Today in News History

On July 9, several notable moments in the history of News stand out. In 551, A major earthquake strikes Beirut, triggering a devastating tsunami that affects the coastal towns of Byzantine Phoenicia, causing thousands of deaths. In 869, The 8.4-9.0 Mw Sanriku earthquake strikes the area around Sendai in northern Honshu, Japan. Inundation from the tsunami extended several kilometers inland. In 1745, French victory in the Battle of Melle allows them to capture Ghent in the days after. In 1807, The second Treaty of Tilsit is signed between France and Prussia, ending the War of the Fourth Coalition. In 1918, In Nashville, Tennessee, an inbound local train collides with an outbound express, killing 101 and injuring 171 people, making it the deadliest rail accident in United States history. In 1956, The 7.7 Mw Amorgos earthquake shakes the Cyclades island group in the Aegean Sea with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). The shaking and the destructive tsunami that followed left fifty-three people dead. A damaging M7.2 aftershock occurred minutes after the mainshock. In 1958, A 7.8 Mw strike-slip earthquake in Alaska causes a landslide that produces a megatsunami. The runup from the waves reached 525 m (1,722 ft) on the rim of Lituya Bay; five people were killed. In 1959, Ferenc Talányi, Slovene journalist and painter (born 1883) passed away. In 1982, Pan Am Flight 759 crashes in Kenner, Louisiana, killing all 145 people on board and eight others on the ground. In 2011, A rally takes place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to call for fairer elections in the country. Together, these milestones provide historical context for today's news news and ongoing narratives.