Today in History - History - April 16th

2008Start of Papal Journey of Pope Benedict XVI to the United States

1953British royal yacht Britannia launched by Queen Elizabeth II

1799Napoleonic Wars: The Battle of Mount Tabor - Napoleon drives Ottoman Turks across the River Jordan near Acre.

1993Jury reaches guilty verdict in Federal case against police officer who beat Rodney King, but the verdict is not read until April 17th

1939Stalin requests British, French & Russian anti-nazi pact

1917[OS Apr 4] Lenin issues his radical April Theses calling for Soviets to take power during Russian Revolution

1989Pat Bradley wins LPGA AI Star/Centinela Hospital Golf Classic

1854Franz Liszt's "Mazeppa" premieres

1935Babe Ruth's 1st NL game, for Boston Braves, included a HR

1977Alex Haley finds his Roots in Juffure, Gambia

1952Bill Belichick, Nashville Tennessee, American football coach (New England Patriots, 3 Super Bowls)

1947Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, [Lew Alcindor], New York City New York, NBA center (Mil Bucks, LA Lakers)

1965Martin Lawrence, comedian (Martin)

1918Spike Milligan, India, actor/comedian (Digby, 3 Musketeers)

1927Pope Benedict XVI [Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger], Marktl, Bavaria, Germany, Catholic Pope (2005-2013)

1867Wilbur Wright, Millville Indiana, American aviator (Wright Brothers)

1966Actor and comedian Michael Palin (22) weds Helen Gibbins

1994Singer Harry Connick Jr (26) weds model Jill Goodare (30) at St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans, Louisiana

2013Pat Summerall, American NFL player and sportscaster, dies from cardiac arrest at 82

1958Rosalind Franklin, British chemist (b. 1920)