Today in News History

On July 2, several notable moments in the history of News stand out. In 1667, Pietro Ottoboni, Italian cardinal and art collector (died 1740) was born. In 1816, The French frigate Méduse strikes the Bank of Arguin and 151 people on board have to be evacuated on an improvised raft, a case immortalised by Géricault's painting The Raft of the Medusa. In 1839, Twenty miles off the coast of Cuba, 53 kidnapped Africans led by Joseph Cinqué mutiny and take over the slave ship Amistad. In 1903, Olav V of Norway (died 1991) was born. In 1915, Valerian Wellesley, 8th Duke of Wellington, British peer, politician and soldier (died 2014) was born. In 1937, Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan are last heard from over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to make the first equatorial round-the-world flight. In 1940, World War II: The SS Arandora Star is sunk by U-47 in the North Atlantic with the loss of over 800 lives, mostly civilians. In 1986, Rodrigo Rojas and Carmen Gloria Quintana are burnt alive during a street demonstration against the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet in Chile. In 1986, Aeroflot Flight 2306 crashes while attempting an emergency landing at Syktyvkar Airport in Syktyvkar, in present-day Komi Republic, Russia, killing 54 people. In 1994, USAir Flight 1016 crashes near Charlotte Douglas International Airport, killing 37 of the 57 people on board. Together, these milestones provide historical context for today's news news and ongoing narratives.