Today in News History

On June 21, several notable moments in the history of News stand out. In 533, A Byzantine expeditionary fleet under Belisarios sails from Constantinople to attack the Vandals in Africa, via Greece and Sicily. In 1529, French forces are driven out of northern Italy by Spain at the Battle of Landriano during the War of the League of Cognac. In 1882, Lluís Companys, Spanish lawyer and politician, 123rd President of Catalonia (died 1940) was born. In 1932, Lalo Schifrin, Argentinian pianist, composer, and conductor was born. In 1973, The Primer Congreso del Hombre Andino is inaugurated in Arica, Chile. In 1990, Ričardas Berankis, Lithuanian tennis player was born. In 1990, Isabel Pires, Portuguese politician was born. In 1993, Space Shuttle Endeavour is launched on STS-57 to retrieve the European Retrievable Carrier (EURECA) satellite. It is also the first shuttle mission to carry the Spacehab module. In 1997, Fidel Velázquez Sánchez, Mexican trade union leader (born 1900) passed away. In 2001, A federal grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia, indicts 13 Saudis and a Lebanese in the 1996 bombing of the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia that killed 19 American servicemen. Together, these milestones provide historical context for today's news news and ongoing narratives.