Today in History and Celebrity Birthdays

Celebrity Birthdays for May 8: Naturalist Sir David Attenborough is 98. Author Thomas Pynchon is 87. Singer Toni Tennille is 84. Actor James Mitchum is 83. Country singer Jack Blanchard is 82. Bassist Paul Samwell-Smith (The Yardbirds) is 81.

Today in History for May 8: In 615, Pope St. Boniface IV, who sanctioned moral and material improvements for the lower clergy, died.

Today in Music History for May 8: In 1929, Metropolitan opera tenor Edward Johnson sang on the final evening of the first music festival held in his hometown of Guelph, Ont.

Today in Music History for May 7: In 1824, Ludwig van Beethoven's monumental "Ninth Symphony" premiered in Vienna.

Celebrity Birthdays for May 7: Singer Thelma Houston is 81. Actress Robin Strasser ("One Life To Live," ''Passions") is 79. Singer-songwriter Bill Danoff (Starland Vocal Band) is 78. Drummer Bill Kreutzmann of the Grateful Dead is 78.

Today in History for May 7: In 1274, during the Council of Lyons in France, the Eastern and Western churches were briefly reconciled. In 1355, 1,200 Jews in Toledo, Spain, were killed by Count Henry of Trastamara.

Celebrity Birthdays for May 6: Baseball Hall-of-Famer Willie Mays is 93. Singer Bob Seger is 79. Singer Jimmie Dale Gilmore is 79. Singer and comedian Lulu Roman ("Hee Haw") is 78. Actor Alan Dale ("Lost," ''Ugly Betty") is 77.

Today in History for May 6: In 1491 BC, it is said Moses began his ascent up Mount Sinai and his inevitable appointment with the Lord to receive the Ten Commandments.

Today in Music History for May 6: In 1859, John Bayley conducted the Victoria Philharmonic Society in the first concert given in what now is the British Columbia capital.

Celebrity Birthdays for May 5: Actor Michael Murphy is 86. World and Olympic champion pairs figure skater Barbara Wagner is 86. Actor Lance Henriksen ("Millennium," ''Aliens") is 84. Comedian-actor Michael Palin (Monty Python) is 81.