Today in History and Celebrity Birthdays

Celebrity Birthdays for Nov. 27: Footwear designer Manolo Blahnik is 81. Rock and jazz saxophonist Randy Brecker is 78. Academy Award-winning director Kathryn Bigelow ("The Hurt Locker") is 72.

Celebrity Birthdays for Dec. 2: Jazz saxophonist P.J. Perry is 82. Bassist Tom McGuiness ("Manfred Mann," "McGuiness Flint") is 82. Actress Cathy Lee Crosby ("That's Incredible") is 79.

Celebrity Birthdays for Nov. 26: Impressionist Rich Little is 85. Singer Jean Terrell (replaced Diana Ross in the Supremes) is 79. Bassist John McVie of Fleetwood Mac is 78. Actress Marianne Muellerleile is 75. Actor Scott Jacoby is 67.

Celebrity Birthdays for Nov. 29: Blues musician John Mayall is 90. Actress Diane Ladd is 88. Musician Chuck Mangione is 83. Singer-keyboardist Felix Cavaliere of The Rascals is 81. Rock guitarist Barry Goudreau, formerly of the group Boston, is 72.

Today in History for Dec. 4: On this date: In 1619, a group of settlers from Bristol, England, arrived at Berkeley Hundred in present-day Charles City County, Va., where they held a service thanking God for their safe arrival.

Today in History for Dec. 5: On this date: In 1484, Pope Innocent VIII issued his Witch Bull, ordering an inquisition to systematically discover, torture and execute witches throughout Europe.

Today in History for Dec. 3: On this date: In 1170, Thomas Becket, archbishop of Canterbury, returned to England after six years of exile in France. He would be martyred on Dec. 29 -- killed by soldiers sent by his former friend, King Henry II.

Today in History for Dec. 8: On this date: 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.

Today in Music History for Dec. 6: (Editors: Some reference books give Dec. 6th or 7th, 1877, as the date Thomas Edison made the first recording on his newly-invented phonograph. Others say the historic recording was made Aug.