Today in History and Celebrity Birthdays

Celebrity Birthdays for Nov. 21: Actor Laurence Luckinbill is 89. Actress Marlo Thomas is 86. Actor Rick Lenz is 84. Actress Juliet Mills ("Passions," ''Nanny and the Professor") is 82. Songwriter David Porter ("Soul Man") is 82.

Today in History for Nov. 21: In 1766, the first theatre in the U.S. -- the "Southfork" -- opened in Philadelphia. In 1783, the first free flight was made by two men who rose 100 metres above Paris in a hot-air balloon.

Today in Music History for Nov. 21: In 1877, Thomas Edison announced he invented a "talking machine" -- something that became known as the phonograph. In 1941, songwriter David Porter was born in Memphis.

Celebrity Birthdays for Nov. 20: Actress Estelle Parsons is 96. Author Don DeLillo is 87. Comedian Dick Smothers is 85. Tony Butala of the pop vocal group The Lettermen is 85. Singer Norman Greenbaum is 81. US President Joe Biden is 81.

Today in History for Nov. 20: In 1789, New Jersey became the first state to ratify the U.S. Bill of Rights. In 1841, Wilfrid Laurier, Canada's seventh prime minister, was born.

Today in Music History for Nov. 20: In 1886, the Toronto Conservatory of Music was incorporated. It began with 200 students and 50 teachers, and operated in a space over a music store in the downtown area.

Celebrity Birthdays for Nov. 19: Talk show host Dick Cavett is 87. Media mogul Ted Turner is 85. Songwriter and producer Jerry Fuller is 85. Fashion designer Calvin Klein is 81.

Today in History for Nov. 19: In 1794, the United States and Britain signed the "Jay Treaty" concerning trade boundaries and commerce.

Today in Music History for Nov. 19: In 1954, entertainer Sammy Davis Jr. was seriously injured in a car crash while en route to a Los Angeles recording session from Las Vegas. His left eye was removed but he was back performing within several weeks.

Today in History for Nov. 18: On this date: In 1095, Pope Urban II called 600 men to the Council of Clermont, where he asked Europe to recapture the Holy Land from the Turks. A vast crusading army was deployed.