Today 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 (mar-AY’) Island Naval Shipyard in California on a secret mission to deliver atomic bomb components to Tinian Island in the Marianas.

Also on this date:

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

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

1969: Apollo 11 launched from Cape Kennedy in Florida on the first manned mission to the surface of the moon.

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.

2015: A jury in Centennial, Colorado, convicted James Holmes of 165 counts of murder, attempted murder and other charges in the 2012 Aurora movie theater rampage that left 12 people dead.

Today’s Birthdays: International Tennis Hall of Famer Margaret Court is 83. Violinist Pinchas Zukerman is 77. Actor-singer Ruben Blades is 77. 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 Jayma Mays is 46. Retired soccer star Carli Lloyd is 43. Actor AnnaLynne McCord is 38.