Today in History and Celebrity Birthdays

Today in History for May 26: In 735, Bede the Venerable, known as the father of English church history, Benedictine monk, priest, writer, hymn writer, died at about age 62.

Today in Music History for May 27: In 1799, George Washington Doane, American Episcopal clergyman, was born.

Today in Music History for May 28: In 1878, Canadian soprano Louise Edvina was born in Montreal. She spent much of her career in London, and became one of the city's favourite artists in the early 1900s.

Today in Music History for May 16: In 1896, violinist Frantz Jehin-Prume, the first musician of international reputation to choose Canada as his home, gave his final concert in Montreal with pianist Victoria Cartier.

Today in History for May 16: In 587, Irish monk St. Bredan died. He's known for setting out in the Atlantic with two other monks in a skin boat and possibly travelling as far as North America.

Celebrity Birthdays for May 16: Jazz drummer Billy Cobham is 81. Actor Danny Trejo is 81. Rock guitarist and composer Robert Fripp, founder of King Crimson, is 79. Actor Bill Smitrovich is 78. Rock singer-songwriter Jonathan Richman is 74.

Celebrity Birthdays for May 15: Actress-singer Anna Maria Alberghetti is 89. Counterculture icon Wavy Gravy is 89. Actress-singer Lainie Kazan is 85. Actress Gunilla Hutton ("Petticoat Junction," ''Hee Haw") is 83.

Today in Music History for May 15: In 1918, country crooner Eddy Arnold was born at a farm near Henderson, Tenn.

Today in History for May 15: In 1248, Archbishop Konrad von Hochstaden laid the cornerstone for a cathedral in Cologne, Germany.

Celebrity Birthdays for May 14: Photo-realist artist Richard Estes is 93. Actress Dame Sian Phillips is 92. Movie director-producer George Lucas is 81. Singer-actress Catherine McKinnon is 81.