TODAY’S HISTORY

1861: Kansas was admitted as the 34th U.S. state.

1891: Queen Liliuokalani inherited the throne from her brother, Kalakaua, becoming the last monarch of the Hawaiian Islands. 2002: President

George W. Bush described Iran, Iraq and North Korea as part of an “axis of evil” in his State of the Union address.

2009: Then-illinois

Gov. Rod Blagojevich was convicted on charges of corruption and removed from office.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS:

Thomas Paine (17371809), patriot/ philosopher; William Mckinley (1843-1901), 25th U.S. president; Anton Chekhov (1860-1904), author; W.C. Fields (18801946), actor/comedian; Edward Abbey (1927-1989), environmentalist/author; Tom Selleck (1945-), actor; Oprah Winfrey (1954-), TV personality; Edward Burns (1968-), actor/director; Heather Graham (1970-), actress; Paul Ryan (1970-), politician; Sara Gilbert (1975-), actress; Adam Lambert (1982-), singer.

TODAY’S FACT: Edgar Allan Poe’s famous poem “The Raven” was first published in the New York Evening Mirror on this day in 1845.

TODAY’S SPORTS: In 1995, the San Francisco 49ers defeated the San Diego Chargers 49-26 in Super Bowl XXIX, becoming the first NFL team to win five Super Bowls.

TODAY’S QUOTE: “I don’t think of myself as a poor, deprived ghetto girl who made good. I think of myself as somebody who from an early age knew I was responsible for myself, and I had to make good.” — Oprah Winfrey

TODAY’S NUMBER: 6 — record number of Super Bowl wins for a franchise, held by the Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots.

TODAY’S MOON: Between full moon (Jan. 28) and last quarter moon (Feb. 4).