Today is the 31st day of 2023 and the 42nd day of winter. TODAY’S HISTORY: In 1606, Guy Fawkes was executed for his role in the Gunpowder Plot in Britain.

In 1958, Explorer 1 was launched, marking the first successful launch of an American satellite into orbit. In 1968, the North Vietnamese Tet Offensive began in South Vietnam. In 2010, James Cameron’s “Avatar” became the first film to reach a worldwide

In 2020, the United Kingdom’s membership in the European Union ended. TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Franz Schubert (1797-1828), composer; John O’Hara (1905-1970), author; Jackie Robinson (1919-1972), baseball player/civil rights activist; Carol Channing (19212019), actress; Norman Mailer (1923-2007), author/ journalist; Ernie Banks (1931-2015), baseball player; Jessica Walter (1941-2021), actress; Nolan Ryan (1947- ), baseball player; Minnie Driver (1970), actress; Kerry Washington (1977- ), actress; Justin Timberlake (1981- ), singer- songwriter; Marcus Mumford

(1987-

),

singer-songwriter.

TODAY’S FACT: After retiring from baseball, Jackie Robinson became the vice president of personnel for coffee brand Chock Full o’Nuts, where he worked to improve the conditions of a workforce with a large percentage of Black employees. TODAY’S SPORTS: In 1999, Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway won his second consecutive Super Bowl and the final game of his NFL playing career, leading the Denver Broncos to a 34-19 victory over the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl XXXIII. Elway was also selected as the game’s MVP. TODAY’S QUOTE: “George Gershwin died on July 11, 1937, but I don’t have to believe it if I don’t want to.” -- John O’Hara TODAY’S NUMBER: $22.54 -- amount of the first Social Security check, issued on this day in 1940 to Ida May Fuller, who lived on a Vermont farm. Having worked less than three years under Social Security, she paid only $24.75 into the system, but she had collected $22,888.92 by the time of her death in 1975. TODAY’S MOON: Between first quarter moon (Jan. 28) and full moon (Feb. 5).