By The Associated Press

Today in History

Today is Tuesday, July 16, the 197th day of 2019. There are 168 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

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 1979, Saddam Hussein became president of Iraq.

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