1790

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

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.

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.

1969

Apollo 11 blasted off from Cape Kennedy in Florida on the first manned mission to the surface of the moon.

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

Soul singer William Bell is 84. Playwright Tony Kushner is 67. Actor Faye Grant is 66. Actor-comedian Will Ferrell is 56. College and Pro Football Hall of Famer Barry Sanders is 55. Retired soccer star Carli Lloyd is 41. Actor Mark Indelicato is 29.