Today in News History

On July 2, several notable moments in the history of News stand out. In 1840, A Ms 7.4 earthquake strikes present-day Turkey and Armenia; combined with the effects of an eruption on Mount Ararat, kills 10,000 people. In 1853, The Russian Army crosses the Prut river into the Danubian Principalities (Moldavia and Wallachia), providing the spark that will set off the Crimean War. In 1979, Ahmed al-Ghamdi, Saudi Arabian terrorist, hijacker of United Airlines Flight 175 (died 2001) was born. In 1986, Aeroflot Flight 2306 crashes while attempting an emergency landing at Syktyvkar Airport in Syktyvkar, in present-day Komi Republic, Russia, killing 54 people. In 1989, Andrei Gromyko, Soviet economist and politician, Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs (born 1909) passed away. In 1990, In the 1990 Mecca tunnel tragedy, 1,400 Muslim pilgrims are suffocated to death and trampled upon in a pedestrian tunnel leading to the holy city of Mecca. In 1994, USAir Flight 1016 crashes near Charlotte Douglas International Airport, killing 37 of the 57 people on board. In 2010, The South Kivu tank truck explosion in the Democratic Republic of the Congo kills at least 230 people. In 2013, A magnitude 6.1 earthquake strikes Aceh, Indonesia, killing at least 42 people and injuring 420 others. In 2024, A stampede during a religious event in Uttar Pradesh, India, leaves at least 121 people dead and 150 others injured. Together, these milestones provide historical context for today's news news and ongoing narratives.