Today in News History

On June 20, several notable moments in the history of News stand out. In 1787, Oliver Ellsworth moves at the Federal Convention to call the government the 'United States'. In 1870, Jules de Goncourt, French historian and author (born 1830) passed away. In 1900, Boxer Rebellion: The Imperial Chinese Army begins a 55-day siege of the Legation Quarter in Beijing, China. In 1923, Peter Gay, German-American historian, author, and academic (died 2015) was born. In 1941, Ulf Merbold, German physicist and astronaut was born. In 1969, Misha Verbitsky, Russian mathematician and academic was born. In 1972, Watergate scandal: An .mw-parser-output .frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .frac .num,.mw-parser-output .frac .den{font-size:80%;line-height:0;vertical-align:super}.mw-parser-output .frac .den{vertical-align:sub}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);clip-path:polygon(0px 0px,0px 0px,0px 0px);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}18+1⁄2-minute gap appears in the tape recording of the conversations between U.S. President Richard Nixon and his advisers regarding the recent arrests of his operatives while breaking into the Watergate complex. In 2005, Larry Collins, American journalist, historian, and author (born 1929) passed away. In 2012, Andrew Sarris, American critic (born 1928) passed away. In 2019, Iran's Air Defense Forces shoot down an American surveillance drone over the Strait of Hormuz amid rising tensions between the two countries. Together, these milestones provide historical context for today's news news and ongoing narratives.