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History Today: When Oppenheimer tested the first atomic bomb
World's first atomic bomb was detonated in New Mexico on July 16, 1945. Image Courtesy: nps.gov
The world entered the nuclear age on July 16, 1945, with the detonation of the first atomic bomb, which was tested in the New Mexico desert. Code-named Trinity, it was part of the Manhattan Project, a massive scientific and military effort by the United States to develop nuclear weapons during World War II.
If you are a history geek who loves to learn about important events from the past, Firstpost Explainers' ongoing series, History Today, will be your one-stop destination to explore key events.
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On this day in 1951, JD Salinger's iconic novel, The Catcher in the Rye, was published. The book introduced the world to the unforgettable teenage protagonist, Holden Caulfield.
Here is all that took place on this day across the world.
The first atomic bomb exploded
One of most important events of the 20th Century took place on July 16, 1945. The first atomic bomb was successfully tested by the United States in Alamogordo, New Mexico. And with this, the world entered the nuclear age.
The bomb, nicknamed 'The Gadget,' used plutonium-239 and was detonated at 5:29 am. The explosion created a blinding flash, a fireball that reached temperatures hotter than the surface of the sun and a mushroom cloud that rose over seven miles (11 kilometres) into the sky. It produced an energy equivalent of about 21 kilotons of TNT.
A man sits next to The Gadget, the nuclear device created by scientists to test the world's atomic bomb, at the Trinity Site in Alamogordo, New Mexico. Wikimedia Commons
Led by physicist J Robert Oppenheimer, the Manhattan Project brought together some of the greatest scientific minds of the time, including Enrico Fermi, Richard Feynman and Niels Bohr. The successful test confirmed that nuclear fission could be weaponised, changing the course of history.
After witnessing the explosion, Oppenheimer famously quoted the Bhagavad Gita, 'Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.'
Just three weeks later, the US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima on August 6 and Nagasaki on August 9, leading to Japan's surrender and the end of World War II. The Trinity test not only marked the dawn of nuclear warfare but also triggered decades of arms races, Cold War tensions and ethical debates about the use of such destructive technology.
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Catcher in the Rye published
JD Salinger's only full-length novel, The Catcher in the Rye, was published by Little, Brown and Company on this day in 1951. With the launch of the book, the world was introduced to the unforgettable teenage protagonist, Holden Caulfield.
Set in post-World War II America, the novel follows Holden over the course of three days in New York City after being expelled from prep school. Disillusioned by the 'phoniness' of the adult world and struggling with grief over the death of his younger brother, Holden narrates his journey in a raw, confessional tone that was both controversial and groundbreaking at the time.
JD Salinger's classic novel, which gave life to Holden Caulfield. File image/AP
While initial reviews were mixed, the book quickly gained popularity among young readers and became a bestseller. Its honest portrayal of teenage alienation, mental health, and rebellion struck a chord with postwar youth and sparked widespread debate.
Salinger, who became famously reclusive after the novel's publication, never allowed a film adaptation and published little afterward. Yet his lone novel became a literary icon and has sold over 65 million copies worldwide.
This Day, That Year
Chicago officially opened its Millennium Park on this day in 2004.
In 1979, Saddam Hussein became president of Iraq.
Apollo 11 lifted off from Nasa's John F Kennedy Space Center in Florida on this day in 1969.
