Today in History and Celebrity Birthdays

Celebrity Birthdays for July 23: Actor Ronny Cox is 86. Andy Mackay, horn player with Roxy Music, is 78. Actor Larry Manetti ("Magnum, P.I.") is 77. Singer David Essex is 77. Singer-songwriter and former U.S. Congressman John Hall (Orleans) is 76.

Celebrity Birthdays for July 25: Singer-guitarist Bruce Woodley of The Seekers is 82. Drummer Jim McCarty of The Yardbirds is 81. Bassist Verdine White of Earth, Wind and Fire is 73. Supermodel Iman is 69. Cartoonist Ray Billingsley ("Curtis") is 67.

Celebrity Birthdays for July 22: Author Tom Robbins is 92. Actor Terence Stamp is 86. Singer George Clinton is 83. Hall of Fame jockey Ron Turcotte, best known as the rider of Secretariat, winner of the U-S Triple Crown in 1973, is 83.

Celebrity Birthdays for July 21: Austrian-born Canadian pianist-composer Anton Kuerti is 86. Actor Leigh Lawson ("Tess") is 79. Singer Yusuf Islam (formerly Cat Stevens) is 76. Cartoonist Garry Trudeau ("Doonesbury") is 76.

Celebrity Birthdays for July 26: Actor Robert Colbert is 93. Singer Darlene Love is 83. Singer Brenton Wood is 83. Singer Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones is 81. Movie director Peter Hyams is 81. Actress Dame Helen Mirren is 79.

Today in History for July 30: On this date: In 1609, at Ticonderoga, French explorer Samuel de Champlain became the first European to use firearms against natives.

Today in History for Aug. 3: On this date: In 1460, King James II of Scotland died in a cannon explosion.

Today in History for July 29: On this date: In 1588, the Spanish Armada was defeated in the English Channel by the British, led by Sir Francis Drake.

Today in Music History for Aug. 1: In 1927, one of country music's most influential groups, "The Carter Family," made their first recordings for Victor Records at a makeshift studio in Bristol, Tenn.

Today in Music History for July 30: In 1792, the French national anthem "La Marseillaise," by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle, was first sung in Paris. In 1941, singer-songwriter Paul Anka was born in Ottawa.