Today in News History

On June 19, several notable moments in the history of News stand out. In 1718, At least 73,000 people died in the 1718 Tongwei-Gansu earthquake due to landslides in the Qing dynasty. In 1927, Luciano Benjamín Menéndez, Argentine general and human rights violator (died 2018) was born. In 1934, The Communications Act of 1934 establishes the United States' Federal Communications Commission (FCC). In 1953, Julius Rosenberg, American spy (born 1918) passed away. In 1954, Lou Pearlman, American music producer and fraudster (died 2016) was born. In 1975, Sam Giancana, American mob boss (born 1908) passed away. In 1976, Dennis Crowley, American businessman, co-founded Foursquare was born. In 2009, Mass riots involving over 10,000 people and 10,000 police officers break out in Shishou, China, over the dubious circumstances surrounding the death of a local chef. In 2012, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange requests asylum in London's Ecuadorian Embassy for fear of extradition to the US after publication of previously classified documents including footage of civilian killings by the US army. In 2018, The 10,000,000th United States Patent is issued. Together, these milestones provide historical context for today's news news and ongoing narratives.