News, Events, Birthdays, History - July 16 - July 22
| Birthdays Nelson Mandela - July 18, 1918 A former President of South Africa, Mandela was the first to be elected in a fully representative democratic election in 1994. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and was convicted by the South African courts on charges of sabotage and other crimes. Mandela served 27 years in prison before his release and election to the Presidency. He is currently a celebrated elder statesman who continues to voice his opinion on topical issues. Sir Edmund Hillary - July 20, 1919 On 29 May 1953 at the age of 33, Hillary and Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers known to have reached the summit of Mount Everest at 29,028 feet. Ernest Hemingway - July 21, 1899  An American writer and journalist, Hemingway received the Pulitzer Prize in 1953 for The Old Man and the Sea, and the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954. Other famouse works include For Whom the Bell Tolls and A Farewell to Arms. Hemingway's distinctive writing style is characterized by economy and understatement, and had a significant influence on the development of twentieth-century fiction writing. His protagonists are typically stoical men who exhibit an ideal described as "grace under pressure." Many of his works are now considered classics of American literature. Events Disneyland Opened: July 17, 1955 On this date in 1995, America's first theme park was opened. Disneyland was located in Anaheim, California, and had been built in just under one year for a total cost of 17.5 million dollars. When DISNEYLAND opened, general admission was just $1. Anaheim had five hotels and two motels with a total of 87 rooms. Today, Anaheim boasts approximately 150 hotels and motels, with approximately 18,000 rooms and well over 450 restaurants.  ELvis Presley's first single released - July 19, 1954 That's All Right, Mama was released on this date, and playing on radio stations across the country. Presley would go on to be the best selling solo artist in U.S. history. First Woman Vice-Presidential Candidate - July 19, 1984 On this date in 1984, former Vice President and presidential candidate Walter Mondale selected Geraldine Ferraro to be his running mate in the upcoming election. The positive polling Mondale received when she joined him faded as questions arose about the finances of her and her husband. In the general election, Mondale and Ferraro were defeated in a landslide by incumbent President Ronald Reagan and Vice President George H. W. Bush. First man on the moon - July 20, 1969 The Apollo 11 mission was the first mann  ed mission to land on the Moon. Launched on July 16, 1969, the mission included Commander Neil Alden Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin Eugene 'Buzz' Aldrin, Jr. On July 20, Armstrong and Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the Moon, while Collins orbited above.The mission fulfilled President John F. Kennedy's goal of reaching the moon by the end of the 1960s, which he expressed during a speech given before a joint session of Congress on May 25, 1961. Neil Armstrong's famous quote was given as he stepped from the ladder of the lunar module to the surface of the moon - "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."July 22, 1934 - John Dillinger Death Anniversary Dillinger was a bank robber in the Midwestern United States during the early 1930s. He was responsible for the murder of several police officers, robbed at least two dozen banks and four police stations, and escaped from jail twice. He was dubbed "Public Enemy Number 1" by the FBI. He was killed by police outside of a Chicago theatre. |
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