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 1940, Georgi Ivanov, Bulgarian military officer, cosmonaut and politician was born. In 1977, Vladimir Nabokov, Russian-born novelist and critic (born 1899) passed away. 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 1989, Nadezhda Grishaeva, Russian basketball player was born. 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 2010, The South Kivu tank truck explosion in the Democratic Republic of the Congo kills at least 230 people. In 2017, Vladislav Rastorotsky, a Russian (and former Soviet) artistic gymnastics coach, (born 1933) passed away. Together, these milestones provide historical context for today's news news and ongoing narratives.