1790

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

1862

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

1945

The United States exploded its first experimental atomic bomb in the desert of Alamogordo, New Mexico.

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.

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.

Birthdays

International Tennis Hall of Famer Margaret Court is 83. Violinist Pinchas Zukerman is 77. Actor-singer Ruben Blades is 77. Rock composer-musician Stewart Copeland is 73. Former actor and teen model Phoebe Cates is 62. Actor Daryl “Chill” Mitchell is 60. Actor-comedian Will Ferrell is 58. Football Hall of Famer Barry Sanders is 57. Actor Corey Feldman is 54. Actor AnnaLynne McCord is 38. Actor-singer James Maslow is 35. Actor Mark Indelicato is 31.