Today in News History

On June 21, several notable moments in the history of News stand out. In 1824, Greek War of Independence: Egyptian forces capture Psara in the Aegean Sea. In 1864, American Civil War: The Battle of Jerusalem Plank Road begins. In 1864, Heinrich Wölfflin, Swiss historian and critic (died 1945) was born. In 1929, An agreement brokered by U.S. Ambassador Dwight Whitney Morrow ends the Cristero War in Mexico. In 1940, World War II: Italy begins an unsuccessful invasion of France. In 1942, World War II: A Japanese submarine surfaces near the Columbia River in Oregon, firing 17 shells at Fort Stevens in one of only a handful of attacks by Japan against the United States mainland. In 1947, Shirin Ebadi, Iranian lawyer, judge, and activist, Nobel Prize laureate was born. In 1972, Tomáš Valášek, Slovak diplomat and politician was born. In 1986, Assi Rahbani, Lebanese singer-songwriter and producer (born 1923) passed away. In 2001, A federal grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia, indicts 13 Saudis and a Lebanese in the 1996 bombing of the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia that killed 19 American servicemen. Together, these milestones provide historical context for today's news news and ongoing narratives.