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History Today: When Louise Brown's birth marked the dawn of IVF
On July 25, 1978, Louise Joy Brown became the world's first IVF-baby — ushering in a new era of reproductive medicine and giving hope to millions. On this day in 2007, Pratibha Patil became India's first woman president, Mata Hari's espionage trial ends in 1917, and Svetlana Savitskaya made the first female spacewalk in 1984 read more The world's first 'test tube baby' Britain's Louise Brown, faces the media holding 13 week old twins Antonia and Henry Veary, as Professor Robert Edwards (L) looks on, during 25th anniversary celebrations of the revolutionary fertility treatment 'In Vitro Fertilisation' (IVF) at Bourne Hall in Cambridgeshire, UK, July 26, 2003. File Image/Reuters As part of Firstpost's _History Today series,_ some of July 25's milestones come across science, politics and space exploration. In 1978, Louise Joy Brown became the world's first baby born through in vitro fertilisation — a transformative moment that reshaped reproductive medicine. In 2007, Pratibha Patil was sworn in as the first woman President of India. On July 25, 1917, dancer-turned-spy Mata Hari was sentenced to death by a French military court. And in 1984, Soviet cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya became the first woman to walk in space. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD World's first 'test tube' baby born On July 25, 1978, at 11:47 pm in Oldham General Hospital, Lancashire, England, Louise Joy Brown was born weighing 5 pounds, 12 ounces. Her birth was unlike any other in human history. Louise was the world's first baby conceived through in vitro fertilisation (IVF) — an extraordinary scientific breakthrough that not only revolutionised reproductive medicine but also profoundly reshaped cultural and ethical debates surrounding human conception. This moment marked the culmination of years of pioneering medical research, social controversy, and a fundamental leap in our understanding of fertility science. The team responsible for this landmark achievement comprised three key figures: Dr. Patrick Steptoe , a British obstetrician and gynecologist; Dr. Robert Edwards , a physiologist and embryologist; And Jean Purdy, a nurse and embryology technician who played a vital, often under-acknowledged role in the daily handling and observation of embryos. Their collaboration began in the 1960s. Edwards had long been investigating fertilisation outside the body in laboratory settings, while Steptoe had been developing techniques in laparoscopy, a key method for retrieving eggs from a woman's ovaries. Purdy meticulously documented and managed embryonic development procedures. Between 1969 and 1978, the trio worked tirelessly, often facing medical and ethical opposition from peers, the press and political figures. Over 80 IVF attempts were made during this period without a successful full-term pregnancy. They also struggled with funding, relying partially on private backers and working in relative isolation from the mainstream medical establishment. Their persistence paid off in late 1977, when Lesley and John Brown, a working-class couple from Bristol who had been trying to conceive for nine years, agreed to undergo the then-experimental procedure. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Lesley Brown suffered from blocked fallopian tubes, making natural conception virtually impossible. After reading about Steptoe and Edwards in a magazine, the Browns decided to take a chance. On November 10, 1977, doctors retrieved a single mature egg from Lesley's ovaries via laparoscopy. This egg was fertilised with John Brown's sperm in a laboratory petri dish at the Bourn Hall Clinic in Cambridge, then incubated and monitored for proper cell division. After 2.5 days of development, the embryo was transferred into Lesley's uterus. There was cautious optimism. The embryo implanted successfully, and for nine months the Browns' pregnancy proceeded normally. On the night of July 25, a caesarean section was performed due to delivery complications. Louise Brown was born — healthy, breathing, and utterly ordinary in every respect except for the way she was conceived. News of Louise's birth generated headlines around the world. Many hailed it as a triumph of modern medicine and human ingenuity. Others, including religious authorities and some bioethicists, raised serious concerns about the moral implications of creating life outside the womb. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The Catholic Church, in particular, voiced strong opposition, warning that IVF could lead to the commodification of human life, embryo destruction and a slippery slope toward eugenics. Others questioned whether children born through IVF would be psychologically or physically different. 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Techniques improved dramatically: egg retrieval became more precise, embryo freezing more reliable, and implantation methods less invasive. IVF no longer required natural ovulation cycles; hormonal stimulation could increase the number of retrievable eggs. By the 1990s, intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) was introduced, allowing even severely infertile men to father children by injecting a single sperm directly into an egg. The cumulative effect was seismic. In the decades following Louise Brown's birth, over 12 million babies have been born worldwide through IVF and related technologies, according to the International Committee Monitoring Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ICMART). IVF has become standard practice for treating infertility, enabling same-sex couples and single parents to have biological children. Countries like Israel and Denmark now fund fertility treatments through public health insurance. In contrast, access remains limited or prohibitively expensive in many other parts of the world, including parts of Asia, Africa and Latin America. Despite their groundbreaking work, recognition for the IVF pioneers came slowly. Edwards was eventually awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2010, just three years before his death. