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 1930, Ezra Vogel, American sociologist (died 2020) was born. In 1937, Pai Hsien-yung, Chinese-Taiwanese author was born. In 1956, Amitav Ghosh, Indian-American author and academic was born. In 1960, Congo Crisis: The State of Katanga breaks away from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In 1967, Jhumpa Lahiri, Indian American novelist and short story writer was born. In 1978, Los Alfaques disaster: A truck carrying liquid gas crashes and explodes at a coastal campsite in Tarragona, Spain killing 216 tourists. In 1980, Kevin Powers, American soldier and author was born. In 2011, Ninety-eight containers of explosives self-detonate killing 13 people in Zygi, Cyprus. In 2015, Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán escapes from the maximum security Altiplano prison in Mexico, his second escape. Together, these milestones provide historical context for today's news news and ongoing narratives.