Today in History and Celebrity Birthdays

Celebrity Birthdays for April 18: Actor Robert Hooks is 88. Mike Vickers, saxophone player and guitarist of Manfred Mann, is 85. Music critic Robert Christgau is 83. Soprano Barbara Lowin (formerly Barbara Shuttleworth) is 81.

Celebrity Birthdays for April 13: Actor Edward Fox is 88. Singer Lester Chambers of The Chambers Brothers is 85. Movie-TV composer Bill Conti is 83. Musician Jack Casady of Jefferson Airplane is 81. Singer Al Green is 79. Actor Ron Perlman is 75.

Celebrity Birthdays for April 17: Actor David Bradley ("Game of Thrones") is 83. Singer and actress Michele Richard is 79. Musician Jan Hammer is 77. Actor Clarke Peters ("Treme") is 73. Rock singer/guitarist/producer Michael Sembello is 71.

Celebrity Birthdays for April 14: Actress Julie Christie is 85. Guitarist Ritchie Blackmore is 80. Actor John Shea ("Gossip Girl," ''Lois and Clark") is 76. Country music songwriter Kostas is 76.

Celebrity Birthdays for April 16: Singer Bobby Vinton is 90. Denmark's Queen Margrethe II is 85. Blues singer and guitarist Stefan Grossman is 80. Basketball Hall of Fame centre Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is 78. Hall of Fame jockey Sandy Hawley is 76.

Celebrity Birthdays for April 19: Actress Elinor Donahue ("Father Knows Best") is 88. Keyboardist Alan Price of The Animals is 83. Singer Eve Graham of the New Seekers is 82. Actor Tim Curry is 79. Singer Mark "Flo" Volman of The Turtles is 78.

Celebrity Birthdays for April 15: Actress Claudia Cardinale ("Son of the Pink Panther") is 87. British singer-songwriter Marty Wilde (born Reginald Smith) is 86. Author and politician Jeffrey Archer is 85. Singer-guitarist Dave Edmunds is 81.

Today in History for April 26: In 322, St. Basil was martyred by torture and beheading after he sheltered a young Christian woman named Glaphiga from the clutches of Roman Emperor Lucinius. In 387, St.

Today in History for April 22: In 1233, the Dominicans were established in France as operators of the Inquisition by a decree of Pope Gregory IX. Their methods included torture and execution, usually by fire.

Today in History for April 25: In 912, Venice was founded and its main square named after St. Mark to honour his feast day. In 1214, Louis IX, king of France and saint, was born.