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The world's first 'test tube baby' Britain's Louise Brown (R) listens as Professor Robert Edwards (L) addresses the media during 25th anniversary celebrations of the revolutionary fertility treatment ' In Vitro Fertilization' ( IVF) at Bourne Hall in Cambridgeshire, UK, July 26, 2003. File Image/Reuters Steptoe passed away in 1988, before Nobel rules allowed posthumous recognition. Purdy's contributions were marginalised for decades; her name was initially omitted from official plaques and commendations. In recent years, efforts have been made to restore her role in history. A commemorative plaque unveiled in 2015 at Bourn Hall Clinic, now a major fertility centre, included her name alongside Edwards and Steptoe. As for Louise Brown, she has embraced her place in history, living a private life in Bristol, working in administrative roles, and raising two children conceived naturally. 'I was just a baby,' she has often said in interviews. 'It's the doctors who should be remembered.' The birth of Louise Brown on July 25, 1978, stands as a watershed moment not only in medical science but in human culture. It proved that conception was no longer bound solely by natural fertility. For millions of individuals and couples who once faced hopelessness, IVF opened new doors — and new definitions of family. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Pratibha Patil becomes first woman president of India On July 25, 2007, Pratibha Devisingh Patil was sworn in as India's 12th President, becoming the first woman to hold the office. 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War has a funny way of turning wild ideas into serious government projects. In the chaos of World War II and the paranoia of the Cold War, military minds across the globe cooked up experiments that sound less like national defense and more like fever dreams. Think remote-viewing psychics, napalm-strapped bats, pain rays, and yes, even a surgically wired CIA spy cat, code-named 'Acoustikitty,' who was supposed to eavesdrop on Soviet agents but promptly wandered off. These weren't jokes, they were fully funded, sometimes top-secret missions with real budgets and even weirder intentions. Most of these plans fizzled out, tripped up by science, common sense, or the sheer unpredictability of, say, cats. But they offer a fascinating, and often hilarious, look into what happens when military strategy meets sci-fi imagination. So if you've ever wondered what it looks like when serious defense programs go completely off the rails, you're in the right place. Let's reimagine it. Acoustikitty : CIA tried to recruit cats, they refused to take orders In the mid-1960s, the CIA launched a curious and ambitious project known as "Acoustikitty," aiming to use wired and microphoned cats to covertly eavesdrop on open-air conversations between foreign agents and their Soviet contacts. The plan involved implanting a microphone in the cat's ear, a transmitter under its skin, and an antenna woven into its fur, allowing it to inconspicuously capture sensitive conversations in public places like parks. Despite the technology functioning as intended, the fundamental flaw lay in the cat's unpredictable behavior, true to feline nature, it couldn't be trained to follow specific commands or approach intended targets reliably. After several unsuccessful tests, the project was ultimately abandoned in 1967 without ever seeing operational use. Still, the story of Acoustikitty remains one of the most bizarre and enduring legends of Cold War espionage. Project Stargate : Psychic soldiers for intel Project Stargate was a Cold War-era US intelligence effort to explore the potential military use of psychic phenomena, especially remote viewing, the claimed ability to perceive distant or unseen targets without physical presence. Sparked by reports that the Soviet Union was heavily investing in psychic research, the CIA feared falling behind in this unconventional domain. Throughout the 1970s to 1990s, the program evolved under various codenames like SCANATE, GONDOLA WISH, and GRILL FLAME, eventually becoming known as Stargate. Supporters of Project Stargate cite cases where remote viewers allegedly identified a crashed Soviet aircraft in Africa and described hidden facilities later verified by traditional intelligence. However, critics argue these successes were overstated, noting that remote viewing often produced vague or inaccurate information and that results could not be reliably replicated under controlled conditions, casting doubt on the program's scientific validity. By 1995, it was declassified and terminated after a review found it failed to produce consistently reliable intelligence. The Gay Bomb: Chemical to 'turn' enemies In 1994, a US military lab at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base proposed developing a non-lethal chemical weapon designed to disrupt enemy morale by inducing homosexual behavior among troops using a potent aphrodisiac. The idea was part of a $7.5 million funding request aimed at researching chemicals that could impair enemy discipline and cohesion without causing physical harm. Although the "gay bomb" proposal was ultimately rejected, it resurfaced years later when the document was disclosed through a Freedom of Information request. 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Critics argue that while it may not cause lasting harm, the psychological and potential long-term effects of such a weapon remain poorly understood. Despite this, the ADS represents a significant advancement in non-lethal crowd control technology. Camel Corps: Military camels in America The Camel Corps was a mid-19th-century US military experiment aimed at using camels as pack animals in the arid regions of the American Southwest. Initiated by Secretary of War Jefferson Davis in the 1850s, the program involved importing camels from the Middle East to test their effectiveness in desert conditions. Housed at Camp Verde, Texas, the camels proved to be strong, resilient, and well-suited for transporting supplies over long distances. Despite their success in field trials, the project was eventually abandoned due to the Civil War, lack of institutional support, and soldiers' preference for traditional animals like horses and mules. Peacekeeper Trains: Nukes launched from trains Peacekeeper Trains were a Cold War-era US military concept designed to make nuclear missile launches more survivable by placing them on mobile rail platforms. The idea was to load Peacekeeper intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) onto specially designed train cars that could travel across the national rail network, making their location unpredictable and reducing their vulnerability to a first-strike attack. By constantly moving or being deployed to remote tracks, these trains would ensure a credible second-strike capability. Although the system was tested and proven feasible, the program was never fully deployed due to high costs, logistical challenges, and arms reduction treaties. (The article uses AI generated images)
