Saturday, April 16

This Day In History

• 1789   President-elect George Washington left Mount Vernon, Va., for his inauguration in New York.
• 1862   A bill ending slavery in the District of Columbia became law.
• 1900   The first book of postage stamps was issued. The two-cent stamps were available in books of 12, 24 and 48 stamps.
• 1905   An endowment of a college teachers' pension fund was established by Andrew Carnegie. He donated $10,000,000 of personal money to set up the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
• 1912   Harriet Quimby became the first woman to fly across the English Channel.
• 1917   Revolutionary Vladimir Ilyich Lenin returned to Russia after years of exile.
• 1945   In his first speech to Congress, President Harry S. Truman pledged to carry out the war and peace policies of his late predecessor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
• 1947   Financier and presidential confidant Bernard M. Baruch said in a speech at the South Carolina statehouse, "Let us not be deceived. We are today in the midst of a cold war."
• 1962   Walter Cronkite succeeded Douglas Edwards as anchorman of ''The CBS Evening News.''
• 1964   ''The Rolling Stones (England's Newest Hitmakers),'' the band's debut album, was released.
• 1972   Apollo 16 blasted off on a voyage to the moon.
• 1985   Mickey Mantle, banned from baseball in 1983 because of his association with an Atlantic City casino, was reinstated on this day. He threw out the first pitch to a standing ovation as the New York Yankees played their home opener against the Chicago White Sox.
• 1992   The House ethics committee listed 303 current and former lawmakers who had overdrawn their House bank accounts.
• 1996   Britain's Prince Andrew and his wife, Sarah, the Duchess of York, announced they were getting a divorce.
• 1999   Wayne Gretzky announced his retirement from hockey.
• 2003   The Bush administration lowered the terror alert level from orange to yellow, saying the end of heavy fighting in Iraq has diminished the threat of terrorism in the United States.
• 2003   Michael Jordan played his last NBA game as his Washington Wizards ended their season with a loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.

Happy Birthday To

• 1867   Wilbur Wright (aviator: one of the Wright Brothers; passed away May 30, 1912)
• 1921   Sir Peter Ustinov (Academy Award-winning actor: Spartacus [1960], Topkapi [1964]; Quo Vadis, Death on the Nile, Beau Brummel; died Mar 28, 2004)
• 1924   Henry Mancini (Enrico Nicola Mancini) (Academy Award-winning composer: Moon River [1961], Days of Wine and Roses [1962], Breakfast at Tiffany?s score [1961], Victor/Victoria score [1982]; composed themes for The Pink Panther, Mr. Lucky, Peter Gunn, Charade, NBC Mystery Movie, NBC Nightly News, Love Theme from Romeo & Juliet; 20 Grammy Awards; passed away June 14, 1994)
• 1935   Bobby Vinton (Stanley Vintulla) (singer: Roses are Red [My Love], Blue on Blue, Blue Velvet, Mr. Lonely, There! I?ve Said It Again, My Melody of Love)
• 1947   Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Lew Alcindor) (Basketball Hall of Famer: LA Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks: NBA career record: games played [1.560], points [38,387], field goals [15,387], blocked shots [3,189] cameo role: Airplane!)