Today in History and Celebrity Birthdays

Celebrity Birthdays for Dec. 7: Academic and activist Noam Chomsky is 95. Actress Ellen Burstyn is 91. Soprano Heather Thomson is 83. Hockey Hall of Fame goalie Gerry Cheevers is 83. Broadcast journalist Carole Simpson is 82.

Celebrity Birthdays for Dec. 3: Singer Jaye P. Morgan ("The Gong Show") is 92. British singer and actor Paul Nicholas is 79. Rock singer Ozzy Osbourne is 75. Singer Mickey Thomas of Jefferson Starship is 74. Don Barnes, of the Florida rock band .

Celebrity Birthdays for Dec. 9: Country singer-songwriter Billy Edd Wheeler is 91. Actress Dame Judi Dench is 89. Singer Sammy Strain (Little Anthony and the Imperials, The O'Jays) is 84. Actor Beau Bridges is 82. Actor Michael Nouri is 78.

Celebrity Birthdays for Dec. 4: Hockey Hall of Fame centre Alex Delvecchio is 92. Game show host Wink Martindale is 90. Singer Freddy (Boom Boom) Cannon is 87. Actor-producer-director Max Baer Jr. ("The Beverly Hillbillies") is 86.

Celebrity Birthdays for Dec. 5: Author Calvin Trillin is 88. Actor Jeroen Krabbe ("The Fugitive") is 79. Opera singer Jose Carreras is 77. Singer-songwriter Andy Kim (born Andrew Youakim, also known as Baron Longfellow) is 77.

Today in History for Dec. 10: On this date: In 1520, in Wittenberg, northeast of Leipzig in present-day eastern Germany, religious reformer Martin Luther publicly burned the papal edict demanding that he recant or face excommunication.

Today in History for Dec. 11: On this date: In 1792, France's King Louis XVI went before the Convention to face charges of treason. (Louis was convicted, and executed the following month.) In 1813, Newark, Ont.

Today in History for Dec. 15: On this date: In 1791, the U.S. Bill of Rights went into effect, following ratification by Virginia. In 1890, Chief Sitting Bull, whose Sioux forces had wiped out Gen.

Today in Music History for Dec. 12: In 1792, 22-year-old Ludwig van Beethoven paid the equivalent of 19 cents for his first lesson in music composition from Franz Joseph Haydn in Vienna.

Today in Music History for Dec. 13: In 1835, Phillips Brooks, American Episcopal clergyman and hymn writer, was born.