Today in News History

On July 6, several notable moments in the history of News stand out. In 1348, Pope Clement VI issues a papal bull protecting the Jews accused of having caused the Black Death. In 1885, Louis Pasteur successfully tests his vaccine against rabies on Joseph Meister, a boy who was bitten by a rabid dog. In 1918, Francisco Moncion, Dominican-American ballet dancer, charter member of the New York City Ballet (died 1995) was born. In 1939, Anti-Jewish legislation in prewar Nazi Germany closes the last remaining Jewish enterprises. In 1941, World War II: The German army launches its offensive to encircle several Soviet armies near Smolensk. In 1942, Anne Frank and her family go into hiding in the "Secret Annexe" above her father's office in an Amsterdam warehouse. In 1944, The Hartford circus fire, one of America's worst fire disasters, kills approximately 168 people and injures over 700 in Hartford, Connecticut. In 1982, While attempting to return to Sheremetyevo International Airport, Aeroflot Flight 411, an Ilyushin Il-62, crashes near Mendeleyevo, Moscow Oblast, killing all 90 people on board. In 1988, The Piper Alpha drilling platform in the North Sea is destroyed by explosions and fires. One hundred sixty-seven oil workers are killed, making it the world's worst offshore oil disaster in terms of direct loss of life. In 2013, A Boeing 777 operating as Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crashes at San Francisco International Airport, killing three and injuring 181 of the 307 people on board. Together, these milestones provide historical context for today's news news and ongoing narratives.