Today in History and Celebrity Birthdays

Celebrity Birthdays for April 26: Actress-comedian Carol Burnett is 91. Guitarist-songwriter Duane Eddy is 86. Singer Maurice Williams of Maurice and the Zodiacs is 86. Record producer/songwriter Giorgio Moroder is 84.

Today in Music History for April 26: In 1886, pioneer blues singer Gertrude "Ma" Rainey was born in Columbus, Ga., During her heyday in the 1920s, she was billed as the "Mother of the Blues" and served as a model for the more famous Bessie Smith.

Today in History for April 26: In 322, St. Basil was martyred by torture and beheading after he sheltered a young Christian woman named Glaphiga from the clutches of Roman Emperor Lucinius. In 387, St.

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).

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.

Celebrity Birthdays for April 25: Actor Al Pacino is 84. Singer Michael Kennedy (born Michael Kogel) (Los Bravos) is 80. Bassist Stu Cook of Creedence Clearwater Revisited is 79. Singer Bjorn Ulvaeus of ABBA is 79. Actress Talia Shire is 79.

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 24: Actress Shirley MacLaine is 90. Actress-singer-director Barbra Streisand is 82. Country singer Richard Sterban of the Oak Ridge Boys is 81. Drummer Doug Clifford (Creedence Clearwater Revival) is 79.

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.

Celebrity Birthdays for April 23: Actor Alan Oppenheimer is 94. Actor Lee Majors ("Six Million Dollar Man") is 85. Actress Blair Brown is 78. Actress Joyce DeWitt ("Three's Company") is 75. Writer-director Paul Brickman is 75.