Today in News History

On June 24, several notable moments in the history of News stand out. In 1374, A sudden outbreak of St. John's Dance causes people in the streets of Aachen, Germany, to experience hallucinations and begin to jump and twitch uncontrollably until they collapse from exhaustion. In 1604, Samuel de Champlain encounters the mouth of the Saint John River, site of Reversing Falls and the present-day city of Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. In 1779, American Revolutionary War: The Great Siege of Gibraltar begins. In 1859, Battle of Solferino (Battle of the Three Sovereigns): Sardinia and France defeat Austria in Solferino, northern Italy. In 1922, John Postgate, English microbiologist, author, and academic (died 2014) was born. In 1932, David McTaggart, Canadian-Italian environmentalist (died 2001) was born. In 1938, Pieces of a meteorite land near Chicora, Pennsylvania. The meteorite is estimated to have weighed 450 metric tons when it hit the Earth's atmosphere and exploded. In 1975, Eastern Air Lines Flight 66 encounters severe wind shear and crashes on final approach to New York's JFK Airport killing 113 of the 124 passengers on board, making it the deadliest U.S. plane crash at the time. This accident led to decades of research into downburst and microburst phenomena and their effects on aircraft. In 2002, The Igandu train disaster in Tanzania kills 281, the worst train accident in African history. In 2021, The Champlain Towers South condominium in Surfside, Florida suffers a sudden partial collapse, killing 98 people inside. Together, these milestones provide historical context for today's news news and ongoing narratives.