What happened on this day?

There are some dates that, coincidentally, host events belonging to the same period. This is the case of July 16, which saw two major milestones They are related to the scope of explorationIn its purest expression.

We know very well that from the 16th century to about the 20th century, The concept of a world beyond the old continent

He led some characters on adventures: among them, Ferdinand Magellan, Alexander von Humboldt and Roald Amundsen stand out.

The latter was born on this day in 1872, and would soon become famous Led the expedition that reached the South Pole for the first time in history,

Earlier, on his first voyage the Norwegian explorer managed to cross the Northwest Passage, where he was stranded for almost two years. But what seemed like a failure turned out to be an unprecedented success: Amundsen discovered the place, Never before achieved in three centuries of campaigns.

The adventurers were given a warm welcome on their return to Norway. So much so, that Amundsen could not stop smiling, as reported in his own diary remained with him throughout the expedition. However, his insatiable spirit did not allow him to be satisfied: he was surprised at not being able to become the first person to reach the North Pole “And why not the South Pole?”. Thus, in 1918 he set out on this adventure. And the rest is history.

Another milestone of this caliber occurred in 1969: on July 16 of that year, NASA’s Apollo 11 spacecraft takes offlaying the foundation for space exploration. On board were Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin and Michael Collins: astronauts who, a few days later, They will star in the first manned moon landing of the history of humanity.

Although it was the three of them who monopolized the focus, there were many others behind the phenomenon: among those who went unnoticed were, for example, Joanne MorganNASA’s first female engineer, or Katherine JohnsonAfrican American mathematicians whose relevance is highlighted in the film hidden figures, Released in 2016.

Mission success The United States was crowned as the leader of the space raceWhich began in 1957 with the arrival of the Russian Sputnik I spacecraft in Earth orbit and lasted until the end of the Cold War.

you want to know what historical events Did they happen on other dates? You can consult the anniversaries of that day in this special section of our website. We invite you to browse the calendar.