Today in History and Celebrity Birthdays

Today in History for Aug. 20: On this date: In 1691, Henry Kelsey of the Hudson's Bay Co. was the first white man to see what is now Saskatchewan. Kelsey was an explorer whose exact route into the Prairies is not known.

Today in History for Aug. 18: On this date: In 1227, Mongol emperor Genghis Khan died. He became one of the most significant and successful military leaders in history.

Today in Music History for Aug.

Today in History for Aug. 17: On this date: In 1502, Christopher Columbus took possession of what is now Honduras in the name of Spain. In 1761, William Carey, pioneer English missionary to India, was born.

Today in Music History for Aug. 23: In 1912, singer-dancer-director Gene Kelly was born in Pittsburgh. He first gained fame in 1941 in the Broadway musical "Pal Joey." The following year he starred in the film "For Me and My Gal" with Judy Garland.

Today in Music History for Aug. 20: In 1920, the first commercial radio station in the United States, 8-MK in Detroit, began daily broadcasting. The station later became WWJ.

Today in Music History for Aug. 22: In 1741, George Frederic Handel began composing "The Messiah." He finished the work on Sept. 14. In 1831, William Cummings, a leading English musicologist, was born.

Today in History for Aug. 19: On this date: In 1099, the armies of the First Crusade defeated the Saracens at the "Battle of Ascalon," a historic Palestinian city on the Mediterranean coast, one month after they had captured Jerusalem.

Celebrity birthdays for Aug. 8: Actress Nita Talbot is 95. Actor Dustin Hoffman is 88. Actress Connie Stevens is 87. Country singer Phil Balsley of The Statler Brothers is 86. Actor Larry Wilcox ("CHiPS") is 78.

Today in History for Aug. 8: On this date: In 1471, Thomas Kempis, Dutch mystic and devotional author, died at age 91. His book "The Imitation of Christ" remains in print, a guide to cultivating the inner human spirit.