Associated Press
Today in History: Thursday, July 16, 2015
On July 16, 1945, the United States exploded its first experimental atomic bomb, in the desert near Alamogordo, N.M.
1790 The District of Columbia was established as the seat of the U.S. government.
1951 J.D. Salinger’s novel “The Catcher in the Rye” was published.
1957 Marine Maj. John Glenn set a transcontinental speed record when he flew a jet from California to New York in 3 hours, 23 minutes and 8 seconds.
1964 In accepting the Republican presidential nomination in San Francisco, Barry M. Goldwater said “extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice” and “moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.”
1969 Apollo 11 blasted off from Cape Kennedy on the first manned mission to the moon.
1973 Former White House aide Alexander P. Butterfield publicly revealed the existence of President Richard Nixon’s secret taping system during the Senate Watergate hearings.
1979 Saddam Hussein became president of Iraq.
1980 Ronald Reagan won the Republican presidential nomination at the party’s convention in Detroit.
1999 John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife, Carolyn, and her sister died when the single-engine plane Kennedy was piloting plunged into the Atlantic Ocean near Martha’s Vineyard, Mass.
2004 Martha Stewart was sentenced to five months in prison and five months of home confinement by a federal judge for lying about a stock sale.
Today’s Birthdays:
Actor-comedian Will Ferrell turns 48 years old today.
Dick Thornburgh, Former U.S. attorney general, 83
Margaret Smith Court, Tennis Hall of Famer, 73
Ruben Blades, Singer, actor, 67
Stewart Copeland, Rock musician (The Police), 63
Tony Kushner, Playwright, 59
Michael Flatley, Dancer, 57
Phoebe Cates, Actress, 52
Barry Sanders, Football Hall of Famer, 47
Corey Feldman, Actor, 44
AnnaLynne McCord, Actress (“Nip/Tuck,” “90210”), 28
Actress Jayma Mays (“Glee”) turns 36 years old today.