July 16: Facts & Historical Events On This Day

Twelve new moons were discovered in Jupiter’s orbit, bringing the planet’s total number of moons to 79.

Jurassic Park III premiered in Los Angeles, California.

The movie was the least well-received and was the lowest-grossing movie of the franchise at $368.8 million worldwide.

The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic’s Parliament declared sovereignty over Ukrainian territories.

The declaration was made shortly after Moldova, Russia, and Uzbekistan declared their own sovereignty.

Republican Party in Detroit nominated Ronald Reagan for US president.

NASA launched Apollo 11 from the Kennedy Space Center.

Astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins were on board. On July 20, Armstrong and Aldrin became the first men to walk on the Moon.

US Marine Major John Glenn’s “Project Bullet” broke the transcontinental speed record.

John Glenn took off from a Vought F8U Crusader at Los Alamitos Naval Air Station in California. He landed in Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, New York, 3 hours, 23 minutes, and 8 seconds later. This journey set a new speed record of 725.55 mph.

The world’s first atomic bomb was detonated.

The blast happened at the Trinity Site, New Mexico, US using 22 kilotons of TNT.

Adolf Hitler planned to invade Britain under the guise name “Operation Sealion.”

Britain would become the only country in western Europe to stand against the Nazis with success.

Oklahoma City, USA, installed the world’s first parking meter.

The opera “Die Entführung aus dem Serail” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart premiered in Vienna, Austria.

Father Junipero Serra started his first mission in California named “Mission San Diego.”

The bank of Stockholm issued the first banknotes in Europe.

Martin Luther had a public debate with theologian Johann Eck at Pleissenburg Castle in Leipzig.

On this day, Martin Luther denied the divine right of the Pope.

The journey of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his followers began. This was known as the Hijrah.

Muhammed and his followers left Mecca on their journey to Medina. This marks the start of the Muslim calendar.