Today in News History

On July 12, several notable moments in the history of News stand out. In 1901, Gwendolyn Lizarraga, Belizean businesswoman, activist, and politician (died 1975) was born. In 1906, Murder of Grace Brown by Chester Gillette in the United States, inspiration for Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy. In 1950, J. R. Morgan, Welsh author and academic was born. In 1953, Ivan Toms, South African physician and activist (died 2008) was born. In 1956, Amitav Ghosh, Indian-American author and academic 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 1968, Michael Geist, Canadian journalist and academic was born. In 1977, Martin Luther King Jr., assassinated in 1968, is awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 2011, Ninety-eight containers of explosives self-detonate killing 13 people in Zygi, Cyprus. Together, these milestones provide historical context for today's news news and ongoing narratives.