JFK JR.,WIFE & SISTER-IN-LAW KILLED IN PLANE CRASH NEAR MARTHA'S VINEYARD
Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts (JFK+50) The son of the late President & Mrs. John F. Kennedy, John F. Kennedy, Jr., his wife, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy & sister-in-law Lauren Bessette died this evening when their Piper Saratoga single-engine airplane crashed.
The three were going to attend the wedding of the late Robert F. Kennedy's youngest daughter, Rory.
Mr. Kennedy, who was piloting the plane, was a graduate of Brown University & New York University Law School.
JFK Jr. was an assistant district attorney & founder of the political magazine, "George".*
*The article above is published as if all news were available on July 16, 1999 but the wreckage of the aircraft was not found for 2 days. The bodies were recovered by navy divers on July 21.
John F. Kennedy, Jr.
NASA Photo (1998)
July 16, 1969
CREW OF APOLLO 11 ON WAY TO HISTORY
Cape Canaveral, Florida (JFK+50) The crew of Apollo 11 was successfully launched here at 9:32 Eastern time this morning.
Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, Neil Armstrong, & Michael Collins are now in the process of achieving the goal set by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 to "land a man on the moon & return him safely to the earth before this decade is out."
Apollo 11 Lifts Off
July 16, 1969
NASA Photo
July 16, 1962
SI PUBLISHES JFK'S "THE VIGOR WE NEED"
New York, NY (JFK+50) Sports Illustrated published today it's latest issue which includes an article written by President John F. Kennedy.
The title of the article is "The Vigor We Need".
The President recommends proposals to overcome the disturbing fact that 60% of the nation's school-aged children do not take part in regular physical fitness programs & millions of adults neglect regular exercise.
JFK says:
"The ultimate responsibility for the fitness of the American people rests on the cooperation & determination of school boards, town officials & millions of fathers & mothers."
Official US Physical Fitness Brochure
JFK Library Image
July 16, 1945
ATOMIC BOMB TEST IN NEW MEXICO A SUCCESS
Alamogordo, New Mexico (JFK+50) The United States successfully exploded the world's 1st atomic bomb here this morning at 5:29:45 local time.
The test follows years of work by the employees of the Manhattan Project approved by the late President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
At Los Alamos, the project was directed by Robert J. Oppenheimer with assistance from Hans Bethe, Edward Teller & Enrico Fermi.
The test bomb was detonated 120 miles South of Sante Fe with scientists positioned 10,000 yards away.
A mushroom cloud appeared 40,000 feet in the air.*
*The final cost of the Manhattan Project would be $2 billion.
Trinity Atomic Test Site Obelisk
Photo by Samat Jain (2010)
July 16, 1918
CZAR NICHOLAS II & FAMILY ARE EXECUTED
Yekaterinburg, Russia (JFK+50) The Romanovs of Russia were executed in the cellar of a house in this city late this evening by their Bolshevik captors.
Czar Nicholas II, who had been forced to abdicate in March 1917, was shot along with his wife, Alexandra, their 5 children & 4 servants.
They were ordered to dress & were waiting in a room in the cellar when a group of gunmen entered & shot them all.
Czar Nicholas II
Portrait by H. Manizer (1905)
July 16, 1914
SIR LIPTON WRITES ROSE KENNEDY IS HIS "CUP OF TEA"
Southampton, England (JFK+50) Sir Thomas Lipton, aboard the Erin off the English coast today, wrote a reply to his good friend John Francis "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald.
Sir Lipton, the famous tea magnate, wrote:
"My Dear Fitzgerald:
I note that (your daughter) Rose (Fitzgerald) is getting married. Her fiance (Joseph P. Kennedy) is a very lucky chap. He is getting a girl that is one of the best & cleverest that ever breathed."
Sir Thomas Lipton (1909)
