Today in News History

On July 12, several notable moments in the history of News stand out. In 911, Signing of the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte between Charles the Simple and Rollo of Normandy. In 1723, Jean-François Marmontel, French historian and author (died 1799) was born. In 1833, Noongar Australian aboriginal warrior Yagan, wanted for the murder of white colonists in Western Australia, is killed. In 1906, Murder of Grace Brown by Chester Gillette in the United States, inspiration for Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy. In 1943, Massacres of Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army within the Reichskommissariat Ukraine (Volhynia) peak. In 1973, Varig Flight 820 crashes near Paris on approach to Orly Airport, killing 123 of the 134 on board. In response, the FAA bans smoking in airplane lavatories. In 1976, León de Greiff, Colombian poet and educator (born 1895) passed away. In 1978, Los Alfaques disaster: A truck carrying liquid gas crashes and explodes at a coastal campsite in Tarragona, Spain killing 216 tourists. In 1983, A TAME airline Boeing 737-200 crashes near Cuenca, Ecuador, killing all 119 passengers and crew on board. 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.