http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history
July 16, 1945: Atom bomb successfully tested
On this day in 1945, at 5:29:45 a.m., the Manhattan Project comes to an explosive end as the first atom bomb is successfully tested in Alamogordo, New Mexico.
Plans for the creation of a uranium bomb by the Allies were established as early as 1939, when Italian emigre physicist Enrico Fermi met with U.S. Navy department officials at Columbia University to discuss the use of fissionable materials for military purposes. That same year, Albert Einstein wrote to President Franklin Roosevelt supporting the theory that an uncontrolled nuclear chain reaction had great potential as a basis for a weapon of mass destruction. In February 1940, the federal government granted a total of $6,000 for research. But in early 1942, with the United States now at war with the Axis powers, and fear mounting that Germany was working on its own uranium bomb, the War Department took a more active interest, and limits on resources for the project were removed.
Brigadier-General Leslie R. Groves, himself an engineer, was now in complete charge of a project to assemble the greatest minds in science and discover how to harness the power of the atom as a means of bringing the war to a decisive end. The Manhattan Project (so-called because of where the research began) would wind its way through many locations during the early period of theoretical exploration, most importantly, the University of Chicago, where Enrico Fermi successfully set off the first fission chain reaction. But the Project took final form in the desert of New Mexico, where, in 1943, Robert J. Oppenheimer began directing Project Y at a laboratory at Los Alamos, along with such minds as Hans Bethe, Edward Teller, and Fermi. Here theory and practice came together, as the problems of achieving critical mass-a nuclear explosion-and the construction of a deliverable bomb were worked out.
Finally, on the morning of July 16, in the New Mexico desert 120 miles south of Santa Fe, the first atomic bomb was detonated. The scientists and a few dignitaries had removed themselves 10,000 yards away to observe as the first mushroom cloud of searing light stretched 40,000 feet into the air and generated the destructive power of 15,000 to 20,000 tons of TNT. The tower on which the bomb sat when detonated was vaporized.
The question now became-on whom was the bomb to be dropped? Germany was the original target, but the Germans had already surrendered. The only belligerent remaining was Japan.
A footnote: The original $6,000 budget for the Manhattan Project finally ballooned to a total cost of $2 billion.
Some pretty interesting things occurred on this date throughout history. Today is the "Origin of Islamic Era", when Mohammad began his flight from Mecca to Medina. This is the date recognized as the de facto split between Eastern and Western churches during the days of the Byzantine Empire. During the First Crusade, Jews were rounded up and taken into a synagogue, which was then set on fire. It was on this date that there was a public debate between Martin Luther and theologist Jonh Eck. Paper currency was introduced in Europe, in Sweden, specifically. Mozart premiered his symphony "Das Entfuhrung aus dem Serail" in Vienna. The American Congress established the District of Columbia. In La Paz, in what is the present day capital of Bolivia, the first independent government in South America was established, ending Spanish rule there. Dr. Emily Stowe became the first woman to get a license to practice medicine in Canada. Russia's Czar Nicolas II and his family were killed on this date during the Russian Revolution. China joined the League of Nations, which as it turned out, would not help it at all when it began to be invaded by the Japanese some years later. In 1942, French police arrested well over 13,000 Jews in Paris while, on this same date, Jews were sent from the Netherlands to a German extermination camp. For the first time, the United States succeeded in tests for the first atomic bomb in New Mexico. Uruguay defeated Brazil in Rio de Janeiro for the World Cup title, their second. It remains the most attended game in sports history. Ukraine gained it's independence. JFK, Jr. and his wife and sister-in-law were killed in a mysterious plane crash off the coast of Martha's Vineyard. Millenium Park in Chicago opened.
Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:
463 - Start of Lunar Cycle of Hilarius
622 - Moslem Era begins-Mahomet begins flight from Mecca to Medina (Hejira)
622 - Origin of Islamic Era (Muharram 1, 1 AH)
1054 - Michael Caerularius excommunicated of Constantinople
1054 - Three Roman legates fracture relations between Western and Eastern Christian churches by placing invalid Papal Bull of Excommunication on altar of Hagia Sophia during Saturday afternoon divine liturgy. Often dated as start of the East-West Schism.
