April 16

This day in history:

• 1963 – U.S. civil rights campaigner Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. writes his open letter from Birmingham Jail, sometimes known as "The Negro Is Your Brother", while incarcerated in Birmingham, Alabama, for protesting against segregation.
• 73 – Masada, a Jewish fortress, falls to the Romans after several months of siege, ending the First Jewish–Roman War.
• 1863 – American Civil War: During the Vicksburg Campaign, gunboats commanded by acting Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter run downriver past Confederate artillery batteries at Vicksburg.
• 1922 – The Treaty of Rapallo, pursuant to which Germany and the Soviet Union re-establish diplomatic relations, is signed.

Births:

• 1971 – Cameron Blades, Australian rugby player
• 1940 – Thomas Stonor, 7th Baron Camoys, English banker and politician, Lord Chamberlain of the United Kingdom (d. 2023)
• 1922 – Lawrence N. Guarino, American colonel (d. 2014)

Deaths:

• 2014 – Gyude Bryant, Liberian businessman and politician (b. 1949)
• 1999 – Skip Spence, Canadian-American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1946)
• 1942 – Denis St. George Daly, Irish polo player (b. 1862)

Holidays:

• National Healthcare Decisions Day (United States)
• Birthday of José de Diego (Puerto Rico, United States)
• Remembrance of Chemical Attack on Balisan and Sheikh Wasan (Iraqi Kurdistan)

Random Article of the day:

Dennis Iapichino