Updated July 15, 2012, 2:28 pm
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.
Go to obituary » | Other birthdays »
On This Date
By The Associated Press
1790 The District of Columbia was established as the seat of the U.S. government. 1951 J.D. Salinger’s novel “The Catcher in the Rye” was published. 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. 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.” 1969 Apollo 11 blasted off from Cape Kennedy on the first manned mission to the moon. 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. 1979 Saddam Hussein became president of Iraq. 1980 Ronald Reagan won the Republican presidential nomination at the party’s convention in Detroit. 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. 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. Current Birthdays
By The Associated Press
Actor-comedian Will Ferrell turns 45 years old today.
AP Photo/Dan Steinberg
Actress Jayma Mays (“Glee”) turns 33 years old today.
AP Photo/Chris Pizzello
1932 Dick Thornburgh, Former U.S. attorney general, turns 80 1942 Margaret Smith Court, Tennis Hall of Famer, turns 70 1948 Ruben Blades, Singer, actor, turns 64 1952 Stewart Copeland, Rock musician (The Police), turns 60 1956 Tony Kushner, Playwright, turns 56 1958 Michael Flatley, Dancer, turns 54 1963 Phoebe Cates, Actress, turns 49 1968 Barry Sanders, Football Hall of Famer, turns 44 1971 Corey Feldman, Actor, turns 41 1987 AnnaLynne McCord, Actress (“Nip/Tuck,” “90210”), turns 25
Historic Birthdays
Ginger Rogers 7/16/1911 – 4/25/1995 American 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 125544 Andrea Del Sarto 7/16/1486 – 9/28/1530
Italian painter and draftsman86 Marc-Rene Montalembert 7/16/1714 – 3/29/1800
French general and military engineer69 Sir Joshua Reynolds 7/16/1723 – 2/23/1792
English portrait painter79 Camille Corot 7/16/1796 – 2/22/1875
French landscape painter89 Mary Baker Eddy 7/16/1821 – 12/3/1910
American founder of the Church of Christ, Scientist64 Fannie Zeisler 7/16/1863 – 8/20/1927
Austrian-born American pianist55 Roald Amundsen 7/16/1872 – 6/18/1928
Norwegian explorer; the first to reach the South Pole83 Barbara Stanwyck 7/16/1907 – 1/20/1990
American motion-picture and television actress68 Guy Laroche 7/16/1921 – 2/17/1989
French couturier
