Today in News History

On July 1, several notable moments in the history of News stand out. In 1725, Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau, French general (died 1807) was born. In 1766, François-Jean de la Barre, a young French nobleman, is tortured and beheaded before his body is burnt on a pyre along with a copy of Voltaire's Dictionnaire philosophique nailed to his torso for the crime of not saluting a Roman Catholic religious procession in Abbeville, France. In 1808, Ygnacio del Valle, Mexican-American landowner (died 1880) was born. In 1841, Thomas Lempriere and James Clark Ross carve a marker on the Isle of the Dead in Van Diemen's Land to measure tidal variations, one of the earliest surviving benchmarks for sea level rise. In 1863, William Grant Stairs, Canadian-English captain and explorer (died 1892) was born. In 1906, Jean Dieudonné, French mathematician and academic (died 1992) was born. In 1924, Georges Rivière, French actor (died 2011) was born. In 1927, Alan J. Charig, English paleontologist and author (died 1997) was born. In 1935, Regina, Saskatchewan, police and Royal Canadian Mounted Police ambush strikers participating in the On-to-Ottawa Trek. In 1958, Flooding of Canada's Saint Lawrence Seaway begins. Together, these milestones provide historical context for today's news news and ongoing narratives.