Today in History

Today in History for Nov. 8 On this date: In 1308, medieval scholar Duns Scotus died. His given name led to the introduction of the word dunce.

Today in History for Nov. 7: On this date: In 1659, the Pyrenees were designated as the boundary between France and Spain, thus ending a 24-year war between the two countries. In 1665, the "London Gazette" was published for the first time.

Today in History for Nov. 6: On this date: In 1689, blacks arrived by ship to Quebec -- probably the first recorded use of black slaves in Canada.

Today in History for Nov. 5: On this date: In 1605, Guy Fawkes was found in the basement of Britain's Parliament Buildings, along with 36 barrels of gunpowder.

Celebrity Birthdays for Oct. 27: Actress Nanette Fabray is 97. Quebec singer-songwriter Gilles Vigneault is 89. Actor-comedian John Cleese is 78. Country songwriter-singer Dallas Frazier is 78. Author Maxine Hong Kingston is 77.

Today in History for Oct. 27: In 1746, William Tennent, a Scottish Presbyterian pastor and theologian, obtained a charter for the College of New Jersey, later to be called Princeton University.

Today in Music History for Oct. 27: In 1782, Niccolo Paganini, the Italian violinist whose virtuosity became a legend, was born in Genoa. He died in 1840 of cancer of the larynx.

Celebrity Birthdays for is Oct. 26: Actress Shelley Morrison ("Will and Grace") is 81. Actress Jaclyn Smith ("Charlie's Angels") is 72. "Wheel of Fortune" host Pat Sajak is 71. Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is 70.

Today in Music History for Oct. 26: In 1813, English organist Henry Smart was born.

Today in History for Oct. 26: In 1774, the American Congress invited Canada to join the 13 colonies opposing Britain. In 1813, a small force of British and Canadian soldiers defeated an advance party of 1,500 Americans at the battle of Chateauguay.