Today in History and Celebrity Birthdays

Today in Music History for Oct. 30: In 1908, Patsy Montana, the first woman in country music to have a million-selling record, was born in Hot Springs, Ark. She accomplished the feat with her 1935 recording of "I Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart.

Today in History for Oct. 30: On this date: In 1536, Denmark adopted Lutheranism as its official state religion. In 1768, the first Methodist chapel in the New World was dedicated in New York City.

Celebrity Birthdays for Oct. 29: Singer-actress Melba Moore is 84. Actor Richard Dreyfuss is 77. Actress Kate Jackson is 76. Hockey Hall of Fame defenceman Denis Potvin is 71. Musician Roger O'Donnell (The Cure, The Psychedelic Furs) is 69.

Today in Music History for Oct. 29: In 1787, Mozart's opera "Don Giovanni" premiered at the Tyl Theatre in Prague.

Today in History for Oct. 29: On this date: In 1618, Sir Walter Raleigh was executed in London on charges of treason against King James I.

Celebrity Birthdays for Oct. 28: Jazz singer Cleo Laine is 97. Actress Joan Plowright is 95. Player/coach Basketball Hall-of-Famer Lenny Wilkens is 87. Actress Jane Alexander is 85. TV writer and producer Susan Harris is 84.

Today in Music History for Oct. 28: In 1820, John H. Hopkins, the author and composer of the Christmas hymn "We Three Kings of Orient Are," was born. In 1936, country-rock musician and bandleader Charlie Daniels was born in Wilmington, N.C.

Today in History for Oct.

Celebrity Birthdays for Oct. 27: Quebec singer-songwriter Gilles Vigneault is 96. Actor-comedian John Cleese is 85. Author Maxine Hong Kingston is 84. Country singer Lee Greenwood is 82. Actor-singer Tom Jackson is 76.

Today in Music History for Oct. 27: In 1782, Niccolo Paganini, the Italian violinist whose virtuosity became a legend, was born in Genoa. He died in 1840 of cancer of the larynx.