Today in News History

On July 4, several notable moments in the history of News stand out. In 1744, The Treaty of Lancaster, in which the Iroquois cede lands between the Allegheny Mountains and the Ohio River to the British colonies, was signed in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. In 1817, In Rome, New York, construction on the Erie Canal begins. In 1863, American Civil War: Retreat from Gettysburg: The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia under Robert E. Lee withdraws from the battlefield after losing the Battle of Gettysburg, signaling an end to his last invasion of the North. In 1886, The Canadian Pacific Railway's first scheduled train from Montreal arrives in Port Moody on the Pacific coast, after six days of travel. In 1898, En route from New York to Le Havre, the SS La Bourgogne collides with another ship and sinks off the coast of Sable Island, with the loss of 549 lives. In 1910, The Johnson-Jeffries riots occur after African-American boxer Jack Johnson knocks out white boxer Jim Jeffries in the 15th round. Between 11 and 26 people are killed and hundreds more injured. In 1911, A massive heat wave strikes the northeastern United States, killing 380 people in eleven days and breaking temperature records in several cities. In 1977, The George Jackson Brigade plants a bomb at the main power substation for the Washington state capitol in Olympia, in solidarity with a prison strike at the Walla Walla State Penitentiary Intensive Security Unit. In 2001, Vladivostok Air Flight 352 crashes on approach to Irkutsk Airport killing all 145 people on board. In 2009, The first of four days of bombings begins on the southern Philippine island group of Mindanao. Together, these milestones provide historical context for today's news news and ongoing narratives.