Today in History and Celebrity Birthdays

Celebrity birthdays for Aug. 14: Broadway lyricist Lee Adams ("Bye Bye Birdie") is 100. Singer Dash Crofts of Seals and Crofts is 84. Country singer Connie Smith is 83. Actor-comedian Steve Martin is 79.

Celebrity birthdays for Aug. 12: Billionaire investor George Soros is 94. Actor George Hamilton is 85. Former Saskatchewan premier Roy Romanow is 85. Actress Jennifer Warren is 83. Actress Dana Ivey is 83.

Today in Music History for Aug. 18: In 1893, Canadian conductor and composer Sir Ernest MacMillan was born in Mimico, Ont., now part of Toronto.

Today in Music History for Aug. 19: In 1912, Jimmie Shields, one of the most popular Irish tenors in Canada during the 1930s, was born in St. Catharines, Ont. He rose to further fame in the U.S.

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 Music History for Aug. 21: In 1866, Civilla D. Martin, teacher and songwriter, was born in Nova Scotia. A pastor’s wife, she penned in 1904 the hymn, "Be Not Dismayed, Whate’er Betide" (a.k.a. "God Will Take Care of You"). She died in 1948.

Today in Music History for Aug. 24: In 1841, cellist Henri Billet, who may well have been the first Russian musician to visit Canada, appeared at the Theatre royal in Quebec City.

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. 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 History for Aug. 22: On this date: In 1485, King Richard III of England was killed at the "Battle of Bosworth," ending the Wars of the Roses. Henry Tudor succeeded Richard to become King Henry VII.