Today in News History

On June 29, several notable moments in the history of News stand out. In 1880, Texas Jack Omohundro, American soldier and hunter (born 1846) passed away. In 1896, An explosion in the Newton Coal Company's Twin Shaft Mine in Pittston, Pennsylvania results in a massive cave-in that kills 58 miners. In 1911, The Nakhla meteorite, the first one to suggest signs of aqueous processes on Mars, falls to Earth, landing in Egypt. In 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sophie are assassinated in Sarajevo; this is the casus belli of World War I. In 1942, World War II: Nazi Germany starts its strategic summer offensive against the Soviet Union, codenamed Case Blue. In 1950, Korean War: Packed with its own refugees fleeing Seoul and leaving their 5th Division stranded, South Korean forces blow up the Hangang Bridge in an attempt to slow North Korea's offensive. The city falls later that day. In 1981, A powerful bomb explodes in Tehran, killing 73 officials of the Islamic Republican Party. In 1982, Aeroflot Flight 8641 crashes in Mazyr, Belarus, killing 132 people. In 1987, For the first time in military history, a civilian population is targeted for chemical attack when Iraqi warplanes bombed the Iranian town of Sardasht. In 2016, A terrorist attack in Turkey's Istanbul Atatürk Airport kills 42 people and injures more than 230 others. Together, these milestones provide historical context for today's news news and ongoing narratives.