Today in News History

On July 12, several notable moments in the history of News stand out. In 1916, Mortimer Caplin, American tax attorney, educator, and IRS Commissioner (died 2019) was born. In 1930, Mike Foster, American politician, 53rd Governor of Louisiana (died 2020) was born. In 1935, Oliver Napier, Northern Irish lawyer and politician (died 2011) was born. In 1941, Bill Boggs, American journalist and producer was born. In 1960, France legislates for the independence of Dahomey (later Benin), Upper Volta (later Burkina Faso) and Niger. 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 1986, Yoann Gourcuff, French footballer was born. In 1987, Yaakov Yitzchok Ruderman, American rabbi and scholar (born 1901) passed away. In 1999, Jan Sloot, Dutch computer scientist and electronics technician (born 1945) passed away. In 2007, Ed Mirvish, American-Canadian businessman and philanthropist, founded Honest Ed's (born 1914) passed away. Together, these milestones provide historical context for today's news news and ongoing narratives.