Happy 90th Birthday to Stephen Sondheim, the composer and lyricist who won an Academy Award, 8 Tonys (more than any other composer), 8 Grammys, and a Pulitzer Prize, for his contributions to musical theater.

His best-known works include West Side Story (1957); Gypsy (1959); A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1962)—and later runs during the 80s like Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street; Sunday in the Park with George; and Into the Woods. (1930)

MORE Good News on this Date:

• The Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony signed a peace treaty with the Wampanoags (1621)
• The Spanish National Assembly in Puerto Rico abolished slavery (1873)
• The Football League was formed for teams in England and Wales (1888)
• Auguste and Louis Lumiere showed the first moving pictures in Paris (1895)
• The US re-legalized the sale of beer and wine (1933)
• Please Please Me, the first Beatles album, was released (1963)
• Congress sent the Equal Rights Amendment (for women) to the states for approval, although it failed to receive enough votes (1972)
• A paralyzed British woman won the right to die naturally by discontinuing her ventilator (2002)
• The militant Basque separatist group, ETA, declared a “permanent” ceasefire in Spain (2006)

Today is the 27th annual World Water Day, inspired by the international goal of providing clean water for everyone. During the first 26 years of Water.org more than two billion people have gained access to improved drinking water sources. Together, governments, the UN, and nonprofits have cut the number of people lacking safe water in half. (1993)

Also, Happy 89th Birthday to William Shatner, beloved as Captain James T. Kirk (photo, bottom), of the 1960s show ‘Star Trek’ and subsequent movies.

And, Happy 72nd Birthday to another great composer and lyricist, British born Andrew Lloyd Webber, famous for Cats, The Phantom of the Opera, Evita, and Jesus Christ Superstar. (1948)

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