This Day In History

[MedicCook]

April 16th

1912
Harriet Quimby became the first woman to fly across the English Channel.

1917
Lenin returned to Russia after 10 years in exile in Switzerland.

1943
Dr. Albert Hofmann discovers the psychedelic effects of LSD.

1947
Financier Bernard Baruch coined the term “cold war” in a speech in South Carolina.

1947
Most of Texas City, Tex., destroyed when French ship Grandcamp exploded.

1962
Walter Cronkite succeeded Douglas Edwards as anchorman of "The CBS Evening News."

1972
China sent President Nixon two giant pandas as a gift.

1990
The "Doctor of Death", Jack Kevorkian, goes through with his first assisted suicide.

1999
Hockey great Wayne Gretzky announced his retirement.

2003
Michael Jordan played his last NBA game as his Washington Wizards ended their season with a loss to the Philadelphia 76ers

2007
A male student, Cho Seung-Hui, killed two in a Virginia Tech dorm, then killed 30 more 2 hours later in a classroom building. His suicide brought the death toll to 33, making the shooting rampage the most deadly in U.S. history. Fifteen others were wounded.

Birthdays
82 Pope Benedict XVI
82 Peter Mark Richman Actor
74 Bobby Vinton Singer
62 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Basketball Hall of Famer
62 Gerry Rafferty Rock singer
57 Bill Belichick Football coach (New England Patriots)
56 Peter Garrett Rock singer (Midnight Oil), Australia's environment minister
55 Ellen Barkin Actress
47 Jason Scheff Rock musician (Chicago)
46 Jimmy Osmond Singer
45 David Pirner Rock singer (Soul Asylum)
44 Jon Cryer Actor ("Two and a Half Men")
44 Martin Lawrence Actor, comedian
43 Dan Rieser Rock musician
37 Peter Billingsley Actor ("A Christmas Story")
33 Lukas Haas Actor

45 Wilbur Wright 4/16/1867 - 5/30/1912 American inventor and aviation pioneer
88 Sir Charlie Chaplin 4/16/1889 - 12/25/1977 English-born American motion- picture actor and director
73 Dick "Night Train" Lane 4/16/1928 - 1/29/2002 Football Hall of Famer