Today in News History

On July 11, several notable moments in the history of News stand out. In 1906, Murder of Grace Brown by Chester Gillette in the United States, inspiration for Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy. In 1913, Cordwainer Smith, American sinologist, author, and academic (died 1966) was born. In 1915, Leonard Goodwin, British protozoologist (died 2008) was born. In 1930, Harold Bloom, American literary critic (died 2019) was born. In 1937, Pai Hsien-yung, Chinese-Taiwanese author was born. In 1943, Howard Gardner, American psychologist and academic was born. In 1960, Congo Crisis: The State of Katanga breaks away from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 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 1978, Los Alfaques disaster: A truck carrying liquid gas crashes and explodes at a coastal campsite in Tarragona, Spain killing 216 tourists. In 2000, Pedro Mir, Dominican lawyer, author, and poet (born 1913) passed away. Together, these milestones provide historical context for today's news news and ongoing narratives.