HISTORY AT A GLANCE
TODAY is Thursday, December 1, the 335th day of 2016. There are 30 days left in the year. Highlights in history on this date: 1958 – The Central African Republic attains self-rule within the
French Union. 1959 – Cold War: Opening date for signature of the Antarctic Treaty, which sets aside Antarctica as a scientific preserve and bans military activity on the continent. 1969 – Vietnam War: The first draft lottery in the United
States is held since World War II. 1971 – Cambodian Civil War: Khmer Rouge rebels intensify assaults on Cambodian government positions, forcing their retreat from Kompong Thmar and nearby Ba Ray. 1973 – Papua New Guinea gains self-governance from
Australia. 1974 – TWA Flight 514, a Boeing 727, crashes northwest of Dulles International Airport, killing all 92 people on board. 1974 – Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 6231, another Boeing 727, crashes northwest of John F. Kennedy International Airport. 1981 – Inex-Adria Aviopromet Flight 1308, a McDonnell Douglas MD-80, crashes in Corsica, killing all 180 people on board. 1984 – NASA conducts the Controlled Impact Demonstration, wherein an airliner is deliberately crashed in order to test technologies and gather data to help improve survivability of crashes. 1988 – Benazir Bhutto is appointed Prime Minister of Pakistan. 1989 – Philippine coup attempt: The right-wing military rebel Reform the Armed Forces Movement attempts to oust Philippine President Corazon Aquino in a failed bloody coup d’état. 1989 – Cold War: East Germany’s parliament abolishes the constitutional provision granting the Communist Party the leading role in the state. 1990 – Channel Tunnel sections started from the United Kingdom and France meet 40 metres beneath the seabed. 1991 – Cold War: Ukrainian voters overwhelmingly approve a
referendum for independence from the Soviet Union. 1997 – In the Indian state of Bihar, Ranvir Sena attacked the CPI(ML) Party Unity stronghold Lakshmanpur-Bathe, killing 63 lower caste people. 2013 – China launches Yutu or Jade Rabbit, its first lunar rover, as part of the Chang’e 3 lunar exploration mission.