Today in News History

On June 23, several notable moments in the history of News stand out. In 1314, First War of Scottish Independence: The Battle of Bannockburn (south of Stirling) begins. In 1615, Mashita Nagamori, Japanese daimyō (born 1545) passed away. In 1877, Norman Pritchard, Indian-English hurdler and actor (died 1929) was born. In 1919, Estonian War of Independence: The decisive defeat of the Baltische Landeswehr in the Battle of Cēsis; this date is celebrated as Victory Day in Estonia. In 1931, Wiley Post and Harold Gatty take off from Roosevelt Field, Long Island in an attempt to circumnavigate the world in a single-engine plane. In 1941, The Lithuanian Activist Front declares independence from the Soviet Union and forms the Provisional Government of Lithuania; it lasts only briefly as the Nazis will occupy Lithuania a few weeks later. In 1946, The 1946 Vancouver Island earthquake strikes Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. In 1949, Sheila Noakes, Baroness Noakes, English accountant and politician was born. In 1954, Salih Omurtak, Turkish general (born 1889) passed away. In 1969, IBM announces that effective January 1970 it will price its software and services separately from hardware thus creating the modern software industry. Together, these milestones provide historical context for today's news news and ongoing narratives.