Today in News History

On July 12, several notable moments in the history of News stand out. In 1789, In response to the dismissal of the French finance minister Jacques Necker, the radical journalist Camille Desmoulins gives a speech which results in the storming of the Bastille two days later. In 1817, Henry David Thoreau, American essayist, poet, and philosopher (died 1862) was born. In 1863, Albert Calmette, French physician, bacteriologist, and immunologist (died 1933) was born. In 1900, Marcel Paul, French communist politician and Holocaust survivor (died 1982) was born. In 1916, Lyudmila Pavlichenko, Ukrainian-Russian soldier and sniper (died 1974) was born. In 1917, The Bisbee Deportation occurs as vigilantes kidnap and deport nearly 1,300 striking miners and others from Bisbee, Arizona. In 1928, Alastair Burnet, English journalist (died 2012) was born. In 1944, Simon Blackburn, English philosopher and academic was born. In 1973, A fire destroys the entire sixth floor of the National Personnel Records Center of the United States. In 2013, Six people are killed and 200 injured in a French passenger train derailment in Brétigny-sur-Orge. Together, these milestones provide historical context for today's news news and ongoing narratives.