Today in History

Today is Wednesday, April 16, the 106th day of 2014. There are 259 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On April 16, 1964, The Rolling Stones' first album, eponymously titled "The Rolling Stones," was released in the United Kingdom by Decca Records (a slightly different version debuted in the United States a month and a-half later).

On this date:

In 1789, President-elect George Washington left Mount Vernon, Va., for his inauguration in New York.

In 1862, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln signed a bill ending slavery in the District of Columbia. The Confederacy conscripted all white men between the ages of 18 to 35.

In 1879, Bernadette Soubirous, who'd 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, American aviator Harriet Quimby became the first woman to fly across the English Channel, traveling from Dover, England, to France in 59 minutes.

In 1935, the radio comedy program "Fibber McGee and Molly" premiered on NBC's Blue Network.

In 1947, the French ship Grandcamp blew up at the harbor in Texas City, Texas; another ship, the High Flyer, exploded the following day (the blasts and fires killed nearly 600 people). Financier 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."

In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote his "Letter from Birmingham Jail" in which he said, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

In 1972, Apollo 16 blasted off on a voyage to the moon with astronauts John W. Young, Charles M. Duke Jr. and Ken Mattingly on board.

In 1986, dispelling rumors he was dead, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi appeared on television to condemn the U.S. raid on his country and to say that Libyans were "ready to die" defending their nation.

In 1994, Ralph Ellison, author of "Invisible Man," died in New York.

In 2007, in the deadliest shooting rampage in modern U.S. history, student Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people on the campus of Virginia Tech before taking his own life.

Ten years ago: Videotape broadcast on the Arab TV station Al-Jazeera showed Army Pfc. Keith M. Maupin, abducted during an attack on a fuel truck convoy near Baghdad a week earlier. (Arab television reported June 29, 2004 that Maupin had been killed; his remains were recovered in 2008.) President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, meeting in Washington, endorsed giving the United Nations broad control over Iraq's political future.

Five years ago: President Barack Obama issued a statement saying CIA officials who'd used harsh interrogation tactics during the Bush administration would not be prosecuted; the president traveled to Mexico, where he pledged to help the country in its battle against drugs and violence. The crew of the cargo ship Maersk Alabama, who'd thwarted pirates off the Somali coast, returned to the U.S.; ship's captain Richard Phillips, held hostage for five days, arrived in Kenya aboard the USS Bainbridge. U.N. nuclear experts ordered to leave by North Korea departed the country. The Cleveland Indians ruined the Yankees' first game at their new stadium by beating New York 10-2.

One year ago: Federal agents zeroed in on how the Boston Marathon bombing was carried out -- with kitchen pressure cookers packed with explosives, nails and other lethal shrapnel -- but said they didn't know yet who'd done it, or why. An envelope addressed to Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., tested positive for ricin, a potentially fatal poison. NFL player-turned-broadcaster Pat Summerall died in Dallas; he was 82.

Today's Birthdays: Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is 87. Actor Peter Mark Richman is 87. Singer Bobby Vinton is 79. Denmark's Queen Margrethe II is 74. Basketball Hall-of-Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is 67. Ann Romney is 65. NFL coach Bill Belichick is 62. Rock singer-turned-politician Peter Garrett is 61. Actress Ellen Barkin is 60. Rock musician Jason Scheff (Chicago) is 52. Singer Jimmy Osmond is 51. Rock singer David Pirner (Soul Asylum) is 50. Actor-comedian Martin Lawrence is 49. Actor Jon Cryer is 49. Rock musician Dan Rieser is 48. Actor Peter Billingsley is 43. Actor Lukas Haas is 38. Figure skater Mirai Nagasu is 21.

Thought for Today: "Do not wait; the time will never be 'just right.' Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along. " -- George Herbert, English author (1593-1633).

Copyright 2014, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.