1099 - Crusaders herd Jews of Jerusalem into a synagogue and set it afire
1212 - Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa; end of Moslem power in Spain
1251 - The Virgin Mary gives Simon Stock a Brown Scapular (legend)
1338 - German monarch signs Treaty of Rense
1429 - Army entered Reims 1429 - Joan of Arc leads French army in Battle of Orleans 1439 - Kissing is banned in England (to stop germs from spreading) 1465 - Battle at Montlhéry
1519 - Public debate between Martin Luther and theologist John Eck
1548 - La Paz, Bolivia is founded
1573 - Alva demands submission of Zealand/Holland
1618 - Capt John Gilbert patents 1st dredger in Britain
1661 - First banknotes in Europe were issued by Bank of Stockholm
1683 - Turkish troops under Kara Mustafa attain Vienna
1683 - Manchu/Chinese Qing Dynasty naval forces under commander Shi Lang defeat the Kingdom of Tungning in the Battle of Penghu near the Pescadores Islands.
1755 - John Adams graduates Harvard
1765 - Prime Minister of England Lord Greenville resigned and was replaced by Lord Rockingham.
1769 - Father Junipero Serra founds Mission San Diego, 1st mission in Calif
1774 - Russia and the Ottoman Empire signed the treaty of Kuchuk-Kainardji, ending their six-year war.
1779 - American troops under General Anthony Wayne captured Stony Point, NY.
1782 - Mozart's opera "Das Entfuhrung aus dem Serail," premiered in Vienna
1790 - The District of Columbia, or Washington, DC, was established as the permanent seat of the United States Government.
1791 - Louis XVI was suspended from office until he agreed to ratify the constitution.
1798 - US Public Health Service formed andUS Marine Hospital authorized
1801 - Pope Pius VII and first consul Napoleon sign concord
1809 - The city of La Paz, in what is today Bolivia, declared its independence from Spanish Crown and formed the Junta Tuitiva, the first independent government in Spanish America, lead by Pedro Domingo Murillo.
1845 - The New York Yacht Club hosted the first American boating regatta.
1856 - Statue of Laurens Jansz Coster unveiled in Haarlem
1857 - Sir Henry Havelock arrives at Battle of Cawnpore
1861 - Battle of Bull Run, the 1st major battle of the Civil War, is fought
1861 - Manassas Campaign [->JUL 22]
1862 - David G. Farragut became the first rear admiral in the U.S. Navy.
1863 - Utrecht-Swells railway opens US Civil War Admiral David Farragut
1867 - Amstel Hotel, "the dignified old lady" opens in Amsterdam
1867 - D R Averill patents ready-mixed paint
1867 - Joseph Monier patents reinforced concrete
1875 - The new French constitution was finalized.
1880 - Dr. Emily Stowe becomes the first woman licenced to practice medicine in Canada.
1894 - Many negro miners in Alabama killed by striking white miners
1894 - Treaty of Aoki-Kimberley signed between Japan & England
1895 - Archie MacLaren completes cricket 424 for Lancs v Somerset at Taunton
1902 - John McGraw named manager of NY Giants
1902 - Test Cricket debut of K S Ranjitsinhji v Australia, at Old Trafford
1904 - Islands of Manu'a group (Samoa) ceded to US by their chiefs
1909 - Det & Wash play longest scoreless game in AL history-18 innings
1912 - Naval torpedo launched from an airplane patents by B A Fiske
1912 - Bradley A. Fiske patented the airplane torpedo.
1918 - Russia's Czar Nicholas II and his family were executed by the Bolsheviks.
1920 - 15th Davis Cup: USA beats Australasia in Auckland (5-0)
1920 - China joined the League of Nations
1920 - Gen Amos Fries appointed 1st US army chemical warfare chief
1920 - Ruth sets season home run record with 30 en route to 54
1924 - Conference over German recovery payments begins in London
1924 - NY Giants George Kelly is 1st to hit HRs in 6 cons games
1926 - Jaspar government asks authority to save Belgian franc
1926 - The first underwater color photographs appeared in "National Geographic" magazine. The pictures had been taken near the Florida Keys.
1927 - Augusto Sandino begins 5½ year war against US occupation of Nicaragua
1934 - Bradman scores 140 Aust v Yorkshire, 120 mins, 22 fours 2 sixes
1935 - 1st automatic parking meter in US installed (Oklahoma City, Ok)
1936 - 1st x-ray photo of arterial circulation, Rochester, NY
1936 - NY Giants are 10½ games back in NL, & go on to win pennant
1938 - 21st PGA Championship: Paul Runyan at Shawnee CC Shawnee-on-Del Pa
1940 - Adolf Hitler ordered the preparations to begin on the invasion of England, known as Operation Sea Lion.
