Today in News History

On July 4, several notable moments in the history of News stand out. 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 1911, A massive heat wave strikes the northeastern United States, killing 380 people in eleven days and breaking temperature records in several cities. In 1914, The funeral of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie takes place in Vienna, six days after their assassinations in Sarajevo. In 1918, World War I: The Battle of Hamel, a successful attack by the Australian Corps against German positions near the town of Le Hamel on the Western Front. In 1918, Mehmed V died at the age of 73 and Ottoman sultan Mehmed VI ascends to the throne. In 1941, World War II: The Burning of the Riga synagogues: The Great Choral Synagogue in German-occupied Riga is burnt with 300 Jews locked in the basement. In 1941, Nazi crimes against the Polish nation: Nazi troops massacre Polish scientists and writers in the captured Ukrainian city of Lviv. In 1942, World War II: The 250-day Siege of Sevastopol in the Crimea ends when the city falls to Axis forces. In 1943, World War II: In Gibraltar, a Royal Air Force B-24 Liberator bomber crashes into the sea in an apparent accident moments after takeoff, killing sixteen passengers on board, including general Władysław Sikorski, the commander-in-chief of the Polish Army and the Prime Minister of the Polish government-in-exile; only the pilot survives. In 1943, World War II: The Battle of Kursk, the largest full-scale battle in history and the world's largest tank battle, begins in the village of Prokhorovka. Together, these milestones provide historical context for today's news news and ongoing narratives.