Today in History and Celebrity Birthdays

Today in History for May 23: In 1275, King Edward I of England ordered the cessation of the persecution of French Jews. In 1430, Joan of Arc was captured by the Burgundians, who sold her to the English.

Today in History for May 19: In 804, the English medieval scholar Alcuin of York died. As an educator, he made beauty, goodness and truth the hallmarks of Charlemagne's Frankish empire.

Today in History for May 21: In 427 B.C., philosopher Plato was born. In 1471, King Henry VI of England was executed during the "Wars of the Roses." Henry of the House of Lancaster, the only child of Henry V and Catherine of Valois, was born Dec.

Today in Music History for May 18: In 1911, Big Joe Turner, one of the forefathers of rock 'n' roll, was born in Kansas City.

Today in Music History for May 20: In 1927, the Canadian Folk Song and Handicraft Festival opened in Quebec City.

Today in Music History for May 21: In 1738, Charles Wesley was converted to evangelical Christianity, becoming a co-founder of Methodism. He wrote hundreds of hymns such as "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.

Today in Music History for May 22: In 1813, composer Richard Wagner was born in Leipzig, Germany. In 1836, Felix Mendelssohn's oratorio "St. Paul (Paulus)" was first performed in Dusseldorf at the Lower Rhine Festival to great enthusiasm.

Today in Music History for May 19: In 1866, "When You and I Were Young, Maggie," which became one of the most popular ballads in North America, was published in Indianapolis, Ind., by James A. Butterfield. The song was based on a poem written by G.W.

Today in History for May 24: In 1543, astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus died in Frombork, Poland. He proposed the heliocentric, or sun-centred, system whereby the planets orbit around the sun. He was born Feb. 19, 1473, in Torum, Poland.

Today in History for May 20: In 325, the first Christian ecumenical council opened at Nicea in Asia Minor. The doctrine of Jesus Christ's divinity was formally affirmed for the first time by the council.