1940 - NSB'er Woudenberg appointed as NVV-trustee
1941 - 100°F (38°C) highest temperature ever recorded in Seattle Wash Yankee Clipper Joe DiMaggioYankee Clipper Joe DiMaggio
1941 - Joe Dimaggio goes 3 for 4, hitting in his 56th straight game
1942 - French police arrest 13,152 Jews in Paris, and held them in the Winter Velodrome. The round-up was part of an agreement between Pierre Laval and the Nazis. Germany had agreed to not deport French Jews if France arrested foreign Jews.
1942 - Jews transported from Holland to extermination camp
1944 - Dodgers score 8 unearned runs against Braves to win 8-5 & break their 16-game losing streak, they will lose another 5 in a row
1944 - Soviet troops occupied Vilna, Lithuania, in their drive toward Germany.
1945 - The United States detonated the first atomic bomb in a test at Trinity Site, Alamogordo, New Mexico
1945 - Australian Services win 3rd Victory Test Cricket by 4 wickets
1945 - Cruiser Indianapolis leaves SF with atom bomb
1946 - Attempt made to recall Mayor Lapham (1st time in SF history)
1946 - US court martials 46 SS to death (Battle of Bulge crimes) in Dachau
1947 - Bobo Newsom wins 200th game, 1st as a Yankee & Yanks 18th straight In nightcap Vic Rashi extends streak to 19
1948 - Eddie Sawyer replaces Ben Chapman in Phila, NY Giants Leo Durocher replaces Mel Ott & Burt Shotton replaces Durocher as Dodger manager
1950 - Single day 16 team HR record set at 37 (NL-25, AL-12)
1950 - Soccer's 4th World Cup Final. in what was the largest crowd in sporting history was 199,854. The home crowd watched their team lose to Uruguay, 2-1, in the World Cup soccer finals in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
1951 - J.D. Salinger's novel "The Catcher in the Rye" was first published.
1951 - First Dutchman to win Tour de France (Wim Van Est)
1951 - King Leopold III, of Belgium, abdicates Baseball Player and Manager Leo DurocherBaseball Player and Manager Leo Durocher
1951 - Len Hutton scores his 100th 100, Yorks v Surrey at The Oval
1951 - Novel "Catcher in Rye" by J. D. Salinger published
1953 - KROC (now KTTC) TV channel 10 in Rochester, MN (NBC) 1st broadcast
1955 - "Golden Horseshoe Revue" 1st of 50,000+ performances, Disneyland
1956 - Detroit Tigers & Briggs Stadium sold for then record $5.5 million
1956 - Karelo-Finnish SSR becomes part of Russian SFSR
1956 - King Faisal of Iraq begins visit to England
1956 - Last Ringling Bros, Barnum & Bailey Circus under a canvas tent
1957 - Marine Maj John Glenn sets transcontinental speed record (03:28:08)
1957 - Marine Major 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.
1960 - George Crowe sets record of 12 pinch hit HRs with a runner on
1961 - Ralph Boston of US, sets then long jump record at 27' 2"
1962 - NASA civilian Test pilot Joseph A Walker takes X-15 to 32,600 m
1963 - Amazon river carries 190,000 m3/sec of water (record)
1964 - Republicans convention selects Barry Goldwater as pres candidate
1964 - Little League Baseball Incorporated was granted a Federal Charter unanimously by the United States Senate and House of Representatives.
1965 - Mount Blanc Road tunnel between France & Italy opens
1966 - "Half a Sixpence" closes at Broadhurst Theater NYC after 512 perfs
1967 - Prison brawl ignites barracks, killing 37 (Jay, Florida)
1969 - Apollo 11 blasted off from Cape Kennedy, FL, and began the first manned mission to land on the moon. The crew would be the first to walk on the moon.
1970 - Iraq's constitution goes into effect
1970 - Reds spoil Pirates debut in Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium, 3-2
1970 - The Pittsburgh Pirates played their first game at Three Rivers Stadium.
1971 - Franco points prince Juan Carlos as deputy in Spain
1972 - Dimitrios Papadopoulos becomes 269th patriarch of Constantinople
1972 - Smokey Robinson & Miracles final live performance
1973 - During Watergate hearings, Butterfield reveals existence of tapes
1973 - Alexander P. Butterfield informed the Senate committee investigating the Watergate affair of the existence of recorded tapes.
1975 - Commissioner Bowie Kuhn is reelected for a 7-year term
1976 - Rock duo Loggins & Messina break-up after 6 years
1977 - Janelle Commissiong, of Trinidad & Tobago, crowned 26th Miss Universe
1978 - Joanne Carner wins LPGA Borden Golf Classic
1979 - Saddam Hussein became president of Iraq after forcing Hasan al-Bakr to resign.
