Today in News History

On July 12, several notable moments in the history of News stand out. In 1912, Sergiu Celibidache, Romanian conductor and composer (died 1996) was born. In 1913, Cordwainer Smith, American sinologist, author, and academic (died 1966) was born. In 1916, Alexander Prokhorov, Australian-Russian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2002) was born. In 1920, Zecharia Sitchin, Russian-American author (died 2010) was born. In 1931, Dick Gray, American baseball player (died 2013) was born. In 1953, Ivan Toms, South African physician and activist (died 2008) was born. In 1955, Balaji Sadasivan, Singaporean neurosurgeon and politician, Singaporean Minister of Health (died 2010) was born. In 1972, Cormac Battle, English-Irish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer was born. In 1974, Alanas Chošnau, Lithuanian singer-songwriter was born. 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.