TODAY IN HISTORY

Today is Sunday, Dec. 3, the 337th day of 2023. There are 28 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On Dec. 3, 1984, thousands of people died after a cloud of methyl isocyanate gas escaped from a pesticide plant operated by a Union Carbide subsidiary in Bhopal, India.

On this date:

In 1828, Andrew Jackson was elected President of the United States by the Electoral College.

In 1947, the Tennessee Williams play “A Streetcar Named Desire” opened on Broadway.

In 1965, the Beatles’ sixth studio album, “Rubber Soul,” was released in the United Kingdom by Parlophone (it was released in the U.S. by Capitol Records three days later).

In 1967, a surgical team in Cape Town, South Africa, led by Dr. Christiaan Barnard performed the first human heart transplant on Louis Washkansky, who lived 18 days with the donor organ, which came from Denise Darvall, a 25-yearold bank clerk who had died in a traffic accident.

In 1979, 11 people were killed in a crush of fans at Cincinnati’s Riverfront Coliseum, where the British rock group The Who was performing.

In 1992, the first telephone text message was sent by British engineer Neil Papworth, who transmitted the greeting “Merry Christmas” from his work computer in Newbury, Berkshire, to Vodafone executive Richard Jarvis’ mobile phone.

In 2015, defense Secretary Ash Carter ordered the armed services to open all military jobs to women, removing the final barriers that had kept women from serving in combat, including the most dangerous and grueling commando posts.

In 2020, Facebook said it would start removing false claims about COVID-19 vaccines.

Today’s Birthdays: Rock singer Ozzy Osbourne is 75. Country musician Paul Gregg (Restless Heart) is 69. Actors Daryl Hannah and Julianne Moore are 63. Olympic gold medal figure skater Katarina Witt is 58. Actor Brendan Fraser and singer Montell Jordan are 55. Actor/ comedian Tiffany Haddish is 44. Actor Anna Chlumsky is 43. Pop/rock singersongwriter Andy Grammer is 40. Actor Amanda Seyfried is 38.