Today in History and Celebrity Birthdays

Today in History for Aug. 3: On this date: In 1460, King James II of Scotland died in a cannon explosion.

Today in History for July 29: On this date: In 1588, the Spanish Armada was defeated in the English Channel by the British, led by Sir Francis Drake.

Today in Music History for Aug. 1: In 1927, one of country music's most influential groups, "The Carter Family," made their first recordings for Victor Records at a makeshift studio in Bristol, Tenn.

Today in Music History for July 30: In 1792, the French national anthem "La Marseillaise," by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle, was first sung in Paris. In 1941, singer-songwriter Paul Anka was born in Ottawa.

Today in History for Aug. 2: On this date: In 1100, King William II of England was killed in a hunting accident. In 1610, English explorer Henry Hudson discovered Hudson Bay.

Today in History for Aug. 1: On this date: In 1534, French explorer Jacques Cartier sighted the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Today in Music History for Aug. 2: In 1921, Enrico Caruso, the world's greatest operatic tenor, died in Naples, Italy at the age of 48.

Today in Music History for Aug. 3: In 1907, Greta Kraus, who became Canada's most outstanding harpsichordist, was born in Vienna. After moving to Canada in 1938 she appeared as a soloist, chamber musician and accompanist in concert and on the CBC.

Today in History for July 28: On this date: In 1540, King Henry VIII's chief minister, Thomas Cromwell, was executed, the same day Henry married his fifth wife, Catherine Howard. In 1576, Martin Frobisher's expedition reached Labrador.

Today in Music History for July 28: In 1750, German composer Johann Sebastian Bach died in Leipzig, in eastern Germany. In 1901, Rudy Vallee, one of the great entertainers of the late 1920s and through the 1930s, was born in Island Pond, Vt.