On this day — April 16

Denmark, is severely damaged by a fire.

killing 304 passengers and crew and leading to widespread criticism of the South Korean government, media, and shipping authorities.

Iran, killing at least 35 people and injuring 117 others.

the perpetrator of the 2011 Norway attacks, begins in Oslo, Norway.

It was the first time since 1977 that no book won the Fiction Prize.

Rees decision that execution by lethal injection does not violate the Eighth Amendment ban against cruel and unusual punishment.

Seung-Hui Cho murders 32 people and injures 17 before committing suicide.

but are unable to resolve the disputes about their border.

The launch of Apollo 16 from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

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.

Cuban leader Fidel Castro declares that he is a Marxist–Leninist and that Cuba is going to adopt Communism.