The Manhattan Project was a research and development project that produced the first atomic bombs during World War II. It was led by the United States with the support of the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves of the US Army Corps of Engineers. It began modestly in 1939, but grew to employ more than 130,000 people and cost nearly US$2 billion (the equivalent of about $26 billion now). Although it operated under a tight blanket of security, it was penetrated by Soviet atomic spies. The first device ever detonated was an implosion-type nuclear weapon in the Trinity test (pictured), conducted at New Mexico's Alamogordo Bombing and Gunnery Range on 16 July 1945. Project personnel participated in the Alsos Mission in Europe, and in the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. After the war the Manhattan Project conducted weapons testing in Operation Crossroads, developed new weapons, established the network of national laboratories, supported medical research into radiology, and laid the foundations for a nuclear navy. It was replaced by the Atomic Energy Commission and the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project in 1947. ( Full article...)

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Six people are killed in a passenger train derailment (aftermath pictured) in Brétigny-sur-Orge, France, outside Paris.

A Canadian team wins the Sikorsky Prize for creating a human-powered helicopter.

In Luxembourg, the government of Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker falls following a secret service scandal.

Widespread flooding in China causes at least 46 deaths and the evacuation of more than 220,000 people.

Ten bombs are detonated at one of the holiest sites in Buddhism, the Mahabodhi Temple complex in India, injuring five people.

A runaway fuel train derails in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, killing at least thirty-five people and destroying at least thirty buildings in the town's core.

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July 16: Tisha B'Av (Judaism, 2013); Feast day of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Roman Catholic Church)

1769 – Spanish friar Junípero Serra founded Mission San Diego de Alcalá (pictured), the first Franciscan mission in the Alta California region of New Spain.

1790 – U.S. President George Washington signed the Residence Act, selecting a new permanent site along the Potomac River for the capital of the United States, which later became Washington, D.C.

1931 – Emperor of Ethiopia Haile Selassie signed the nation's first constitution, the first time in history that an absolute ruler voluntarily sought to share sovereignty with his subjects.

1965 – South Vietnamese Colonel Phạm Ngọc Thảo—an undetected communist spy—was hunted down and killed after being sentenced to death in absentia for a February 1965 coup attempt against Nguyen Khanh.

2008 – Sixteen infants in Gansu Province, China, were diagnosed with kidney stones due to tainted milk powder; overall 300,000 infants were affected.

More anniversaries: July 15 – July 16 – July 17

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Zoe Lyons (born 1971) is a British comedian who has appeared on shows such as Dave's One Night Stand, Mock the Week, and The Wright Stuff. Photo: Steve Ullathorne Recently featured: SAP Center at San Jose – Virasat-e-Khalsa – Rokeby Venus Archive – More featured pictures...