Today in News History

On July 4, several notable moments in the history of News stand out. In 1803, The Louisiana Purchase is announced to the American people. In 1817, In Rome, New York, construction on the Erie Canal begins. In 1845, Henry David Thoreau moves into a small cabin on Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts. Thoreau's account of his two years there, Walden, will become a touchstone of the environmental movement. In 1862, Lewis Carroll tells Alice Liddell a story that would grow into Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequels. In 1886, The Canadian Pacific Railway's first scheduled train from Montreal arrives in Port Moody on the Pacific coast, after six days of travel. In 1898, En route from New York to Le Havre, the SS La Bourgogne collides with another ship and sinks off the coast of Sable Island, with the loss of 549 lives. In 1918, Johnnie Parsons, American race car driver (died 1984) was born. In 1940, Pat Stapleton, Canadian ice hockey player (died 2020) was born. In 2006, Space Shuttle program: Discovery launches STS-121 to the International Space Station. The event gained wide media attention as it was the only shuttle launch in the program's history to occur on the United States' Independence Day. In 2009, The Statue of Liberty's crown reopens to the public after eight years of closure due to security concerns following the September 11 attacks. Together, these milestones provide historical context for today's news news and ongoing narratives.