Today in News History

On July 12, several notable moments in the history of News stand out. In 154, Bardaisan, Syrian astrologer, scholar, and philosopher (died 222) was born. In 813, Byzantine emperor Michael I, under threat by conspiracies, abdicates in favor of his general Leo the Armenian, and becomes a monk (under the name Athanasius). In 911, Signing of the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte between Charles the Simple and Rollo of Normandy. In 1937, Pai Hsien-yung, Chinese-Taiwanese author was born. In 1960, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is first published, in the United States. In 1960, Congo Crisis: The State of Katanga breaks away from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In 1978, Los Alfaques disaster: A truck carrying liquid gas crashes and explodes at a coastal campsite in Tarragona, Spain killing 216 tourists. In 1979, America's first space station, Skylab, is destroyed as it re-enters the Earth's atmosphere over the Indian Ocean. In 1994, Bartłomiej Kalinkowski, Polish footballer was born. In 2015, Giacomo Biffi, Italian cardinal (born 1928) passed away. Together, these milestones provide historical context for today's news news and ongoing narratives.