Today in History and Celebrity Birthdays

Celebrity Birthdays for May 16: Jazz drummer Billy Cobham is 81. Actor Danny Trejo is 81. Rock guitarist and composer Robert Fripp, founder of King Crimson, is 79. Actor Bill Smitrovich is 78. Rock singer-songwriter Jonathan Richman is 74.

Celebrity Birthdays for May 15: Actress-singer Anna Maria Alberghetti is 89. Counterculture icon Wavy Gravy is 89. Actress-singer Lainie Kazan is 85. Actress Gunilla Hutton ("Petticoat Junction," ''Hee Haw") is 83.

Today in Music History for May 15: In 1918, country crooner Eddy Arnold was born at a farm near Henderson, Tenn.

Today in History for May 15: In 1248, Archbishop Konrad von Hochstaden laid the cornerstone for a cathedral in Cologne, Germany.

Celebrity Birthdays for May 14: Photo-realist artist Richard Estes is 93. Actress Dame Sian Phillips is 92. Movie director-producer George Lucas is 81. Singer-actress Catherine McKinnon is 81.

Today in History for May 14: In 347, St. Pachomius, who was born in Egypt and founded the first monastery, died. In 1565, German Protestant reform theologian Nicolaus von Amsdorf died.

Today in Music History for May 14: In 1936, singer Bobby Darin, whose real name was Walden Robert Cassotto, was born in New York City. Darin's big break came in 1958 when he wrote and recorded "Splish Splash," which reached No. 3 on the U.S.

Celebrity Birthdays for May 13: Actor Buck Taylor ("Gunsmoke," ''Gods and Generals") is 87. Actor Harvey Keitel is 86. (Magic) Dick Salwitz, harmonica player with the J. Geils Band, is 80. Author Charles Baxter is 78.

Today in History for is May 13: In 1110, Crusaders captured Beirut, causing a bloodbath. In 1607, the English colony at Jamestown, Va., was settled. In 1881, a revised New Testament went on sale. By day's end, 800,000 copies had been sold.

Today in Music History for May 13: In 1919, the first Manitoba Music Competition Festival opened in Winnipeg. About 2,500 performers took part in the first festival, sponsored by the Men's Musical Club.