In 1957, the United States conducted its first contained underground nuclear test, code-named “Rainier,” in the Nevada desert.
In 1959, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, in Los Angeles as part of his U.S. tour, reacted angrily upon being told that, for security reasons, he wouldn’t get to visit Disneyland.
In 1960, Cuban leader Fidel Castro, in New York to visit the United Nations, angrily checked out of the Shelburne Hotel in a dispute with the management; Castro ended up staying at the Hotel Theresa in Harlem.
In 1970, the “Mary Tyler Moore” show debuted on CBS-TV.
In 1982, the smiley emoticon was invented by Carnegie Mellon University professor Scott E. Fahlman, who suggested punctuating humorously intended computer messages with a colon followed by a hyphen and a parenthesis as a horizontal “smiley face.” 🙂
In 1985, the Mexico City area was struck by a devastating earthquake that killed at least 9,500 people.
In 1997, in his first public comments since the death of Princess Diana, Prince Charles told the British people he would always feel the loss of his former wife, and thanked them for their support. Six people were killed when an express passenger train and a freight train collided in west London. The crime drama “L.A. Confidential” was released by Warner Bros.
Ten years ago: The Senate blocked legislation that would have regulated the amount of time troops spent in combat, a blow for Democrats struggling to challenge President George W. Bush’s Iraq policies. A powerful bomb killed anti-Syria lawmaker Antoine Ghanem and six others in Beirut, Lebanon.
Five years ago: Members of Congress presented the Congressional Gold Medal to Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi (ahng sahn soo chee) in a ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda. The Justice Department’s internal watchdog found fault with the agency’s handling of a gun-trafficking probe in Arizona that resulted in hundreds of weapons turning up at crime scenes in the U.S. and Mexico; the inspector general’s report referred more than a dozen people for possible disciplinary action for their roles in Operation Fast and Furious. The Windseeker ride at Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, California, broke down, leaving about 20 riders dangling 300 feet over the amusement park for nearly four hours. Fred Couples was elected into the World Golf Hall of Fame.
One year ago: President Barack Obama and Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi (HY’-dahr ahl ah-BAH’-dee), meeting on the sidelines of a United Nations summit, put the Islamic State group on notice that they planned to recapture the city of Mosul within months. World leaders meeting at the United Nations approved a declaration aimed at providing a more coordinated and humane response to the refugee crisis that was straining resources and stoking divisions around the world. Angelina Jolie Pitt filed for divorce from Brad Pitt, citing irreconcilable differences.