Today is the 48th day of 2015 and the 59th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1801, the U.S. House of Representatives resolved an electoral tie by electing Thomas Jefferson president and his opponent, Aaron Burr, vice president.

In 1933, the Blaine Act initiated the repeal of Prohibition in the United States.

In 1974, a disgruntled U.S. Army private stole an Army helicopter at Fort Meade in Maryland and landed it on the White House lawn.

In 1996, world chess champion Garry Kasparov defeated the IBM supercomputer Deep Blue in the last game of a six-game match in Philadelphia, winning the overall series by a final score of 4-2.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Hans Morgenthau (1904-1980), political scientist; Red Barber (1908-1992), sportscaster; Hal Holbrook (1925- ), actor; Jim Brown (1936- ), football player; Rene Russo (1954- ), actress; Larry the Cable Guy (1963- ), comedian; Michael Jordan (1963- ), basketball player; Michael Bay (1965- ), filmmaker; Denise Richards (1971- ), actress; Billie Joe Armstrong (1972- ), musician; Joseph Gordon-Levitt (1981- ), actor; Paris Hilton (1981- ), socialite.

TODAY'S FACT: The House of Representatives conducted 36 votes (one tie, 35 indecisive) before Thomas Jefferson was chosen as president over Aaron Burr.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1943, Joe DiMaggio of the New York Yankees enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Force. He was released on medical discharge in September 1945 due to chronic stomach ulcers.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Politics is an art and not a science, and what is required for its mastery is not the rationality of the engineer but the wisdom and the moral strength of the statesman." -- Hans Morgenthau, "Scientific Man Vs. Power Politics"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 29 million -- certified album sales for "Eagles: Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975" (released on this date in 1976), the first album certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.

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

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).