Today in News History

On July 12, several notable moments in the history of News stand out. In 1789, In response to the dismissal of the French finance minister Jacques Necker, the radical journalist Camille Desmoulins gives a speech which results in the storming of the Bastille two days later. In 1900, Marcel Paul, French communist politician and Holocaust survivor (died 1982) was born. In 1920, The Soviet-Lithuanian Peace Treaty is signed, by which Soviet Russia recognizes the independence of Lithuania. In 1920, Pierre Berton, Canadian journalist and author (died 2004) was born. In 1970, Susan Tyler Witten, American politician was born. In 2006, The 2006 Lebanon War begins. In 2007, U.S. Army Apache helicopters engage in airstrikes against armed insurgents in Baghdad, Iraq, where civilians are killed; footage from the cockpit is later leaked to the Internet. In 2012, Syrian Civil War: Government forces target the homes of rebels and activists in Tremseh and kill anywhere between 68 and 150 people. In 2014, Alfred de Grazia, American political scientist and author (born 1919) passed away. In 2014, Valeriya Novodvorskaya, Russian journalist and politician (born 1950) passed away. Together, these milestones provide historical context for today's news news and ongoing narratives.