Today in History and Celebrity Birthdays

Today in History for Sept. 26: On this date: In 1751, some 1,000 immigrants from Wurtemberg, Germany, arrived in Halifax, N.S. In 1774, American pioneer environmentalist Jonathan Chapman, better known as Johnny Appleseed, was born.

Celebrity Birthdays for Sept. 26: Actor Jonathan Goldsmith is 85. Country singer David Frizzell is 82. Actor Kent McCord ("Adam 12") is 81. Singer Bryan Ferry is 78. Actress Mary Beth Hurt is 77. Actor James Keane is 71.

Today in Music History for Sept. 26: In 1887, Emile Berliner filed a patent application for the gramophone. This recording device used zinc discs instead of the metal cylinders of Thomas Edison's phonograph, which was patented 10 years earlier.

Today in History for Sept. 25: On this date: In 1493, Christopher Columbus set sail from Cadiz, Spain, with a flotilla of 17 ships on his second voyage to the Western Hemisphere.

Celebrity Birthdays for Sept. 25: Polka band leader Jimmy Sturr is 82. Actor Robert Walden ("Lou Grant") is 80. Actor Josh Taylor is 80. Gary (Jules) Alexander of The Association is 80. Actor-producer Michael Douglas is 79.

Today in Music History for Sept. 25: In 1932, Glenn Gould, the Canadian concert and recording pianist, was born in Toronto.

Celebrity Birthdays for Sept. 24: Singer Phyliss "Jiggs" Allbut of The Angels is 81. News anchor Lou Dobbs is 78. Pro Football Hall-of-Famer "Mean" Joe Greene is 77. Guitarist and singer Jerry Donahue is 77. Actor Gordon Clapp ("NYPD Blue") is 75.

Today in History for Sept. 24: On this date: In 787, the Second Nicene Council opened under Pope Hadrian I.

Today in Music History for Sept. 24: In 1941, Linda McCartney was born in Scarsdale, N.Y. She married Paul McCartney in 1969, soon after he broke up with Jane Asher.

Celebrity Birthdays for Sept. 23: Jazz pianist Les McCann is 88. Singer Julio Iglesias is 80. Actress-singer Mary Kay Place is 76. Musician Bruce Springsteen is 74. Director/playwright George C. Wolfe is 69. Drummer Leon Taylor of The Ventures is 68.