Today in News History

On July 12, several notable moments in the history of News stand out. In 1735, Mathematical calculations suggest that it is on this day that dwarf planet Pluto moved inside the orbit of Neptune for the last time before 1979. In 1927, Theodore Maiman, American-Canadian physicist and engineer (died 2007) was born. In 1960, Congo Crisis: The State of Katanga breaks away from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In 1971, The nationalization of all large copper mines in Chile is completed. In 1979, America's first space station, Skylab, is destroyed as it re-enters the Earth's atmosphere over the Indian Ocean. In 1990, Oka Crisis: First Nations land dispute in Quebec begins. In 1994, Gary Kildall, American computer scientist, founded Digital Research (born 1942) passed away. In 1999, Jan Sloot, Dutch computer scientist and electronics technician (born 1945) passed away. In 2007, Ed Mirvish, American-Canadian businessman and philanthropist, founded Honest Ed's (born 1914) passed away. In 2015, Satoru Iwata, Japanese game programmer and businessman (born 1959) passed away. Together, these milestones provide historical context for today's news news and ongoing narratives.