Today in History and Celebrity Birthdays

Today in History for Jan. 5: In A.D. 459, St. Simeon Stylites, who, according to legend, lived at the top of an 18-metre pillar in the Syrian desert non-stop for 36 years, died on it.

Today in Music History for Jan. 4: In 1936, Billboard magazine published the first pop music chart based on record sales. The chart, a listing of the 10 most popular records, became a weekly feature in 1940.

Today in History for Jan. 4: In 1493, Columbus sailed for Spain from the New World on his ship, the "Nina.' In 1581, James Ussher, archbishop of Armagh, was born in Dublin, Ireland. He published a chronology which dated creation from 4004 BC.

Celebrity Birthdays for Jan. 4: Actress Barbara Rush ("Peyton Place") is 97. Actress Dyan Cannon is 87. British jazz-rock guitarist John McLaughlin is 82. Country singer Kathy Forester of the Forester Sisters is 69.

Celebrity Birthdays for Jan. 3: Actor Dabney Coleman is 92. Singer-songwriter Van Dyke Parks is 81. Singer Stephen Stills is 79. Bassist John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin is 78. Actress Victoria Principal is 74. Actor-director Mel Gibson is 68.

Today in History for Jan. 3: In 1661, female actors appeared on an English stage for the first time. In 1777, the United States adopted the Stars and Stripes as its official flag.

Today in Music History for Jan. 3: In 1917, Leon McAuliffe, one of the first country musicians to use an electric steel guitar, was born in Houston.

Celebrity Birthdays for Jan 2: Country singer Dick Feller (a.k.a. Deena Kaye Rose) is 81. Chick Churchill, organist with Ten Years After, is 78. TV host Jack Hanna ("Jack Hanna's Into the Wild") is 77. Actress Wendy Phillips is 72.

Today in Music History for Jan. 2: In 1900, a company set up by Emile Berliner, inventor of the gramophone, began manufacturing seven-inch, single-sided records at a plant in Montreal.

Today in History for Jan. 2: In 1492, King Ferdinand of Aragon and Queen Isabella of Castile ended Muslim rule in Spain by conquering Granada, the last Muslim stronghold in the country.