When I first posted This Day in History for this day four years ago (you can read all about the end of the line for the AMC Pacer, here) I didn’t realize what depth of riches history held for this particular date. But now? I do. And here at dewconsulting.net we’re always willing to admit our mistakes. And not only that, but to correct them as well. So, without further ado, here are just a few of the earth-shattering events from December 3rd through the years….
1947 – Stella!
A Streetcar Named Desire premiered on Broadway, starring Marlon Brando as Stanley Kowalski and Jessica Tandy as Blanche Dubois. You can read all about it, here.
1776 – Washington Crosses the Delaware.
Iconic artistic renderings aside, I really love this meme.
1992 – First SMS text message sent.
There may have been a time when this kind of news was not big. But trust me folks, it’s definitely earth-shattering now. Read all about it, here.
Neil Papworth, a 22-year-old engineer, uses a personal computer to send the text message “Merry Christmas” via the Vodafone network to the phone of a colleague.
1967 – First Human Heart Transplant.
Dr. Christiaan Barnard performs the first human heart transplant on 53-year-old Louis Washkansky, a grocer dying from chronic heart disease, at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa. Full story is here.
1984 – Worst Industrial Accident in History.
An explosion at a Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, India leads to the worst industrial accident in history. At least 2,000 people died and another 200,000 were injured when toxic gas enveloped the city.
All the gory details are here, just in case you thought the Exxon Valdez plus a few oily fish and birds were bad in Prince William Sound (March 24, 1989).
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So there you have it. I challenge anyone to find another day of the year with this much important stuff happening. Go ahead, I’ll wait… And btw, let’s not forget about the demise of the AMC Pacer: Tragic stuff, that.