This Day In History

Lyricist Dorothy Fields was born on July 15, 1904, in Allenhurst, New Jersey. She wrote more than 400 songs for Broadway and film, including “The Way You Look Tonight” and “On the Sunny Side of the Street.”

On July 14, 1853, President Franklin Pierce opened a glass-and-iron palace in New York City filled with machinery, art, and manufactured goods from around the world. The Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations became the first major world’s fair in the United States and tested whether New York could rival London as a center of industry and culture.

On July 13, 1930, the inaugural FIFA World Cup began in Montevideo, Uruguay. Thirteen national teams gathered for a new competition designed to determine soccer’s world champion outside the Olympic Games.

Artist Andrew Wyeth was born on July 12, 1917, in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. By studying weathered farms, quiet rooms, and familiar neighbors, he found mystery and emotion in places others might overlook.

On July 13, 1930, the inaugural FIFA World Cup began in Montevideo, Uruguay. Thirteen national teams gathered for a new competition designed to determine soccer’s world champion outside the Olympic Games.

On June 9, 1973, Secretariat won the Belmont Stakes race, becoming the first US Triple Crown winner in 25 years.

On May 13, 1914, Joe Louis Barrow was born near Lafayette, Alabama. He would become Joe Louis, the “Brown Bomber,” a heavyweight champion whose calm power in the ring carried meaning far beyond boxing.

The first-ever Boson Marathon was run on April 19, 1897. It’s the world’s oldest annual marathon and is one of the six World Marathon Majors. While the first race included 15 runners, recent races have seen over 30,000 participants.

On July 16, 1769, Franciscan friar Junipero Serra founded California’s first Catholic mission. This marked the beginning of the Spanish mission system in California, which would go on to shape the culture, history, and landscape of the region for centuries.

On July 16, 1790, the District of Columbia was established with George Washington’s signing of the Residence Act. It would be 10 years before the national government officially relocated there.

On July 16, 1934, the first stamp in the National Parks Series was issued, honoring Yosemite National Park. The series was issued to raise awareness of America’s national parks, and was part of the Infamous Farley’s Follies…

On July 16, 1945, members of America’s Manhattan Project held their first successful test of the atom bomb in Alamogordo, New Mexico.