Today in News History

On July 1, several notable moments in the history of News stand out. In 552, Battle of Taginae: Byzantine forces under Narses defeat the Ostrogoths in Italy, and the Ostrogoth king, Totila, is mortally wounded. 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 1818, Ignaz Semmelweis, Hungarian-Austrian physician and obstetrician (died 1865) was born. In 1818, Karl von Vierordt, German physician, psychologist and academic (died 1884) was born. In 1908, SOS is adopted as the international distress signal. In 1911, Sergey Sokolov, Russian marshal and politician, Soviet Minister of Defence (died 2012) was born. In 1915, Joseph Ransohoff, American soldier and neurosurgeon (died 2001) was born. In 1917, Álvaro Domecq y Díez, Spanish aristocrat (died 2005) was born. In 1983, A North Korean Ilyushin Il-62M jet en route to Conakry Airport in Guinea crashes into the Fouta Djallon mountains in Guinea-Bissau, killing all 23 people on board. In 2008, Riots erupt in Mongolia in response to allegations of fraud surrounding the 2008 legislative elections. Together, these milestones provide historical context for today's news news and ongoing narratives.