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 this photo, a cherry tree is in full bloom in front of the U.S. Capitol on March 19, 2012 in Washington, D.C.
(Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images
In 1945, the United States exploded its first experimental atomic bomb in the desert of Alamogordo, New Mexico.
In this photo, the first U.S. atom bomb explodes during the test. The cloud went 40,000 feet in the air, as viewed by an automatic camera six miles away from the site.
(AP Photo)
AP Photo
In 1980, former California Gov. Ronald Reagan won the Republican presidential nomination at the party’s convention in Detroit.
In this photo, Reagan and his wife, Nancy, wave goodbye to crowd of newsmen July 14, 1980 in Los Angeles as they head for the Republican National Convention in Detroit.
(AP Photo/Wally Fong)
AP Photo/Wally Fong
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 this photo, reporters surround the Kennedy Compound in Hyannisport, Massachusetts, Saturday, July 17, 1999 after the wedding of Rory Kennedy, daughter of the late Robert Kennedy, was postponed after John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife and her sister were reported missing after their plane disappeared Friday night flying into Martha’s Vineyard for the wedding.
(AP Photo/Jim Cole)
AP Photo/Jim Cole
In 1969, Apollo 11 blasted off from Cape Kennedy on the first manned mission to the surface of the moon.
FILE – In this July 16, 1969 file photo, Neil Armstrong waving in front, heads for the van that will take the crew to the rocket for launch to the moon at Kennedy Space Center in Merritt Island, Florida. The family of Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, says he has died at age 82. A statement from the family says he died following complications resulting from cardiovascular procedures. It doesn\’t say where he died. Armstrong commanded the Apollo 11 spacecraft that landed on the moon July 20, 1969. He radioed back to Earth the historic news of \”one giant leap for mankind.\” Armstrong and fellow astronaut Edwin \”Buzz\” Aldrin spent nearly three hours walking on the moon, collecting samples, conducting experiments and taking photographs. In all, 12 Americans walked on the moon from 1969 to 1972.
(AP Photo/FILE)
AP Photo/FILE
In 2008, Florida resident Casey Anthony, whose 2-year-old daughter, Caylee, had been missing a month, was arrested on charges of child neglect, making false official statements and obstructing a criminal investigation. (Casey Anthony was later acquitted at trial of murdering Caylee, whose skeletal remains were found in December 2008; she was convicted of lying to police.)
FILE – In this May 26, 2011, file photo, Casey Anthony appears in court during her trial at the Orange County Courthouse in Orlando, Fla. The Florida woman who was dubbed by cable TV show hosts as “the most hated mom in America” after she was accused of killing her toddler said she still doesn’t know how the last hours of her daughter’s life unfolded.
(Red Huber/Orlando Sentinel via AP, Pool, File)
Red Huber/Orlando Sentinel via AP, Pool, File
In 1979, Saddam Hussein became president of Iraq.
FILE – In this Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2003 file photo, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein meets with his leadership to mark the first day of Eid Al-Adha, the biggest feast of the Muslim calendar in Baghdad, Iraq. From left to right are Vice President Taha Ramadan, Prime Minister Tariq Aziz, Presidential Secretary Abd Hmud. Tariq Aziz, the debonair Iraqi diplomat who made his name by staunchly defending Saddam Hussein to the world during three wars and was later sentenced to death as part of the regime that killed hundreds of thousands of its own people, has died in a hospital in southern Iraq. He was 79.
(AP Photo/INA, File)
On July 16, 1969, Apollo 11 blasted off from Cape Kennedy on the first manned mission to the surface of the moon.
On this date:
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 1911, actress-dancer Ginger Rogers was born Virginia Katherine McMath in Independence, Mo.
In 1945, the United States exploded its first experimental atomic bomb in the desert of Alamogordo (ahl-ah-moh-GOHR’-doh), New Mexico; the same day, the heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis left Mare (mar-AY’) Island Naval Shipyard in California on a secret mission to deliver atomic bomb components to Tinian Island in the Marianas.
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 1979, Saddam Hussein became president of Iraq.
In 1980, former California Gov. Ronald Reagan won the Republican presidential nomination at the party’s convention in Detroit.
In 1981, singer Harry Chapin was killed when his car was struck by a tractor-trailer on New York’s Long Island Expressway.
In 1999, John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife, Carolyn, and her sister, Lauren Bessette (bih-SEHT’), 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.
In 2004, Martha Stewart was sentenced to five months in prison and five months of home confinement by a federal judge in New York for lying about a stock sale.
In 2008, Florida resident Casey Anthony, whose 2-year-old daughter, Caylee, had been missing a month, was arrested on charges of child neglect, making false official statements and obstructing a criminal investigation. (Casey Anthony was later acquitted at trial of murdering Caylee, whose skeletal remains were found in December 2008; she was convicted of lying to police.)
Ten years ago: Saying that civil rights leaders from decades past had paved the way for his election as the nation’s first black commander in chief, President Barack Obama paid homage to the NAACP during a convention in New York, and advised members that their work remained unfinished. In an embarrassing acknowledgement, NASA admitted that in all likelihood, it had recorded over the original videotapes of the Apollo 11 moon landing.
Five years ago: The U.S. and the European Union imposed new economic sanctions on Russia; in his announcement, President Barack Obama said, “What we are expecting is that the Russian leadership will see once again that its actions in Ukraine have consequences.” Texas blues legend Johnny Winter, 70, died in Zurich.
One year ago: After meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, President Donald Trump openly questioned the finding of his own intelligence agencies that Russia had meddled in the 2016 U.S. election to his benefit. (Trump said a day later that he misspoke.) Federal prosecutors said a 29-year-old gun rights activist, Maria Butina, had been arrested on charges that she served as a covert Russian agent while living in Washington, gathering intelligence on American officials and political organizations. (Butina was sentenced to 18 months in prison after admitting gathering intelligence on the NRA and other groups at the direction of a former Russian lawmaker.) Bryce Harper of the Washington Nationals won the All-Star Home Run Derby in his home ballpark, beating Kyle Schwarber of the Chicago Cubs 19-18.
