Today in News History

On June 17, several notable moments in the history of News stand out. In 811, Sakanoue no Tamuramaro, Japanese shōgun (born 758) passed away. In 1631, Mumtaz Mahal dies during childbirth. Her husband, Mughal emperor Shah Jahan I, will spend the next 17 years building her mausoleum, the Taj Mahal. In 1898, Harry Patch, English soldier and firefighter (died 2009) was born. In 1900, Evelyn Irons, Scottish journalist and war correspondent (died 2000) was born. In 1958, The Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing, in the process of being built to connect Vancouver and North Vancouver (Canada), collapses into the Burrard Inlet killing 18 ironworkers and injuring others. In 1963, A day after South Vietnamese President Ngô Đình Diệm announced the Joint Communiqué to end the Buddhist crisis, a riot involving around 2,000 people breaks out. One person is killed. In 1982, Marek Svatoš, Slovak ice hockey player (died 2016) was born. In 1987, With the death of the last individual of the species, the dusky seaside sparrow becomes extinct. In 2015, Nine people are killed in a mass shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. In 2017, A series of wildfires in central Portugal kill at least 64 people and injure 204 others. Together, these milestones provide historical context for today's news news and ongoing narratives.