On This Day for April 16 - Harriet Quimby's flight across the English Channel, Peter Ustinov is featured, and more

This message contains graphics. If you do not see the graphics, click here to view. April 16 FEATURED BIOGRAPHY Peter Ustinov READ MORE   FEATURED EVENT 1912 Harriet Quimby's flight across the English Channel READ MORE   Advertisement Advertisement   MORE EVENTS ON THIS DAY 2014: The South Korean ferry Sewol, traveling from Inch'ŏn to Cheju, capsized and sank, killing 304 people, most of whom were high schoolers. [Learn about seven of the world's deadliest shipwrecks.] 2007: In one of the deadliest mass shootings in the United States, 33 people, including the shooter, were killed on the Blacksburg, Virginia, campus of Virginia Tech. 2003: At age 40, Michael Jordan, widely regarded as the best player in the history of basketball, played his last game in the National Basketball Association. [ Find out if Michael Jordan tops our list of the 10 greatest basketball players of all time.] 1962: American journalist Walter Cronkite became anchor of the CBS Evening News , a position he held for nearly two decades, during which time he became known as "the most trusted man in America." 1948: In order to restore the economy of Europe after World War II, 16 European countries formed the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation (later the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). [ Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about European history.] 1947: American basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who won five NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers (1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, and 1988), was born. [How well do you know basketball player nicknames?] SEE ALL EVENTS ON THIS DAY ALSO BORN ON THIS DAY 1889 Charlie Chaplin British actor, director, writer, and composer 1947 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar American basketball player 1952 Bill Belichick American football coach 1927 Benedict XVI pope 1939 Dusty Springfield British singer 1940 Margrethe II queen of Denmark SEE ALL BIOS ON THIS DAY   Advertisement   FOLLOW: To unsubscribe from Britannica e-mails, click here. Encyclopædia Britannica 325 N. LaSalle Street, Suite 200 Chicago, Illinois 60654 United States © 2021 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. Privacy Policy • Help