1980 - Polish railway workers block railway to Russia
1980 - Ronald Reagan nominated for Pres by Republicans in Detroit
1981 - India performs nuclear Test
1981 - Shukuni Sasaki spins 72 plates simultaneously
1981 - After 23 years with the name Datsun, executives of Nissan changed the name of their cars to Nissan.
1982 - George P Shultz sworn in as minister of Foreign affairs
1982 - NASA launches Landsat 4 to thematic map the Earth
1982 - Sun Myung Moon sentenced to 18 months for tax fraud
1983 - 20 killed in Britain's worst helicopter accident
1983 - Sikorsky S-61 disaster: A helicopter crashes off the Isles of Scilly, causing 20 fatalities.
1985 - The 56th All-Star Game, televised on NBC-TV, was the first program broadcast in stereo by a TV network. The National League wins 6-1 at the Hubert Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota
1985 - All star MVP: LaMarr Hoyt (SD Padres)
1985 - Bill to abolish Greater London Council receives royal assent
1985 - F-86 Sabre sets world aircraft speed record of 1152 kph (716 mph)
1987 - Great Britain performs nuclear Test at Nevada Test Site
1987 - Said Aouita runs world record 2000m (4:50.81)
1987 - Don Mattingly hits his 4th grand slam of season & ties AL record of homers in 6 straight games (on way to tie major league record of 8)
1988 - Carl Lewis runs a wind-assisted 100 m in 9.78 sec
1988 - Florence Joyner runs 100 m in women's world record 10.49 seconds
1988 - Jackie Joyner-Kersee sets women's heptathlete record of 7,215 pts
1988 - San Antonio (Texas League) beats Jackson 1-0 in 26 innings
1988 - Wayne Gretzky (NHL) & Janet Jones (Police Acad 5) wed in Edmonton
1989 - 44th US Women's Open Golf Championship won by Betsy King 1990 - 400 die in a (7.7) earthquake in Philippines
1990 - Bridgette LeAnn Wilson, 17, of Oregon, 8th crowned Miss Teen USA Olympic Sprinter and Long jumper Carl LewisOlympic Sprinter and Long jumper Carl Lewis
1990 - Civil trial by parents of Suicide victims against Judas Priest begins
1990 - NYC's Empire State Building catches fire-No fatalities
1990 - Rick Dee's "Into the Night," premieres on ABC-TV
1990 - Ukraine declared independence
1993 - President Lissouba calls emergency rule in Congo-Brazzaville
1993 - S van Ruysdael's "Winter Landscape" sold for £705,500 in London
1993 - SF outfielder Darren Lewis sets record of 267 consec errorless games
1994 - "Sisters Rosensweig" closes at Barrymore Theater NYC after 556 perfs
1994 - 1st parts of Comet Shoemaker-Levy hits Jupiter (until July 22nd)
1994 - 3 tenors-Placid Domingo, Luciano Parvoti, Jose Carreras, perform in LA
1994 - Baseball Night in America premieres (no Saturday day games)
1994 - Comet Shoemaker-Levy collides with Jupiter
1994 - Shreveport Pirates 1st CFL home game (vs Toronto Argonauts)
1994 - Spanish fishing boats sink a French fishing boat over fishing rights
1994 - Sweden shuts out Bulgaria 4-0, to finish 3rd in the World Cup
1995 - "Buttons on Broadway" closes at Ambassador Theater NYC after 40 perfs
1995 - "Chronicles of a Death Foretold" closes at Plymouth NYC after 55 perfs
1997 - Jerold Mackenzie awarded $266M for being fired from Miller Brewing for sexual harrassment for relaying a Seinfeld episode to a co worker
1999 - John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, and sister-in-law Lauren Bessette are killed in a plane crash off the coast of Martha's Vineyard. The Piper Saratoga aircraft was piloted by Kennedy.
2004 - Millennium Park, considered the first and most ambitious architectural project in the early 21st century for Chicago, is opened to the public by Mayor Richard M. Daley.
2005 - J.K. Rowling's book "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" was released. It was the sixth in the Harry Potter series. The book sold 6.9 million copies on its first day of release.
2007 - An earthquake of magnitude 6.8 and aftershock of 6.6 occurs off the Niigata coast, Japan, killing 8 people with at least 800 injured and damaging a nuclear power plant.
The following links are to web sites that were used to complete this blog entry:
http://www.historyorb.com/today/events.php
http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/jul16.htm
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history
http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory
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