Today in History and Celebrity Birthdays

Today in Music History for Feb. 6: In 1945, Bob Marley, the first superstar of reggae music, was born in Rhoden Hall, Jamaica.

Today in Music History for Feb. 7: In 1944, the first Canadian Kiwanis Music Festival opened at the Eaton Auditorium in Toronto. There were about 7,000 competitors. One of the winners was a 10-year-old pianist -- Glenn Gould.

Today in Music History for Feb. 5: In 1887, Verdi's opera ``Otello'' premiered at the La Scala opera house. In 1940, Glenn Miller and his orchestra recorded ``Tuxedo Junction'' for RCA Victor's Bluebird label.

Today in Music History for Feb. 10: In 1939, singer Roberta Flack was born in Asheville, N.C. She had a half-dozen ballad hits in the 1970s, including three No.

Today in Music History for Jan. 26: In 1859, the Victoria Philharmonic Society was founded. It was the first amateur musical organization in what now is British Columbia.

Celebrity Birthdays for Jan. 26: Cartoonist Jules Feiffer is 95. Sports announcer-actor Bob Uecker is 90. Actor Scott Glenn is 85. Activist Angela Davis is 80. Actor Richard Portnow (``Trumbo,'' ''The Sopranos``) is 77.

Today in History for Jan. 26: In 1500, the mouth of the Amazon River in South America was discovered by Vicente Yanez Pinzon, a veteran of Christopher Columbus' first voyage to the New World.

Celebrity Birthdays for Jan. 25: Actress Leigh Taylor-Young (``Peyton Place,'' ''Soylent Green``) is 79. Larry Good, of the Canadian country group the Good Brothers, is 72. Andy Cox, guitarist with The Beat and Fine Young Cannibals, is 68.

Today in Music History for Jan. 25: In 1899, (Sleepy) John Estes, an important early bluesman, was born in Ripley, Tenn. He played on the streets of Memphis in the 1920s, supporting himself by working the night shift at a trainyard.

Today in History for Jan. 25: In AD 749, Emperor Leo IV of Byzantium was born. He led the Eastern Christian Church away from iconoclasm and towards a restoration of icons.