Today in History and Celebrity Birthdays

Celebrity Birthdays for April 7: Country singer Bobby Bare is 90. Movie director Francis Ford Coppola is 86. Actress Roberta Shore ("The Virginian") is 82. Guitarist Mick Abrahams (Jethro Tull) is 82. Singer Patricia Bennett of The Chiffons is 78.

Today in Music History for April 15: In 1729, composer J.S. Bach conducted the premiere performance of his ``St. Matthew Passion'' at St. Thomas Church in Leipzig, Germany.

Today in History for April 19: In 1529, eight years after the Diet of Worms was convened by the Holy Roman Emperor, a protestation was published against it by several cities including Strasbourg, Nuremberg and Ulm, and from that evolved the term Prot

Today in History for April 16: In 556, Roman-born Pope Pelagius I became the 60th successor of St. Peter. He built the Church of the Twelve Apostles. In 1189, St. Drogo, also called Druon, a Flemish saint who became a hermit in Sebourg, France, died.

Today in Music History for April 16: In 1924, pianist, composer and orchestra leader Henry Mancini was born in Cleveland.

Today in Music History for April 18: In 1839, violinist Frantz Jehin-Prume, the first musician of international reputation to choose Canada as his home, was born in Spa, Belgium.

Today in History for April 17: In 1492, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain granted Christopher Columbus a commission to seek a westward ocean passage to Asia.

Today in History for April 18: In 1506, the foundation stone was laid during a celebration overseen by Pope Julius II to begin construction of the new St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City.

Today in Music History for April 19: In 1928, British bluesman Alexis Korner was born in Paris.

Today in Music History for April 13: In 1742, George Frideric Handel's majestic oratorio, ``The Messiah,'' was first performed, in Dublin. The performance raised 400 pounds for charity.