Source: Earthquake wreaks havoc in the Philippines. (2011). The History Channel website. Retrieved 1:51, July 16, 2011, from http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/earthquake-wreaks-havoc-in-the-philippines. Jul 16, 1990: More than 1,000 people are killed when a 7.7-magnitude earthquake strikes Luzon Island in the Philippines on this day in 1990. The massive tremor wreaked havoc across a sizeable portion of Luzon, the country’s largest island, with Baguio City suffering the most devastating effects. The epicenter of the quake, which struck at 4:26 p.m., was north of Manila in the Nueva Ecija province. Reports indicate that the shaking went on for nearly a full minute. Collapsing buildings were the main cause of damage and death. Getting out of a multi-story building was…

Jul 16, 1951: Source: Catcher in the Rye is published. (2011). The History Channel website. Retrieved 1:43, July 16, 2011, from http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/catcher-in-the-rye-is-published. J.D. Salinger’s only novel, The Catcher in the Rye, is published by Little, Brown on this day in 1951. The book, about a confused teenager disillusioned by the adult world, is an instant hit and will be taught in high schools for half a century. The 31-year-old Salinger had worked on the novel for a decade. His stories had already started appearing in the 1940s, many in the New Yorker. The book took the country by storm, selling out and becoming a Book of the Month Club selection. Fame did not agree with Salinger, who…

Source: JFK Jr. killed in plane crash. (2011). The History Channel website. Retrieved 1:48, July 16, 2011, from http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/jfk-jr-killed-in-plane-crash. Jul 16, 1999: On July 16, 1999, John F. Kennedy, Jr.; his wife, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy; and her sister, Lauren Bessette, die when the single-engine plane that Kennedy was piloting crashes into the Atlantic Ocean near Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Jr., was born on November 25, 1960, just a few weeks after his father and namesake was elected the 35th president of the United States. On his third birthday, “John-John” attended the funeral of his assassinated father and was photographed saluting his father’s coffin in a famous and searing image. Along with his sister,…

08:30 AM ET SOURCE Breakfast buffet: National French fries day While you’re frying up some eggs and bacon, we’re cooking up something else: a way to celebrate today’s food holiday. Born to be fast (food, that is) – July 13 is National French Fries Day. No matter how you slice them – crinkle or shoestring, thick-cut or curly – plunking thin strips of potatoes in oil is the kind of salty fried goodness that can’t be beat. Now we all know that “French” fries don’t really have ties to France at all, but where did these snacktastic sticks come from? Many countries have a history of frying potato slices in…