man to the thoughtless approval of the masses." -- Johannes Kepler

TODAY'S NUMBER: 3,300 -- approximate number of people buried at Westminster Abbey, many of them in unmarked graves. Charles Darwin is among the famous scientists buried there.

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

Today is the 361st day of 2012 and the sixth day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1776, after staging a surprise attack, George Washington and the Continental Army scored a major upset victory over the British in the Battle of Trenton.

In 1996, 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey was found dead in her family's Colorado basement.

In 2004, a powerful earthquake in the Indian Ocean triggered a massive tsunami that claimed the lives of at least 226,000 people in Southeast Asia and east Africa.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Thomas Gray (1716-1771), poet; Charles Babbage (1791-1871), mathematician/inventor; Mao Zedong (1893-1976), Chinese leader; Richard Widmark (1914-2008), actor; Steve Allen (1921-2000), entertainer; Ozzie Smith (1954- ), baseball player; David Sedaris (1956- ), writer; Lars Ulrich (1963- ), musician; Jared Leto (1971- ), actor/musician; Chris Daughtry (1979- ), singer.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1908, boxer Jack Johnson defeated Tommy Burns, becoming the first African-American heavyweight champion.

TODAY'S FACT: Despite its impact in the Colonies, the Battle of Trenton was fought by relatively small numbers on both sides -- an estimated 2,400 Continental Army soldiers defeated the 1,500-strong British/Hessian garrison.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "The paths of glory lead but to the grave." -- Thomas Gray

TODAY'S NUMBER: $700 million -- estimated amount Americans donated, privately or via corporations, to the 2004 tsunami relief efforts.

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

Today is the 360th day of 2012 and the fifth day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1868, President Andrew Johnson unconditionally pardoned all those who had participated in the Southern rebellion that led to the Civil War.

In 1990, Tim Berners-Lee launched the first World Wide Web server.

In 1991, Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as Soviet president. The Soviet Union was officially dissolved the next day.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727), scientist; Clara Barton (1821-1912), American Red Cross founder; Humphrey Bogart (1899-1957), actor; Cab Calloway (1907-1994), bandleader/singer; Anwar Sadat (1918-1981), Egyptian president; Jimmy Buffett (1946- ), singer; Sissy Spacek (1949- ), actress; Karl Rove (1950- ), political strategist; Annie Lennox (1954- ), singer.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1989, former New York Yankees player and manager Billy Martin died in an automobile accident.

TODAY'S FACT: Americans spent $35.3 billion shopping online during the holiday season in 2011.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Most people seek after what they do not possess and thus are enslaved by the very things they want to acquire. They become prisoners of their desires even though they appear to be free." -- Anwar Sadat

TODAY'S NUMBER: $0 -- amount Tim Berners-Lee charges to let people use his Web innovations, including HTML, URLs and HTTP.

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