Today in News History

On July 12, several notable moments in the history of News stand out. In 1335, Pope Benedict XII issues the papal bull Fulgens sicut stella matutina to reform the Cistercian Order. 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 1908, William D. Coleman, 13th President of Liberia (born 1842) passed away. In 1936, Jan Němec, Czech director and screenwriter (died 2016) was born. In 1961, ČSA Flight 511 crashes at Casablanca-Anfa Airport in Morocco, killing 72. In 1995, Chinese seismologists successfully predict the 1995 Myanmar-China earthquake, reducing the number of casualties to 11. 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, A tank truck explosion kills more than 100 people in Okobie, Nigeria. In 2014, Alfred de Grazia, American political scientist and author (born 1919) passed away. Together, these milestones provide historical context for today's news news and ongoing narratives.