Today in History and Celebrity Birthdays

Today in Music History for May 8: In 1929, Metropolitan opera tenor Edward Johnson sang on the final evening of the first music festival held in his hometown of Guelph, Ont.

Today in History for May 5: In 614, Persians seized Jerusalem and captured the True Holy Cross that St. Helena had placed there after finding it. It would be years before the Christians would recapture it.

Today in History for May 9: In 1092, England's Lincoln Cathedral was consecrated. In 1265, the Italian poet Dante Alighieri, author of the Divine Comedy, was born.

Celebrity Birthdays for April 25: Actor Al Pacino is 85. Singer Michael Kennedy (born Michael Kogel) (Los Bravos) is 81. Bassist Stu Cook of Creedence Clearwater Revisited is 80. Singer Bjorn Ulvaeus of ABBA is 80. Actress Talia Shire is 80.

Today in History for April 25: In 912, Venice was founded and its main square named after St. Mark to honour his feast day. In 1214, Louis IX, king of France and saint, was born.

Today in Music History for April 25: In 1800, English poet and hymn writer William Cowper died. He wrote such enduring hymns as "God Moves in Mysterious Ways" (1774) and "There is a Fountain Filled With Blood" (1771).

Celebrity Birthdays for April 24: Actress Shirley MacLaine is 91. Actress-singer-director Barbra Streisand is 83. Country singer Richard Sterban of the Oak Ridge Boys is 82. Drummer Doug Clifford (Creedence Clearwater Revival) is 80.

Today in Music History for April 24: In 1792, the French national anthem "La Marseillaise" was composed by Claude-Joseph Rouget de Lisle. In 1897, the first "Halifax Symphony Orchestra" gave its inaugural concert at the Academy of Music.

Today in History for April 24: In 1626, French explorer Samuel de Champlain sailed from Dieppe on his 11th voyage to Canada. In 1800, the U.S. Library of Congress was established in Washington, D.C.

Celebrity Birthdays for April 23: Actor Alan Oppenheimer is 95. Actor Lee Majors ("Six Million Dollar Man") is 86. Actress Blair Brown is 79. Actress Joyce DeWitt ("Three's Company") is 76. Writer-director Paul Brickman is 76.