Today in History

Today in History

Today is Sunday, July 16, the 197th day of 2017. There are 168 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On July 16, 1945, the United States exploded its first experimental atomic bomb in the desert of Alamogordo, New Mexico; the same day, the heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis left Mare Island Naval Shipyard in California on a secret mission to deliver atomic bomb components to Tinian Island in the Marianas.

On this date:

In 1557, Anne of Cleves, who was briefly the fourth wife of England's King Henry VIII, died in London at age 41.

In 1790, a site along the Potomac River was designated the permanent seat of the United States government; the area became Washington, D.C.

In 1862, Flag Officer David G. Farragut became the first rear admiral in the United States Navy.

In 1935, the first parking meters were installed in Oklahoma City.

In 1951, the novel "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger was first published by Little, Brown and Co.

In 1957, Marine Corps Maj. John Glenn set a transcontinental speed record by flying a Vought F8U Crusader jet from California to New York in 3 hours, 23 minutes and 8.4 seconds.

In 1964, as he accepted the Republican presidential nomination in San Francisco, Barry M. Goldwater declared that "extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice" and that "moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue."

In 1969, Apollo 11 blasted off from Cape Kennedy on the first manned mission to the surface of the moon.

In 1973, during the Senate Watergate hearings, former White House aide Alexander P. Butterfield publicly revealed the existence of President Richard Nixon's secret taping system.

In 1980, former California Gov. Ronald Reagan won the Republican presidential nomination at the party's convention in Detroit.

In 1999, John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife, Carolyn, and her sister, Lauren Bessette, died when their single-engine plane, piloted by Kennedy, plunged into the Atlantic Ocean near Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.

In 2002, the Irish Republican Army issued an unprecedented apology for the deaths of "noncombatants" over 30 years of violence in Northern Ireland.

Ten years ago: Declaring a "moment of choice" in the Middle East, President George W. Bush said he would call Israel, the Palestinians and others in the region to a peace conference. (The summit took place in November 2007.) A man carrying a gun and declaring "I am the emperor" was shot and killed by a state trooper outside the offices of Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter. (The man was identified as 32-year-old Aaron Snyder.) A 6.8-magnitude earthquake on Japan's northwest coast killed 11 people and caused radioactive leaks at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant.

Five years ago: North Korea announced a reshuffling of its military, dismissing its army chief -- a key mentor to young ruler Kim Jong Un -- and promoting a little-known general to an important position in the million-man force. Singer Kitty Wells, whose hits such as "Making Believe" and "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels" made her the first female superstar of country music, died at age 92.

One year ago: Republican presidential nominee-apparent Donald Trump formally introduced his running mate, Mike Pence, during an event in New York, hailing the Indiana governor as his "first choice" and "my partner in the campaign" a day after announcing the selection on Twitter. Basketball Hall of Famer Nate Thurmond, 74, died in San Francisco. Country singer Bonnie Brown, 77, died in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Today's Birthdays: Former U.S. Attorney General Dick Thornburgh is 85. Soul singer Denise LaSalle is 83. Soul singer William Bell is 78. International Tennis Hall of Famer Margaret Court is 75. College Football Hall of Famer and football coach Jimmy Johnson is 74. Violinist Pinchas Zukerman is 69. Actor-singer Ruben Blades is 69. Rock composer-musician Stewart Copeland is 65. Playwright Tony Kushner is 61. Dancer Michael Flatley is 59. Actress Phoebe Cates is 54. Actor Paul Hipp is 54. Actor Daryl "Chill" Mitchell is 52. Actor-comedian Will Ferrell is 50. Actor Jonathan Adams is 50. College and Pro Football Hall of Famer Barry Sanders is 49. Actress Rain Pryor is 48. Actor Corey Feldman is 46. Rock musician Ed Kowalczyk (Live) is 46. Rock singer Ryan McCombs (Drowning Pool) is 43. Actress Jayma Mays is 38. Actress AnnaLynne McCord is 30. Actor-singer James Maslow is 27. Actor Mark Indelicato is 23. Pop singer-musician Luke Hemmings (5 Seconds to Summer) is 21.

Thought for Today: "There is a tendency to mistake data for wisdom, just as there has always been a tendency to confuse logic with values, intelligence with insight." -- Norman Cousins, American author and journalist (1915-1990).