Today in History and Celebrity Birthdays

Celebrity Birthdays for Feb. 25: Actress Ann McCrea (``The Donna Reed Show'') is 94. Actor Tom Courtenay (``Dr. Zhivago'') is 88. CBS newsman Bob Schieffer is 88. Actress Diane Baker is 87.

Today in History for Feb. 25: In 616 (traditional date): Ethelbert, first Christian English king and instigator of the first written code of British law, died.

Today in Music History for Feb. 25: In 1873, Enrico Caruso, universally regarded as the world's greatest operatic tenor, was born in Naples, Italy.

Celebrity Birthdays for Feb. 24: Actor Dominic Chianese (``Boardwalk Empire,'' ''The Sopranos``) is 94. Businessman Phil Knight (Nike) is 87. Singer Joanie Sommers is 84. Actress Jenny O'Hara (``Transparent,'' ''The Mindy Project``) is 83.

Today in History for Feb. 24: In 1446, the earliest known lottery was drawn in Bruges, Belgium.

Today in Music History for Feb. 24: In 1897, Emile Berliner took out a Canadian patent on his gramophone talking machine. Manufacturing facilities were set up in Montreal.

Celebrity Birthdays for Feb. 23: Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver Fred Biletnikoff is 82. Author John Sandford is 81. Former Liberal Cabinet Minister and astronaut Marc Garneau is 76.

Today in Music History for Feb. 23: In 1685, George Frideric Handel, one of the greatest masters of baroque music, was born in Halle, Germany. He is best known for his majestic oratorio, ``The Messiah,'' which was first performed in Dublin in 1742.

Today in History for Feb. 23: In A.D. 155, Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna (present-day Izmir, Turkey) and an early Church Father who was a disciple of the Apostle John, was martyred.

Celebrity Birthdays for Feb. 22: Actor Paul Dooley is 97. Actor James Hong is 96. Actress Julie Walters (``Harry Potter'' films, ``Mamma Mia!'') is 75. Actress Miou-Miou is 75. Basketball Hall-of-Famer Julius ``Dr. J'' Erving is 75.