Today in News History

On July 12, several notable moments in the history of News stand out. In 813, Byzantine emperor Michael I, under threat by conspiracies, abdicates in favor of his general Leo the Armenian, and becomes a monk (under the name Athanasius). In 1405, Ming admiral Zheng He sets sail to explore the world for the first time. In 1735, Mathematical calculations suggest that it is on this day that dwarf planet Pluto moved inside the orbit of Neptune for the last time before 1979. In 1798, The United States Marine Corps is re-established; they had been disbanded after the American Revolutionary War. In 1899, Fiat founded by Giovanni Agnelli in Turin, Italy. In 1962, Project Apollo: At a press conference, NASA announces lunar orbit rendezvous as the means to land astronauts on the Moon, and return them to Earth. In 1979, America's first space station, Skylab, is destroyed as it re-enters the Earth's atmosphere over the Indian Ocean. In 1991, Nigeria Airways Flight 2120 crashes in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, killing all 261 passengers and crew on board. In 2013, Eugene P. Wilkinson, American admiral (born 1918) passed away. In 2015, André Leysen, Belgian businessman (born 1927) passed away. Together, these milestones provide historical context for today's news news and ongoing narratives.