Today in News History

On July 8, several notable moments in the history of News stand out. In 1776, Church bells (possibly including the Liberty Bell) are rung after John Nixon delivers the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence of the United States. In 1876, The Hamburg massacre prior to the 1876 United States presidential election results in the deaths of six African-Americans of the Republican Party, along with one white assailant. In 1893, R. Carlyle Buley, American historian and author (died 1968) was born. In 1921, Ellen Oliver (suffragette), British suffragette and purity activist (born 1870) passed away. In 1924, Charles C. Droz, American politician was born. In 1962, Ne Win besieges and blows up the Rangoon University Student Union building to crush the Student Movement. In 1965, Thomas Sigismund Stribling, American lawyer and author (born 1881) passed away. In 1970, Richard Nixon delivers a special congressional message enunciating Native American self-determination as official US Indian policy, leading to the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975. In 2004, Paula Danziger, American author and educator (born 1944) passed away. In 2011, Betty Ford, First Lady of the United States (born 1918) passed away. Together, these milestones provide historical context for today's news news and ongoing narratives.