Today in News History

On July 11, several notable moments in the history of News stand out. In 1709, Johan Gottschalk Wallerius, Swedish chemist and mineralogist (died 1785) was born. In 1801, French astronomer Jean-Louis Pons makes his first comet discovery. In the next 27 years he discovers another 36 comets, more than any other person in history. In 1849, N. E. Brown, English plant taxonomist and authority on succulents (died 1934) was born. In 1913, Cordwainer Smith, American sinologist, author, and academic (died 1966) was born. In 1915, Leonard Goodwin, British protozoologist (died 2008) was born. In 1962, Project Apollo: At a press conference, NASA announces lunar orbit rendezvous as the means to land astronauts on the Moon, and return them to Earth. In 1994, Gary Kildall, American computer scientist, founded Digital Research (born 1942) passed away. In 2008, Michael E. DeBakey, American surgeon and educator (born 1908) passed away. In 2013, Emik Avakian, Iranian-American inventor (born 1923) passed away. In 2014, John Seigenthaler, American journalist and academic (born 1927) passed away. Together, these milestones provide historical context for today's news news and ongoing narratives.