December 3rd
Today in 1818,Illinois was admitted as the 21ststate in the union.
Today in 1828,Andrew Jackson was officially elected President of the United States.
Today in 1847,Frederick Douglass published the first issue of his newspaper, "North Star."
Today in 1964,policearrested 800 students at the University of California at Berkeley, one day after the students stormed the administration building and staged a massive sit-in.
Today in 1967,Christiaan Barnard(yes, that’s the correct spelling) performed the first heart transplant ever on Louis Washkansky – who survived the operation and lived for 18 days, having succumbed to pneumonia as he was taking immunosuppressive drugs.
Today in 1968, NBC aired the classic Elvis comeback special.
Today in 1976,"Rocky" starring Sylvester Stallone, Burgess Meredith and Talia Shire, opened in theaters nationwide.
Today in1979, 11 people were trampled to death at a Who concert in Cincinnati.
Today in 1984,more than 4,000 people died after a cloud of gas escaped from a pesticide plantoperated by a Union Carbide subsidiary in Bhopal, India.
Today in 1999,Tori Murden became the first woman to row across the Atlantic Ocean alone. It took her 81 days to reach the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe from the Canary Islands.
Today in 1999,a warehouse fire in Worcester, Massachusetts claimed the lives of six firefighters. The blaze was started accidentally by two homeless people (Thomas Levesque and Julie Ann Barnes) who were squatting in the building and had knocked over a candle.
Today in 2007,devastating winter storms caused the Chehalis River to flood many cities in Lewis County, Washington, also closing a 20-mile portion of Interstate 5 for several days. At least eight deaths and billions of dollars of damages were blamed on the floods.
Today in 2010,the Boeing X-37B returned to Earth on successfully after its first orbital mission. It launched on April 22, 2010.
Today in 2014,protestserupted in cities across the US after a grand jury decided not to charge Daniel Pantaleo, the New York police officer who killed Eric Garner with an illegal choke-hold.
Today in 2015,Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced that all combat roles in the American Armed Forces were now open to women.
Today in 2017,the first pizza party in space was held by astronauts of the International Space Station.
Today in 2019,the 70th anniversary of NATO was marked by gathering in London of world leaders and reception by Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. The big news, however? A group of world leaderscaptured on camera discussing President Donald Trump in unflattering terms...it went viral.