Today in History and Celebrity Birthdays

Celebrity Birthdays for March 23: Movie director Mark Rydell is 97. Singer Chaka Khan is 72. Actress Amanda Plummer is 68. Actress Catherine Keener is 66. Canadian country singer George Fox is 65.

Today in Music History for March 23: In 1743, George Frideric Handel's oratorio, ``The Messiah'' had its London premiere. The first performance of the work had taken place in Dublin the previous year.

Today in History for March 23: In 752, Pope Stephen II was elected to succeed Pope Zacharias. Stephen died just two days later.

Celebrity Birthdays for March 22: Actor William Shatner is 94. Hockey Hall of Fame centre Dave Keon is 85. Singer Jeremy Clyde of Chad and Jeremy is 84. Singer-guitarist George Benson is 82.

Today in Music History for March 22: In 1943, singer-guitarist George Benson was born in Pittsburgh. After years as a jazz guitarist, Benson signed in 1975 with Warner Brothers, who encouraged him to sing.

Today in History for March 22: In 1638, religious dissident Anne Hutchinson was expelled from the Massachusetts Bay Colony for defying Puritan orthodoxy. In 1765, Britain enacted the Stamp Act of 1765 to raise money from the American colonies.

Celebrity Birthdays for March 29: Author Judith Guest is 89. Comedian Eric Idle is 82. Singer-songwriter Terry Jacks is 81. Former Major League Pitcher Denny McLain is 81. Basketball Hall of Fame point guard Walt Frazier is 80.

Celebrity Birthdays for March 25: Film critic Gene Shalit is 99. Apollo 13 astronaut James Lovell is 97. Feminist activist and author Gloria Steinem is 91. Actor-director and AIDS activist Paul Michael Glaser (TV's ``Starsky and Hutch'') is 82.

Celebrity Birthdays for March 26: U.S. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi is 85. Biologist and author Richard Dawkins is 84. Author Erica Jong is 83. Journalist Bob Woodward is 82. Singer Diana Ross is 81. Singer Steven Tyler of Aerosmith is 77.

Celebrity Birthdays for March 27: Actor Julian Glover is 90. Actor Jerry Lacy is 89. Actor-director Austin Pendleton is 85. Actor Michael York is 83. Keyboardist Tony Banks (Genesis) is 75.