Today in News History

On July 2, several notable moments in the history of News stand out. In 626, Li Shimin, the future Emperor Taizong of Tang, ambushes and kills his rival brothers Li Yuanji and Li Jiancheng in the Xuanwu Gate Incident. In 1881, Charles J. Guiteau shoots and fatally wounds U.S. President James A. Garfield (who will die of complications from his wounds on September 19). In 1903, Alec Douglas-Home, English cricketer and politician, 66th Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (died 1995) was born. In 1906, Séra Martin, French middle-distance runner (died 1993) was born. In 1986, Aeroflot Flight 2306 crashes while attempting an emergency landing at Syktyvkar Airport in Syktyvkar, in present-day Komi Republic, Russia, killing 54 people. In 1990, In the 1990 Mecca tunnel tragedy, 1,400 Muslim pilgrims are suffocated to death and trampled upon in a pedestrian tunnel leading to the holy city of Mecca. In 1994, USAir Flight 1016 crashes near Charlotte Douglas International Airport, killing 37 of the 57 people on board. In 2010, The South Kivu tank truck explosion in the Democratic Republic of the Congo kills at least 230 people. In 2013, A magnitude 6.1 earthquake strikes Aceh, Indonesia, killing at least 42 people and injuring 420 others. In 2024, A stampede during a religious event in Uttar Pradesh, India, leaves at least 121 people dead and 150 others injured. Together, these milestones provide historical context for today's news news and ongoing narratives.