Today in History

Celebrity Birthdays for Nov. 14: Actress Kathleen Hughes ("Babe") is 89. Jazz pianist Ellis Marsalis is 83. Composer Wendy Carlos is 78. Writer P.J. O'Rourke is 70. Prince Charles is 69. Guitarist James Young of Styx is 68.

Celebrity Birthdays for Nov. 13: Journalist-author Peter Arnett is 83. Folksinger Bonnie Dobson is 77. Actor Jimmy Hawkins ("It's A Wonderful Life") is 76. Blues singer John Hammond is 75. '70s soul singer Timmy Thomas is 73.

Celebrity Birthdays for Nov. 12: Playwright-actor Wallace Shawn ("The Princess Bride") is 74. Singer Brian Hyland is 74. Keyboardist Booker T. Jones of Booker T. and the MG's is 73. Sportscaster Al Michaels is 73.

Today in History for Nov. 25: On this date: In 2,348 B.C., according to Archbishop James Ussher's Old Testament chronology, the Great Deluge (Noah's Flood) began.

Today in History for Nov. 24: On this date: In 1639, astronomer Jeremiah Horrocks first observed the transit of Venus across the Sun.

Today in History for Nov. 23: On this date: In 1621, poet John Donne was elected dean of St. Paul's Cathedral in London. In 1765, Frederick County, Maryland, became the first colonial entity to repudiate the British Stamp Act.

Today in History for Nov. 22: On this date: In 1718, the English pirate Blackbeard was killed during a battle off the Virginia coast.

Today in History for Nov. 21: On this date: 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 History for Nov. 20: On this date: 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 History for Nov. 19: On this date: In 1794, the United States and Britain signed the "Jay Treaty" concerning trade boundaries and commerce.