Today is Friday, April 16, the 106th day of 2010. There are 259 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History

On April 16, 1789, President-elect George Washington left Mount Vernon, Va., for his inauguration in New York.

On this date

In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed a bill ending slavery in the District of Columbia.

In 1879, St. Bernadette, who’d described seeing visions of the Virgin Mary at Lourdes, died in Nevers, France.

In 1910, Boston Arena (now Matthews Arena) first opened.

In 1917, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin returned to Russia after years of exile.

In 1960, shortly before midnight, rock-and-roll performer Eddie Cochran, 21, was fatally injured in a taxi crash in Chippenham, Wiltshire, England; he died the next day.

In 1972, Apollo 16 blasted off on a voyage to the moon.

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

The International Monetary Fund concluded a protest-marred opening session in Washington with a statement repeating past pledges to seek greater debt relief for the poorest countries and reform the IMF so it could better prevent financial crises.

Five years ago

Cardinals meeting at the Vatican destroyed the late Pope John Paul II’s ring and seal to formally end his reign. Authorities in Hillsborough County, Fla., found the body of missing 13-year-old Sarah Michelle Lunde. A suspect in her death, David Lee Onstott, was later convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.

One year 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 Cleveland Indians ruined the Yankees’ first game at their new stadium by beating New York 10-2.

Today’s Birthdays

Pope Benedict XVI is 83. Basketball Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is 63. Singer Gerry Rafferty is 63. NFL coach Bill Belichick is 58. Rock singer-turned-politician Peter Garrett is 57. Actress Ellen Barkin is 56. Rock musician Jason Scheff (Chicago) is 48. Singer Jimmy Osmond is 47. Actor-comedian Martin Lawrence is 45.

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