Today in News History

On July 12, 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 1921, A truce in the Irish War of Independence comes into effect. In 1930, Ezra Vogel, American sociologist (died 2020) was born. In 1935, Oliver Napier, Northern Irish lawyer and politician (died 2011) was born. In 1937, Pai Hsien-yung, Chinese-Taiwanese author was born. In 1950, J. R. Morgan, Welsh author and academic was born. 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 1990, Oka Crisis: First Nations land dispute in Quebec begins. In 2011, Ninety-eight containers of explosives self-detonate killing 13 people in Zygi, Cyprus. Together, these milestones provide historical context for today's news news and ongoing narratives.