Today in history: April 16
In 1789, President-elect Washington left Mount Vernon, Va., for his inauguration in New York.
In 1862, a bill ending slavery in the District of Columbia became law.
In 1879, St. Bernadette, who had described seeing visions of the Virgin Mary at Lourdes, died in Nevers, France.
In 1889, comedian and movie director Charles Chaplin was born in London.
In 1912, Harriet Quimby became the first woman to fly across the English Channel, using a Bleriot monoplane to travel from Dover, England, to Hardelot, France.
In 1917, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin returned to Russia after years of exile.
In 1935, the long-running radio comedy program “Fibber McGee and Molly,” starring Jim and Marian Jordan, premiered on the NBC Blue Network.
In 1945, U.S. troops reached Nuremberg, Germany, during World War II.
In 1972, Apollo 16 blasted off from Cape Kennedy, Fla., on a voyage to the moon.
Pub Date: 4/16/96
