On July 16, a comet smashed into Jupiter, a devastating earthquake hit Luzon, and China’s milk scandal broke as Millennium Park opened in Chicago.
July 16 in History
300,000 Victims in China Milk Scandal
Tainted baby formula leaves 54,000 hospitalized and six dead amid national panic.
Chinese consumers avoid dairy products following the 2008 melamine-tainted milk powder scandal — Marc van der Chijs
An estimated 300,000 people, most of them infants, have been poisoned by tainted milk powder in China, with 54,000 hospitalized with kidney problems and six dead, Chinese health officials confirmed Thursday.
The scandal broke July 16, 2008, after widespread reports of sick babies sparked investigations. Sanlu Group, a major dairy producer, was found to have added melamine — a chemical used to fake protein content — to its infant formula, a practice industry inspectors later linked to other brands.
Melamine, an industrial chemical used in plastics and fertilizers, can cause kidney stones and renal failure. Victims ranged in age from newborns to toddlers, with parents reporting blood in urine and crying during urination.
China's Health Ministry said it had seized tons of contaminated product and arrested company executives. Sanlu, partly owned by New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra, initially denied wrongdoing before admitting its formula was tainted.
The crisis triggered a nationwide recall and shut down China's dairy export market for years. Parents stormed hospitals demanding tests for their children, and many turned to imported formula, shunning local brands indefinitely.
Beijing later executed two people and sentenced several others to life in prison for their roles in the contamination. Consumer groups filed class-action lawsuits in Chinese courts, seeking compensation for medical costs and long-term care. The government announced a new food safety agency to oversee the dairy industry. Analysts estimated the scandal cost the Chinese dairy sector billions in lost revenue and market share internationally.
Millennium Park Opens in Chicago After Four-Year Delay
Rooftop garden park draws 300,000 to three-day celebration.
Crowds fill Millennium Park during its opening weekend celebrations. — J. Crocker
Millennium Park, a 24. 5-acre public park perched atop a parking garage and rail yards, opened to the public Friday in Chicago after a four-year delay. The park, one of the world's largest rooftop gardens, debuted with a three-day celebration that drew an estimated 300,000 people.
The opening ceremony, sponsored by J. P. Morgan Chase & Co. , featured an inaugural concert by the Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus.
Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 Slams Into Jupiter
Fireball reaches 24,000 Kelvin as first fragment strikes at 60 km/s.
A fireball reaching 24,000 kelvin erupted on Jupiter's southern hemisphere Saturday. At 20:13 UTC, the first fragment of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 slammed into the planet's atmosphere at 60 kilometers per second.
The impacts were detected by instruments aboard the Galileo spacecraft, which is en route to Jupiter. Over six days, 21 distinct impacts are expected, with the largest, fragment G, predicted for July 18. That impact could release energy equivalent to six million megatons of TNT and create a scar over 12,000 kilometers across.
Mozart's 'Die Entführung' Premieres in Vienna
New opera establishes young composer's reputation.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's reputation as a composer was cemented today with the premiere of his opera Die Entführung aus dem Serail at the Burgtheater in Vienna. The work drew an enthusiastic crowd, with many patrons praising its lively Turkish-inspired melodies and intricate vocal passages.
Selassie Grants First Written Constitution to Ethiopia
Emperor retains strong control but sets up a bicameral legislature and pledges a future democratic order.
In an epochal step for the ancient African kingdom, Emperor Haile Selassie this day promulgated Ethiopia’s first written constitution, a document that vests ultimate authority in the throne yet outlines a path toward parliamentary rule.
1,621 Feared Dead in Powerful Luzon Quake
President Aquino survives as 28 buildings collapse in Baguio and a school kills 154 in Cabanatuan.
President Cory Aquino, who had to scramble under a conference table for cover, today ordered class suspensions and full relief mobilization after a 7. 8-magnitude earthquake devastated the island of Luzon, killing an estimated 1,621 people.
U.S. Detonates First Atomic Bomb in New Mexico Desert
25-kiloton blast at Trinity site heralds new age of warfare.
A blinding flash of light and a mushroom cloud rising 40,000 feet over the Jornada del Muerto desert marked the first detonation of a nuclear weapon, the Trinity test, at 5:29 a. m. today. The blast was visible 250 miles away; the shock wave was felt 100 miles distant. Los Alamos director J. Robert Oppenheimer reported a successful test to Washington by coded wire.
Washington Signs Act Naming Potomac Capital Site
Philadelphia to serve as temporary seat until December 1800.
President George Washington, whose signature on the Residence Act set the capital along the Potomac River. — Wikimedia / Wikipedia
President George Washington today signed the Residence Act, selecting a permanent site along the Potomac River for the capital of the United States, a city that will become Washington, D. C. The act designates a ten-mile-square district, with construction expected to take a decade before the government relocates from Philadelphia.
Uruguay Stuns Brazil 2–1 at Maracanã Before 173,850
Alcides Ghiggia's late goal gives Uruguay the World Cup in one of football's greatest upsets.
The Maracanã Stadium fell silent. Brazil's crowd of 173,850—an all-time record—watched in disbelief as Alcides Ghiggia scored with eleven minutes left, giving Uruguay a 2–1 victory and the 1950 FIFA World Cup. Ghiggia's winner came after a Friaça goal for Brazil and a Schiaffino equalizer for Uruguay, silencing the largest crowd ever to see a match.
Niigata Quake Leaks Radiation; 11 Dead
A 6.6-magnitude earthquake damages Japan's largest nuclear plant, forcing Prime Minister Abe to cut short his campaign.
A radioactive gas leak from the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant overshadowed the human toll of a magnitude 6. 6 earthquake that struck Niigata Prefecture at 10:13 a. m. on July 16, 2007.
Salinger's 'Catcher in the Rye' Hits Bookstores
The novel, first serialized in the mid-1940s, captures adolescent angst and alienation.
J. D. Salinger, author of 'The Catcher in the Rye.' — Bantam
In a literary year dominated by sober adult novels, J. D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye" arrives as something else entirely—a coming-of-age story first serialized between 1945 and 1946 that now finds its final form. The novel, published today by Little, Brown and Company, retails for $3.00. Early reviews are mixed.
