Today in News History

On July 12, several notable moments in the history of News stand out. 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 1905, Betty Allan, Australian statistician and biometrician (died 1952) was born. In 1919, The eight-hour day and free Sunday become law for workers in the Netherlands. In 1962, Project Apollo: At a press conference, NASA announces lunar orbit rendezvous as the means to land astronauts on the Moon, and return them to Earth. In 1973, Varig Flight 820 crashes near Paris on approach to Orly Airport, killing 123 of the 134 on board. In response, the FAA bans smoking in airplane lavatories. In 1994, Gary Kildall, American computer scientist, founded Digital Research (born 1942) passed away. In 1999, Jan Sloot, Dutch computer scientist and electronics technician (born 1945) passed away. In 2013, Egbert Brieskorn, German mathematician and academic (born 1936) passed away. In 2013, Emik Avakian, Iranian-American inventor (born 1923) passed away. In 2015, Satoru Iwata, Japanese game programmer and businessman (born 1959) passed away. Together, these milestones provide historical context for today's news news and ongoing narratives.