Today in News History

On July 12, several notable moments in the history of News stand out. In 1893, A revolution led by the liberal general and politician José Santos Zelaya takes over state power in Nicaragua. In 1922, The Hollywood Bowl opens. In 1924, César Lattes, Brazilian physicist and academic (died 2005) was born. In 1925, Sid Smith, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (died 2004) was born. In 1960, Congo Crisis: The State of Katanga breaks away from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 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 1977, Martin Luther King Jr., assassinated in 1968, is awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 1978, Los Alfaques disaster: A truck carrying liquid gas crashes and explodes at a coastal campsite in Tarragona, Spain killing 216 tourists. In 1979, America's first space station, Skylab, is destroyed as it re-enters the Earth's atmosphere over the Indian Ocean. In 2015, Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán escapes from the maximum security Altiplano prison in Mexico, his second escape. Together, these milestones provide historical context for today's news news and ongoing narratives.