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.
Jul 16, 1969: Apollo 11 departs Earth
At 9:32 a.m. EDT, Apollo 11, the first U.S. lunar landing mission, is launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on a historic journey to the surface of the moon. After traveling 240,000 miles in 76 hours, Apollo 11 entered into a lunar orbit on July 19.
The next day, at 1:46 p.m., the lunar module Eagle, manned by astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, separated from the command module, where a third astronaut, Michael Collins, remained. Two hours later, the Eagle began its descent to the lunar surface, and at 4:18 p.m. the craft touched down on the southwestern edge of the Sea of Tranquility. Armstrong immediately radioed to Mission Control in Houston a famous message, "The Eagle has landed." At 10:39 p.m., five hours ahead of the original schedule, Armstrong opened the hatch of the lunar module. Seventeen minutes later, at 10:56 p.m., Armstrong spoke the following words to millions listening at home: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." A moment later, he stepped off the lunar module's ladder, becoming the first human to walk on the surface of the moon.
Aldrin joined him on the moon's surface at 11:11 p.m., and together they took photographs of the terrain, planted a U.S. flag, ran a few simple scientific tests, and spoke with President Richard M. Nixon via Houston. By 1:11 a.m. on July 21, both astronauts were back in the lunar module, and the hatch was closed. The two men slept that night on the surface of the moon, and at 1:54 p.m. the Eagle began its ascent back to the command module. Among the items left on the surface of the moon was a plaque that read: "Here men from the planet Earth first set foot on the moon--July 1969 A.D.--We came in peace for all mankind." At 5:35 p.m., Armstrong and Aldrin successfully docked and rejoined Collins, and at 12:56 a.m. on July 22 Apollo 11 began its journey home, safely splashing down in the Pacific Ocean at 12:51 p.m. on July 24.
There would be five more successful lunar landing missions, and one unplanned lunar swing-by, Apollo 13. The last men to walk on the moon, astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt of the Apollo 17 mission, left the lunar surface on December 14, 1972. The Apollo program was a costly and labor intensive endeavor, involving an estimated 400,000 engineers, technicians, and scientists, and costing $24 billion (close to $100 billion in today's dollars). The expense was justified by President John F. Kennedy's 1961 mandate to beat the Soviets to the moon, and after the feat was accomplished, ongoing missions lost their viability.
Jul 16, 1918: Romanov family executed
In Yekaterinburg, Russia, Czar Nicholas II and his family are executed by the Bolsheviks, bringing an end to the three-century-old Romanov dynasty.
Crowned in 1896, Nicholas was neither trained nor inclined to rule, which did not help the autocracy he sought to preserve among a people desperate for change. The disastrous outcome of the Russo-Japanese War led to the Russian Revolution of 1905, which ended only after Nicholas approved a representative assembly--the Duma--and promised constitutional reforms. The czar soon retracted these concessions and repeatedly dissolved the Duma when it opposed him, contributing to the growing public support for the Bolsheviks and other revolutionary groups. In 1914, Nicholas led his country into another costly war--World War I--that Russia was ill-prepared to win. Discontent grew as food became scarce, soldiers became war weary and devastating defeats at the hands of Germany demonstrated the ineffectiveness of Russia under Nicholas.
In March 1917, revolution broke out on the streets of Petrograd (now St. Petersburg) and Nicholas was forced to abdicate his throne later that month. That November, the radical socialist Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, seized power in Russia from the provisional government, sued for peace with the Central Powers and set about establishing the world's first communist state. Civil war broke out in Russia in June 1918, and in July the anti-Bolshevik "White" Russian forces advanced on Yekaterinburg, where Nicholas and his family were located, during a campaign against the Bolshevik forces. Local authorities were ordered to prevent a rescue of the Romanovs, and after a secret meeting of the Yekaterinburg Soviet, a death sentence was passed on the imperial family.
Late on the night of July 16, Nicholas, Alexandra, their five children and four servants were ordered to dress quickly and go down to the cellar of the house in which they were being held. There, the family and servants were arranged in two rows for a photograph they were told was being taken to quell rumors that they had escaped. Suddenly, a dozen armed men burst into the room and gunned down the imperial family in a hail of gunfire. Those who were still breathing when the smoked cleared were stabbed to death.
