Today in News History

On June 17, several notable moments in the history of News stand out. In 1863, American Civil War: Battle of Aldie in the Gettysburg Campaign. In 1930, U.S. President Herbert Hoover signs the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act into law. In 1940, The three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania fall under the occupation of the Soviet Union. In 1960, The Nez Perce tribe is awarded $4 million for 7 million acres (28,000 km2) of land undervalued at four cents/acre in the 1863 treaty. In 1966, Mohammed Ghazy Al-Akhras, Iraqi journalist and author was born. In 1967, Nuclear weapons testing: China announces a successful test of its first thermonuclear weapon. In 1985, Space Shuttle program: STS-51-G mission: Space Shuttle Discovery launches carrying Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the first Arab and first Muslim in space, as a payload specialist. In 1992, A "joint understanding" agreement on arms reduction is signed by U.S. President George Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin (this would be later codified in START II). In 2015, Süleyman Demirel, Turkish engineer and politician, 9th President of Turkey (born 1924) passed away. In 2021, Juneteenth National Independence Day, was signed into law by President Joe Biden, to become the first federal holiday established since Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1983. Together, these milestones provide historical context for today's news news and ongoing narratives.