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 1913, Cordwainer Smith, American sinologist, author, and academic (died 1966) was born. In 1914, The US Navy launches the USS Nevada (BB-36) as its first standard-type battleship. In 1930, Mike Foster, American politician, 53rd Governor of Louisiana (died 2020) was born. In 1937, Pai Hsien-yung, Chinese-Taiwanese author was born. In 1950, Bonnie Pointer, American singer (died 2020) was born. In 1953, Ivan Toms, South African physician and activist (died 2008) was born. In 1955, Balaji Sadasivan, Singaporean neurosurgeon and politician, Singaporean Minister of Health (died 2010) was born. In 1974, Hermann Hreiðarsson, Icelandic footballer and manager was born. In 2021, Richard Branson becomes the first civilian to be launched into space via his Virgin Galactic spacecraft. Together, these milestones provide historical context for today's news news and ongoing narratives.