Today in History and Celebrity Birthdays

Today in Music History for Dec. 19: In 1808, Horatius Bonar, Scottish clergyman, poet and hymn writer, was born. He authored several missionary biographies and penned over 600 hymns, including "I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say.

Today in Music History for Dec. 22: In 1808, Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67, and Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68, also known as the "Pastoral Symphony," had their world premieres in Vienna, Austria.

Today in Music History for Dec. 21: In 1672, Benjamin Schmolck, German Lutheran clergyman and prolific hymn writer, was born. Though a busy pastor, he found time to pen 900 hymns, the best remembered of them being "My Jesus, As Thou Wilt.

Today in Music History for Dec. 18: In 1707, English hymn writer Charles Wesley was born. He wrote more than 6,500 hymns, including "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.

Today in Music History for Dec. 17: In 1857, the Sacred Harmonic Choir, conducted by John Carter, performed Handel's Messiah in Toronto. It is thought to have been the first complete oratorio presented in Upper Canada.

Today in Music History for Dec. 20: In 1944, drummer Bobby Colomby of the big band rock group "Blood, Sweat and Tears" was born.

Today in Music History for Dec. 23: In 1893, the Engelbert Humperdinck opera "Haensel und Gretel" was first performed, in Weimar, Germany. In 1935, singer Little Esther Phillips was born in Galveston, Texas.

Celebrity Birthdays for Dec. 8: Flutist James Galway is 84. Singer Jerry Butler is 84. Drummer Bobby Elliott of The Hollies is 82. Actress Mary Woronov is 80. Singer-songwriter Bertie Higgins is 79.

Today in History for Dec. 8: In 1694, a French Jesuit missionary in Canada, Noel Chabanel, was murdered by a renegade Huron. He was one of the group known as the Jesuit Martyrs of North America canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1930.

Today in Music History for Dec. 8: In 1865, Finnish composer Jan Sibelius was born. A romantic composer, his works express an intense, mystical love of nature. Sibelius is best known for his orchestral works, such as "Finlandia.