Today in News History

On June 17, several notable moments in the history of News stand out. In 1462, Vlad the Impaler attempts to assassinate Mehmed II (The Night Attack at Târgovişte), forcing him to retreat from Wallachia. In 1940, The three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania fall under the occupation of the Soviet Union. In 1957, Philip Chevron, Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2013) was born. In 1960, The Nez Perce tribe is awarded $4 million for 7 million acres (28,000 km2) of land undervalued at four cents/acre in the 1863 treaty. In 1966, Mohammed Ghazy Al-Akhras, Iraqi journalist and author was born. In 1967, Nuclear weapons testing: China announces a successful test of its first thermonuclear weapon. In 1992, A "joint understanding" agreement on arms reduction is signed by U.S. President George Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin (this would be later codified in START II). In 2001, Donald J. Cram, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1919) passed away. In 2015, Süleyman Demirel, Turkish engineer and politician, 9th President of Turkey (born 1924) passed away. In 2017, A series of wildfires in central Portugal kill at least 64 people and injure 204 others. Together, these milestones provide historical context for today's news news and ongoing narratives.