Today in History and Celebrity Birthdays

Today in History for Dec. 2: In 1552, St. Francis Xavier, the founder of the Jesuits, died while on a missionary journey to China. In 1804, Napoleon crowned himself Emperor of the French.

Today in History for Dec. 7: In AD 374, Ambrose, an early church father, was consecrated Bishop of Milan, Italy.

Today in History for Dec. 5: In 1484, Pope Innocent VIII issued his Witch Bull, ordering an inquisition to systematically discover, torture and execute witches throughout Europe.

Today in History for Dec. 6: In 1752, a government pamphlet in Halifax became the first book published in Canada. In 1780, Jean-Antoine Aide-Crequy, the first Canadian-born painter, died in Quebec City.

Today in Music History for Dec. 5: In 1791, composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart died at age 35. He was buried in an unmarked grave in Vienna’s St. Marx Cemetery. Mozart’s final resting place has remained undiscovered to this day.

Today in Music History for Dec. 6: (Editors: Some reference books give Dec. 6th or 7th, 1877, as the date Thomas Edison made the first recording on his newly-invented phonograph. Others say the historic recording was made Aug.

Today in Music History for Dec. 4: In 1927, Duke Ellington’s band began a four-year engagement at the famous Cotton Club in New York. Among the Ellington classics to emerge from this period were "Creole Love Call" and "Black and Tan Fantasy.

Today in History for Dec. 3: In 1170, Thomas Becket, archbishop of Canterbury, returned to England after six years of exile in France. He would be martyred on Dec. 29 -- killed by soldiers sent by his former friend, King Henry II.

Celebrity Birthdays for Nov. 22: Comedian-director Terry Gilliam (Monty Python) is 84. Actor Tom Conti is 83. Singer Jesse Colin Young (The Youngbloods) is 83. Retired NASA astronaut Guion Bluford is 82.

Today in History for Nov. 22: In 1718, the English pirate Blackbeard was killed during a battle off the Virginia coast.