The remains of Nicholas, Alexandra and three of their children were excavated in a forest near Yekaterinburg in 1991 and positively identified two years later using DNA fingerprinting. The Crown Prince Alexei and one Romanov daughter were not accounted for, fueling the persistent legend that Anastasia, the youngest Romanov daughter, had survived the execution of her family. Of the several "Anastasias" that surfaced in Europe in the decade after the Russian Revolution, Anna Anderson, who died in the United States in 1984, was the most convincing. In 1994, however, scientists used DNA to prove that Anna Anderson was not the czar's daughter but a Polish woman named Franziska Schanzkowska.
Jul 16, 1999: JFK Jr. killed in plane crash
On July 16, 1999, John F. Kennedy, Jr.; his wife, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy; and her sister, Lauren Bessette, die when the single-engine plane that Kennedy was piloting crashes into the Atlantic Ocean near Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Jr., was born on November 25, 1960, just a few weeks after his father and namesake was elected the 35th president of the United States. On his third birthday, "John-John" attended the funeral of his assassinated father and was photographed saluting his father's coffin in a famous and searing image. Along with his sister, Caroline, he was raised in Manhattan by his mother, Jacqueline. After graduating from Brown University and a very brief acting stint, he attended New York University Law School. He passed the bar on his third try and worked in New York as an assistant district attorney, winning all six of his cases. In 1995, he founded the political magazine George, which grew to have a circulation of more than 400,000. Unlike many others in his famous family, he never sought public office himself.
Always in the media spotlight, he was celebrated for the good looks that he inherited from his parents. In 1988, he was named the "Sexiest Man Alive" by People magazine. He was linked romantically with several celebrities, including the actress Daryl Hannah, whom he dated for five years. In September 1996, he married girlfriend Carolyn Bessette, a fashion publicist. The two shared an apartment in New York City, where Kennedy was often seen inline skating in public. Known for his adventurous nature, he nonetheless took pains to separate himself from the more self-destructive behavior of some of the other men in the Kennedy clan.
On July 16, 1999, however, with about 300 hours of flying experience, Kennedy took off from Essex County airport in New Jersey and flew his single-engine plane into a hazy, moonless night. He had turned down an offer by one of his flight instructors to accompany him, saying he "wanted to do it alone." To reach his destination of Martha's Vineyard, he would have to fly 200 miles--the final phase over a dark, hazy ocean--and inexperienced pilots can lose sight of the horizon under such conditions. Unable to see shore lights or other landmarks, Kennedy would have to depend on his instruments, but he had not qualified for a license to fly with instruments only. In addition, he was recovering from a broken ankle, which might have affected his ability to pilot his plane.
At Martha's Vineyard, Kennedy was to drop off his sister-in-law Lauren Bessette, one of his two passengers. From there, Kennedy and his wife, Carolyn, were to fly on to the Kennedy compound on Cape Cod's Hyannis Port for the marriage of Rory Kennedy, the youngest child of the late Robert F. Kennedy. The Piper Saratoga aircraft never made it to Martha's Vineyard. Radar data examined later showed the plane plummeting from 2,200 feet to 1,100 feet in a span of 14 seconds, a rate far beyond the aircraft's safe maximum. It then disappeared from the radar screen.
Kennedy's plane was reported missing by friends and family members, and an intensive rescue operation was launched by the Coast Guard, the navy, the air force, and civilians. After two days of searching, the thousands of people involved gave up hope of finding survivors and turned their efforts to recovering the wreckage of the aircraft and the bodies. Americans mourned the loss of the "crown prince" of one of the country's most admired families, a sadness that was especially poignant given the relentless string of tragedies that have haunted the Kennedy family over the years.
On July 21, navy divers recovered the bodies of JFK Jr., his wife, and sister-in-law from the wreckage of the plane, which was lying under 116 feet of water about eight miles off the Vineyard's shores. The next day, the cremated remains of the three were buried at sea during a ceremony on the USS Briscoe, a navy destroyer. A private mass for JFK Jr. and Carolyn was held on July 23 at the Church of St. Thomas More in Manhattan, where the late Jackie Kennedy Onassis worshipped. President Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, were among the 300 invited guests. The Kennedy family's surviving patriarch, Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, delivered a moving eulogy: "From the first day of his life, John seemed to belong not only to our family, but to the American family. He had a legacy, and he learned to treasure it. He was part of a legend, and he learned to live with it."
