Today in History and Celebrity Birthdays

Today in Music History for March 14: In 1804, composer Johann Strauss was born in Vienna. In 1922, orchestra leader Les Baxter was born in Mexia, Texas. In the 1950s, he was signed by Capitol Records as an arranger and recording artist.

Today in Music History for March 15: In 1927, Carl Smith, a country music hitmaker of the 1950s and 1960s, was born in Tennessee.

Today in History for March 15: In 44 BC, Roman General Julius Caesar was assassinated in Rome by a group of nobles that included Brutus and Cassius. In 453, Attila the Hun died of a nose bleed.

Today in Music History for March 10: In 1903, legendary jazz cornet player Bix Beiderbecke was born in Davenport, Iowa. The sordid details of his tragically short life have tended to overshadow the remarkable music he produced.

Today in History for March 9: In 1541, Jean-Francois de la Rocque Roberval obtained authorization from France to take criminals to Canada to found a colony.

Today in Music History for March 13: In 1910, Sammy Kaye, one of the most successful bandleaders of all time, was born in Rocky River, Ohio.

Today in Music History for March 11: In 1829, composer Felix Mendelsson sparked a revival of interest in the music of J.S. Bach after he conducted the St. Matthew Passion, almost a century after the date of its first performance.

Celebrity Birthdays for Feb. 28: Architect Frank Gehry is 96. Singer Sam the Sham is 88. Actor-director-dancer Tommy Tune is 86. Hall of Fame auto racer Mario Andretti is 85. Singer Donnie Iris is 82. Actress Kelly Bishop ("Gilmore Girls") is 81.

Today in History for Feb. 28: In 1759, for the first time, Pope Clement XIII permitted the Bible to be translated and made available in the languages of all peoples in the Roman Catholic states.

Today in Music History for Feb. 28: In 1929, Montreal-born Wilfrid Pelletier became a regular conductor at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, a position he held until 1950.