Today in History and Celebrity Birthdays

Celebrity Birthdays for Dec. 24: Dr. Anthony Fauci is 84. Recording company executive Mike Curb is 80. Comedian Steve Smith ("Red Green Show") is 79. Guitarist Jan Akkerman is 78. Actor Grand L. Bush is 69.

Today in Music History for Dec. 24: In 1818, the Christmas carol "Silent Night" was performed for the first time, at the Church of St. Nikolaus in Oberndorf, Austria.

Today in History for Dec. 24: In 1524, Vasco da Gama, the Portuguese navigator who found the sea route from Europe to the East, died in Cochin, India.

Celebrity Birthdays for Dec. 23: Actor Ronnie Schell ("Gomer Pyle, USMC") is 93. Emperor Akihito of Japan is 91. Guitarist Jorma Kaukonen (Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna) is 84. Actor-comedian Harry Shearer ("This Is Spinal Tap", "The Simpsons") is 81.

Today in History for Dec. 23: In 1771, Mother Marie Marguerite D'Youville, the founder of the Grey Nuns or Sisters of Charity, died in Montreal.

Today in Music History for Dec. 23: In 1893, the Engelbert Humperdinck opera "Haensel und Gretel" was first performed, in Weimar, Germany. In 1935, singer Little Esther Phillips was born in Galveston, Texas.

Celebrity Birthdays for Dec. 22: Actor Hector Elizondo is 88. Country singer Red Steagall is 86. Former Quebec premier Lucien Bouchard is 86. Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Steve Carlton is 80. Former TV news anchor Diane Sawyer is 79.

Today in History for Dec. 22: In 1216, Pope Honorius III officially approved the Order of Preachers (Dominicans), founded in the same year by St. Dominic.

Today in Music History for Dec. 22: In 1808, Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67, and Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68, also known as the "Pastoral Symphony," had their world premieres in Vienna, Austria.

Celebrity Birthdays for Dec. 21: Former governor-general Edward Schreyer is 89. Actress Jane Fonda is 87. Actor Larry Bryggman is 86. Singer Carla Thomas is 82. Guitarist Albert Lee is 81. Conductor Michael Tilson Thomas is 80.