Investigators studying the wreckage of the Piper Saratoga found no problems with its mechanical or navigational systems. In their final report released in 2000, the National Transportation Safety Board concluded that the crash was caused by an inexperienced pilot who became disoriented in the dark and lost control.
Jul 16, 1951: Catcher in the Rye is published
J.D. Salinger's only novel, The Catcher in the Rye, is published by Little, Brown on this day in 1951. The book, about a confused teenager disillusioned by the adult world, is an instant hit and will be taught in high schools for half a century.
The 31-year-old Salinger had worked on the novel for a decade. His stories had already started appearing in the 1940s, many in the New Yorker.
The book took the country by storm, selling out and becoming a Book of the Month Club selection. Fame did not agree with Salinger, who retreated to a hilltop cabin in Cornish, New York, but he continued to publish stories in the New Yorker periodically. He published Franny and Zooey in 1963, based on two combined New Yorker stories.
Salinger stopped publishing work in 1965, the same year he divorced his wife of 12 years, whom he had married when he was 32. In 1999, journalist Joyce Maynard published a book about her affair with Salinger, which had taken place more than two decades earlier. Notoriously reclusive, Salinger died at his home in New Hampsire on Jan. 27, 2010. He was 91 years old.
Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:
• 463 - Start of Lunar Cycle of Hilarius
• On this day in 1099 during the First Crusade, Jews were rounded up and taken into a synagogue, which was then set on fire.
• The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, known in Islamic history as the Battle of Al-Uqab, was fought on this day in 1212. This battle marked a significant decline in power for the Magreb, and strengthened the resolve of Christians to fully take over Spain.
1251 - The Virgin Mary gives Simon Stock a Brown Scapular (legend)
1338 - German monarch signs Treaty of Rense
• It was on this day in 1429 that Joan of Arc led the French army entered Reims.
1439 - Kissing is banned in England (to stop germs from spreading)
1465 - Battle at Montlhéry
• It was on this date in 1519 that there was a public debate between Martin Luther and theologist Jonh Eck.
• 1548 - La Paz, Bolivia is founded
1573 - Alva demands submission of Zealand/Holland
1618 - Capt John Gilbert patents 1st dredger in Britain
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.
• Mozart's opera "Das Entfuhrung aus dem Serail" premiered in Vienna on this day in 1782.
• The American Congress established Washington, the District of Columbia, as the permanent capital of the United States Governmenton this day in 1790.
• 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
• The city of La Paz, in what is today Bolivia, declared its independence from Spanish Crown on this day in 1809 and formed the Junta Tuitiva, the first independent government in Spanish America, led 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
• The Battle of Bull Run, the first major battle of the American Civil War, was fought on this day in 1861.
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.
• On this day in 1880, Dr. Emily Stowe became 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
1904 - Islands of Manu'a group (Samoa) ceded to US by their chiefs
1912 - Naval torpedo launched from an airplane patents by B A Fiske
1912 - Bradley A. Fiske patented the airplane torpedo.
1914 - Socialist conference in Brussel (Kautsky, Trotski & Rosa Luxemburg)
• Russia's Czar Nicolas II and his family were executed by the Bolsheviks on this day in 1918 during the Russian Revolution.
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
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
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 - Soviet troops occupied Vilna, Lithuania, in their drive toward Germany.
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)
Picture of the FIFA World Cup Trophy, which presented to the champions of the World Cup tournament.
• In 1950 on this day, the fourth ever football/ soccer's 4th World Cup Final for football/soccer took place before what was the largest crowd in sporting history was 199,854 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.. The home crowd watched their team lose to Uruguay, 2-1, who hoisted the World Cup trophy as champions for the second time. It remains the largest crowd for a sporting event in history to this day.
• J.D. Salinger's novel "The Catcher in the Rye" was first published on this day in 1951.
1951 - First Dutchman to win Tour de France (Wim Van Est)
• 1951 - King Leopold III, of Belgium, abdicates
1951 - Len Hutton scores his 100th 100, Yorks v Surrey at The Oval
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
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
• 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
• 1993 - President Lissouba calls emergency rule in Congo-Brazzaville
1993 - S van Ruysdael's "Winter Landscape" sold for £705,500 in London
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 - 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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