Today in History and Celebrity Birthdays

Celebrity Birthdays for Sept. 3: Actress Pauline Collins is 84. Singer-guitarist Al Jardine of The Beach Boys is 82. Actress Valerie Perrine is 81. George Biondo, bass guitarist with Steppenwolf, is 79.

Today in History for Sept. 3: In 590, St. Gregory the Great was consecrated the 64th Catholic pope, ruling 14 years. His administration took responsibility for converting the Anglo-Saxon tribes in England, chiefly through the work of St.

Today in Music History for Sept. 3: In 1915, blues singer and pianist Memphis Slim was born Peter Chatman in the city from which he took his stage name. Memphis Slim was one of the first American bluesmen to move to Europe and become a star there.

Celebrity Birthdays for Sept. 2: Jazz saxophonist Lee Gagnon is 90. Former baseball commissioner Peter Ueberroth is 87. Singer Jimmy Clanton is 86. Singer Rosalind Ashford of Martha and the Vandellas is 81.

Today in History for Sept. 2: On this date: In 1666, "The Great Fire" of London started in a wooden house on Pudding Lane.

Today in Music History for Sept. 2: In 1651, Martin Boutet was appointed director of the children's choir in the parish church at Quebec City. He was the first choirmaster in the new colony.

Celebrity Birthdays for Sept. 1: Attorney and law professor Alan Dershowitz is 86. Comedian-actress Lily Tomlin is 85. Actor Don Stroud is 81. Singer Archie Bell of Archie Bell and the Drells is 80. Conductor Leonard Slatkin is 80.

Today in History for Sept. 1: On this date: In 1159, the only English pope in history, Adrian (or Hadrian) IV, died. In 1422, Henry VI, an infant, became King of England on the death of his father, Henry V.

Today in Music History for Sept. 1: In 1933, country singer Conway Twitty was born Harold Lloyd Jenkins in Friars Point, Miss. He took his stage name from the towns of Conway, Ark. and Twitty, Texas.

Celebrity Birthdays for Aug. 31: Actor Jack Thompson is 84. Singer Van Morrison is 79. Violinist Itzhak Perlman is 79. Guitarist Rudolf Schenker of Scorpions is 76. Actor Richard Gere is 75.