Today in News History

On June 17, several notable moments in the history of News stand out. In 1909, Elmer L. Andersen, American businessman and politician, 30th Governor of Minnesota (died 2004) was born. In 1929, The town of Murchison, New Zealand is rocked by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake killing 17. At the time it was New Zealand's worst natural disaster. In 1932, Bonus Army: Around a thousand World War I veterans amass at the United States Capitol as the U.S. Senate considers a bill that would give them certain benefits. In 1936, Julius Seljamaa, Estonian journalist, politician, and diplomat, Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs (born 1883) passed away. In 1940, George Akerlof, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate was born. In 1948, United Airlines Flight 624, a Douglas DC-6, crashes near Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania, killing all 43 people on board. In 1958, The Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing, in the process of being built to connect Vancouver and North Vancouver (Canada), collapses into the Burrard Inlet killing 18 ironworkers and injuring others. 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 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 2020, Jean Kennedy Smith, American activist, humanitarian, author and diplomat (United States Ambassador to Ireland, 1993-1998) (born 1928) passed away. Together, these milestones provide historical context for today's news news and ongoing narratives.