TODAY IN HISTORY: “Hair” opens They say it’s your birthday...

In 1789, the mutiny on the “Bounty” occurred when British Captain William Bligh was cast adrift with 18 loyal crewmen by mutineers led by the ship’s mate, Fletcher Christian. The mutineers settled on the isolated Pacific island of Pitcairn. The Bligh party sailed 6,400 kilometres in their open boat to Timor, where they were rescued.

In 1945, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, his mistress, and 16 other Fascists were executed by a partisan firing squad near Milan.

In 1967, Muhammad Ali was stripped of his heavyweight boxing title after refusing induction into the U.S. army on religious grounds.

In 1968, the rock musical “Hair” opened at the Biltmore Theatre on Broadway. Canadian Galt MacDermot contributed the music. It was a controversial production, angering many with its scenes of nudity and drug-taking and the desecration of the American flag on stage as well as its anti-war message at the height of the Vietnam conflict. The show ran for 1,729 performances, the two original cast recordings sold more than five million copies. There were also numerous hit songs from the show, including the medley of “Aquarius.”

Today Actress-singer Ann-Margret (Viva Las Vegas, Tommy) is 77. Comedian Jay Leno is 68. Golfer Stephen Ames is 54. Golfer John Daly is 52. Actress Penelope Cruz (Vanilla Sky, Vicky Cristina Barcelona) is 44.

Also in 1968, Walter Stitch was believed to have become, at the age of 98, the first great-greatgreat-grandfather in Canada. His great-great-granddaughter gave birth to a son in Halifax.

In 1969, Charles de Gaulle resigned as president of France when his proposed constitutional reforms were defeated in a referendum.

In 1996, a hockey era ended as the Winnipeg Jets lost their final game. The visiting Detroit Red Wings beat the Jets 4-1 to win their playoff series in six games. The Jets moved to Phoenix for the next season and were renamed the Coyotes. (In 2011, the Atlanta Thrashers franchise relocated to Winnipeg and was reborn as the Jets.)

In 1996, Australia’s worst modern-day massacre saw Martin Bryant kill 35 people at a popular tourist site and a nearby cottage in Hobart, Tasmania. Bryant is serving a life prison sentence.

In 2011, Phillip and Nancy Garrido pleaded guilty to kidnapping and raping Jaycee Dugard, who gave birth to two daughters while being held for 18 years in a hidden compound in the couple’s California backyard.

Sunday Singer Tommy James (I Think We’re Alone Now Mony Mony) is 71.

Actresses Michelle Pfeiffer (Married to the Mob) and Eve Plumb (The Brady Bunch) are 60.

Actress Uma Thurman (Kill Bill, Pulp Fiction) is 48.