Today in History and Celebrity Birthdays

Celebrity Birthdays for Jan. 3: Singer-songwriter Van Dyke Parks is 82. Singer Stephen Stills is 80. Bassist John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin is 79. Actress Victoria Principal is 75. Actor-director Mel Gibson is 69. Actress Shannon Sturges is 57.

Today in History for Jan. 3: In 1661, female actors appeared on an English stage for the first time. In 1777, the United States adopted the Stars and Stripes as its official flag.

Today in Music History for Jan. 3: In 1917, Leon McAuliffe, one of the first country musicians to use an electric steel guitar, was born in Houston.

Celebrity Birthdays for Jan 2: Country singer Dick Feller (a.k.a. Deena Kaye Rose) is 82. Chick Churchill, organist with Ten Years After, is 79. TV host Jack Hanna ("Jack Hanna's Into the Wild") is 78. Actress Wendy Phillips is 73.

Today in History for Jan. 2: In 1492, King Ferdinand of Aragon and Queen Isabella of Castile ended Muslim rule in Spain by conquering Granada, the last Muslim stronghold in the country.

Today in Music History for Jan. 2: In 1900, a company set up by Emile Berliner, inventor of the gramophone, began manufacturing seven-inch, single-sided records at a plant in Montreal.

Celebrity Birthdays for Jan. 1: Documentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman is 95. Jazz guitarist Sonny Greenwich is 89. Actor Frank Langella is 87. Singer-guitarist Country Joe McDonald of Country Joe and the Fish is 83.

Today in History for Jan. 1: In 1622, the Roman Catholic church adopted Jan. 1 as the beginning of the year, rather than March 25. In 1653, Newfoundland's Coat of Arms was granted by King Charles I.

Today in Music History for Jan. 1: In 1936, jazz guitarist Sonny Greenwich was born in Hamilton, Ont. Influenced by tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins, Greenwich developed a unique saxophone-like tone on the guitar.

Celebrity Birthdays for Dec. 31: TV producer George Schlatter is 95. Actor Sir Anthony Hopkins is 87. Actress Sarah Miles is 83. Guitarist Andy Summers of The Police is 82. Actor Sir Ben Kingsley is 81. Producer-director Taylor Hackford is 80.