Today is the 47th day of 2015 and the 58th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1923, archaeologist Howard Carter unsealed the burial chamber of the recently discovered tomb of the Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamen.

In 1937, DuPont Co. received a patent for nylon.

In 1968, the United States' first 911 emergency phone system went into service in Haleyville, Alabama.

In 2005, the Kyoto Protocol for the reduction of greenhouse gases took effect for 141 ratifying nations.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Edgar Bergen (1903-1978), ventriloquist; Vera-Ellen (1921-1981), actress/dancer; Sonny Bono (1935-1998), singer/politician; Richard Ford (1944- ), author; LeVar Burton (1957- ), actor; Ice-T (1958- ), actor/rapper; John McEnroe (1959- ), tennis player; Christopher Eccleston (1964- ), actor; Jerome Bettis (1972- ), football player; Elizabeth Olsen (1989- ), actress.

TODAY'S FACT: Hundreds of millions of 911 emergency calls are made in the United States each year. The Federal Communications Commission estimates that 70 percent are wireless calls.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 2005, the National Hockey League canceled its 2004-2005 regular season and playoffs due to a labor dispute.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "At the exact moment any decision seems to be being made, it's usually long after the real decision was actually made -- like light we see emitted from stars." -- Richard Ford, "The Lay of the Land"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 30 -- broadcast radio stations in the United States in 1922. Today there are more than 14,000.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (Feb. 11) and new moon (Feb. 18).

Today is the 46th day of 2015 and the 57th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1898, the U.S. battleship Maine exploded and sank in Havana Harbor in Cuba, ultimately leading the United States to declare war on Spain.

In 1961, the U.S. figure skating team was killed in a plane crash in Belgium.

In 1972, sound recordings were granted U.S. federal copyright protection.

In 2001, the first draft of the complete human genome was published in the scientific journal Nature.

In 2013, a meteor exploded over Chelyabinsk Oblast in Russia, injuring 1,500 people and damaging 7,200 buildings in six cities.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), scientist; Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906), activist; Ernest Shackleton (1874-1922), explorer; Harold Arlen (1905-1986), songwriter; Jane Seymour (1951- ), actress; Matt Groening (1954- ), animator/screenwriter; Chris Farley (1964-1997), actor/comedian; Jaromir Jagr (1972- ), hockey player; Amber Riley (1986- ), singer/actress; Zachary Gordon (1998- ), actor.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1998, after 19 losses, Dale Earnhardt Sr. won his first and only Daytona 500.

TODAY'S FACT: "The Simpsons," created by Matt Groening and currently in its 26th season, is the longest-running American sitcom.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Cautious, careful people, always casting about to preserve their reputation and social standing, never can bring about a reform. Those who are really in earnest must be willing to be anything or nothing in the world's estimation." -- Susan B. Anthony

TODAY'S NUMBER: 12,750 -- total length, in miles, of sidewalks in New York City.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (Feb. 11) and new moon (Feb. 18).

Today is the 45th day of 2015 and the 56th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1779, British explorer James Cook was killed on the island of Hawaii.

In 1859, Oregon was admitted as the 33rd U.S. state

In 1912, Arizona was admitted as the 48th U.S. state.

In 1929, seven mob associates were shot and killed in a Chicago garage in the St. Valentine's Day Massacre.

In 2003, Dolly the sheep, the first mammal cloned from an adult cell, was euthanized at the age of 6.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Jack Benny (1894-1974), actor/comedian; Mel Allen (1913-1996), sports broadcaster; Herbert Hauptman (1917-2011), mathematician; Florence Henderson (1934- ), actress; Michael Bloomberg (1942- ), business magnate/politician; Gregory Hines (1946-2003), dancer/actor; Jim Kelly (1960- ), football player; Meg Tilly (1960- ), actress; Simon Pegg (1970- ), actor; Rob Thomas (1972- ), singer-songwriter; Steve McNair (1973-2009), football player; Freddie Highmore (1994- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: The U.S. Congress approved the use of voting machines in federal elections on this day in 1899.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1988, Bobby Allison became the oldest driver (age 50) to win the Daytona 500, while his son Davey finished second. It was the race's first 1-2 father-son finish.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "We are never more creative than when we are at odds with the world and there is nothing so artistically destructive as comfort." -- Simon Pegg

TODAY'S NUMBER: $5 -- Hall of Fame baseball broadcaster Mel Allen's per-game salary when he became the New York Yankees' radio announcer in 1935.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (Feb. 11) and new moon (Feb. 18).