On This Day: July 16
On July 16, 1918, Russia's Czar Nicholas II, his wife and their five children were executed by the Bolsheviks.
On July 16, 1911, Ginger Rogers, the American actress and dancer who partnered with Fred Astaire in many Hollywood musicals, was born. Following her death on April 25, 1995, her obituary appeared in The Times.
On This Date
| 1790 | The District of Columbia was established as the seat of the U.S. government. |
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| 1951 | J.D. Salinger's novel "The Catcher in the Rye" was published. |
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| 1957 | Marine Maj. John Glenn set a transcontinental speed record when he flew a jet from California to New York in 3 hours, 23 minutes and 8 seconds. |
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| 1964 | In accepting the Republican presidential nomination in San Francisco, Barry M. Goldwater said "extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice" and "moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue." |
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| 1969 | Apollo 11 blasted off from Cape Kennedy on the first manned mission to the moon. |
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| 1973 | Former White House aide Alexander P. Butterfield publicly revealed the existence of President Richard Nixon's secret taping system during the Senate Watergate hearings. |
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| 1979 | Saddam Hussein became president of Iraq. |
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| 1980 | Ronald Reagan won the Republican presidential nomination at the party's convention in Detroit. |
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| 1999 | John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife, Carolyn, and her sister died when the single-engine plane Kennedy was piloting plunged into the Atlantic Ocean near Martha's Vineyard, Mass. |
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| 2004 | Martha Stewart was sentenced to five months in prison and five months of home confinement by a federal judge for lying about a stock sale. |
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Current Birthdays
Actress AnnaLynne McCord ("Nip/Tuck," "90210") turns 24 years old today.
AP Photo/Evan Agostini
Football Hall of Famer Barry Sanders turns 43 years old today.
AP Photo/Jason DeCrow
| 1932 | Dick Thornburgh, Former U.S. attorney general, turns 79 |
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| 1942 | Margaret Smith Court, Tennis Hall of Famer, turns 69 |
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| 1948 | Ruben Blades, Singer, actor, turns 63 |
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| 1952 | Stewart Copeland, Rock musician (The Police), turns 59 |
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| 1956 | Tony Kushner, Playwright, turns 55 |
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| 1958 | Michael Flatley, Dancer, turns 53 |
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| 1963 | Phoebe Cates, Actress, turns 48 |
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| 1967 | Will Ferrell, Actor, comedian, turns 44 |
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| 1971 | Corey Feldman, Actor, turns 40 |
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Historic Birthdays
Ginger Rogers7/16/1911 - 4/25/1995American stage and screen dancer and actressGo to obituary »
| 59 | Clare of Assisi 7/16/1194 - 8/11/1253
Italian founder of the order of Poor Clares; canonized in 1255 |
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| 44 | Andrea Del Sarto 7/16/1486 - 9/28/1530
Italian painter and draftsman |
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| 86 | Marc-Rene Montalembert 7/16/1714 - 3/29/1800
French general and military engineer |
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| 69 | Sir Joshua Reynolds 7/16/1723 - 2/23/1792
English portrait painter |
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| 79 | Camille Corot 7/16/1796 - 2/22/1875
French landscape painter |
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| 89 | Mary Baker Eddy 7/16/1821 - 12/3/1910
American founder of the Church of Christ, Scientist |
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| 64 | Fannie Zeisler 7/16/1863 - 8/20/1927
Austrian-born American pianist |
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| 55 | Roald Amundsen 7/16/1872 - 6/18/1928
Norwegian explorer; the first to reach the South Pole |
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| 83 | Barbara Stanwyck 7/16/1907 - 1/20/1990
American motion-picture and television actress |
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| 68 | Guy Laroche 7/16/1921 - 2/17/1989
French couturier |
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