Daily Archives: July 15, 2024

History

On this day July 16

Today in History

  • 1995 Amazon.com Sells its First Book

    The e-commerce website was first founded in 1995 by Jeff Bezos as an online bookstore. The first book sold by the Internet giant was Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies: Computer Models of the Fundamental Mechanisms of Thought by Douglas Hofstadter.

  • 1994 Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 collides with Jupiter

    The Jupiter orbiting comet collided with Jupiter. It was the first time in recorded history that astronomers had observed a collision between two celestial objects.

  • 1981 Mahathir bin Mohamad takes office for the first time

    Mohmad, took office as the fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia and remained in the position until 2003, becoming Malayasia’s longest serving prime minister and Asia’s longest serving politician.

  • 1979 Iraqi president, Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr resigns

    The fourth president of Iraq resigned from his post citing health reasons and promoted his Vice President, Saddam Hussein to the post of President.

  • 1951 The Catcher in the Rye is published

    The book, written by J.D. Salinger is considered to be one of the top 100 works of fiction of the 20th century.

History

On This Day – July 15

On This Day

  • 1997 Gianni Versace is murdered by serial killer Andrew Cunanan

    The fashion designer was gunned down by Cunanan in front of his Miami, Florida home. Cunanan was thought to have killed at least 5 people before committing suicide.

  • 1996 MSNBC is launched

    The American news television channel was created by Microsoft and General Electric’s NBC unit. The first show of the channel was hosted by Jodi Applegate.

  • 1983 Orly Airport attack

    A Turkish Airlines check-in counter was bombed at the Orly Airport in Paris, killing 8 people and injuring more than 50 people. The Armenian militant organization ASALA took responsibility for the attack.

  • 1955 Mainau Declaration is signed by 18 Nobel laureates

    The declaration against the use of nuclear weapons was initiated by German scientists Otto Hahn and Max Born.

  • 1799 The Rosetta Stone is found

    The ancient Egyptian rock inscribed with a decree by King Ptolemy V was found in the Egyptian port city of Rashid (Rosetta) by French Captain Pierre Bouchard.