Today in History

Today in History for Oct. 10: In 1582, the Spanish Carmelite nun Teresa of Avila died in Alba de Tormes. After entering the Convent of the Incarnation of Avila in 1536, she went on to found 16 other Carmelite convents between 1567 and 1582.

Today in Music History for Oct. 10: In 1813, Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi was born in Le Roncole. Among Verdi's major successes were "Rigoletto," produced in 1851, and "Il Trovatore" and "La Traviata," both staged in 1853. Verdi died in 1901.

Celebrity Birthdays for Oct. 9: Pat Burke, saxophonist/flutist with The Foundations, is 80. R&B singer Nona Hendryx (LaBelle) is 73. Singer Jackson Browne is 69. Nobel Peace laureate Jody Williams is 67. Actor Gary Frank is 67.

Today in Music History for Oct. 9: In 1929, singing cowboy Gene Autry made his first recordings during a visit to New York. In 1937, Pat Burke, saxophonist and flutist with the mid-'60s British pop band "The Foundations," was born.

Today in History for Oct. 9: In 1668, Canada's first institution of higher education, The Quebec Seminary, later called Laval University, was founded by Bishop Francois de Laval.

Today in Music History for Oct. 8: In 1931, conductor, violinist and music teacher Luigi von Kunits, the founder of the New Symphony Orchestra, died in Toronto at the age of 61. The New Symphony became the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in 1927.

Today in History for Oct. 8: In 1354, Italian revoluntionary Cola di Rienzi was murdered. In 1642, Jeanne Mance established the first hospital in Montreal, the Hotel-Dieu. In 1871, a huge fire destroyed the heart of Chicago.

Celebrity Birthdays for Oct. 8: Entertainment reporter Rona Barrett is 81. Walter Gretzky, father of NHL great Wayne Gretzky, is 79. Actor Paul Hogan is 78. Singer Fred Cash of The Impressions is 77. Civil rights activist Rev. Jesse Jackson is 76.

Celebrity Birthdays for Oct. 7: Quebec singer and songwriter Raymond Levesque is 89. Filmamker Graeme Ferguson, co-inventor of IMAX, is 88. Retired South African Archbishop and Nobel Peace laureate Desmond Tutu is 86. Author Thomas Keneally is 82.

Today in History for Oct. 7: In 1663, Jean Baptiste Le Gardeur de Repentigny was chosen as the first mayor of Quebec. In 1737, iron was first smelted in Canada, at St-Maurice, Que. In 1758, the first meeting of the Nova Scotia legislature was held.