Today in News History

On July 7, several notable moments in the history of News stand out. In 1898, US President William McKinley signs the Newlands Resolution annexing Hawaii as a territory of the United States. In 1911, The United States, UK, Japan, and Russia sign the North Pacific Fur Seal Convention of 1911 banning open-water seal hunting, the first international treaty to address wildlife preservation issues. In 1918, Jing Shuping, Chinese businessman (died 2009) was born. In 1937, The Marco Polo Bridge Incident (Lugou Bridge) provides the Imperial Japanese Army with a pretext for starting the Second Sino-Japanese War (China-Japan War). In 1944, World War II: Largest Banzai charge of the Pacific War at the Battle of Saipan. In 1983, Cold War: Samantha Smith, a US schoolgirl, flies to the Soviet Union at the invitation of Secretary General Yuri Andropov. In 2003, NASA Opportunity rover, MER-B or Mars Exploration Rover-B, was launched into space aboard a Delta II rocket. In 2005, A series of four explosions occurs on London's transport system, killing 56 people, including four suicide bombers, and injuring over 700 others. In 2016, Ex-US Army soldier Micah Xavier Johnson shoots fourteen policemen during an anti-police protest in downtown Dallas, Texas, killing five of them. He is subsequently killed by a robot-delivered bomb. In 2017, The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons was adopted with 122 countries voting in favour. Together, these milestones provide historical context for today's news news and ongoing narratives.