December
3
International
Day of Persons with Disabilities
Around 10%
of the world’s population, or 650 million people, live with
disabilities. People are often unaware of the great number of
persons living with disabilities around the world and the challenges
they face. WHO's mission is to enhance the quality of life for
people with disabilities through national, regional and global
efforts and to raise awareness about the magnitude and consequences.
The day
aims to promote an understanding of disability issues and mobilize
support for the dignity, rights and well-being of persons with
disabilities. It also seeks to increase awareness of gains to
be derived from the inclusion of persons with disabilities in
every aspect of life.
National
Doctors' Day (Cuba)
In Cuba, in Cuba this holiday (December 3) commemorates the
Birthday of Carlos Juan Finlay. Carlos J. Finlay (December 3,
1833 – August 20, 1915) was a Cuban physician and scientist
recognized as a pioneer in yellow fever research. He was the
first to theorize, in 1881, that a mosquito was a carrier, now
known as a disease vector, of the organism causing yellow fever:
a mosquito that bites a victim of the disease could subsequently
bite and thereby infect a healthy person. A year later Finlay
identified a mosquito of the genus Aedes as the organism transmitting
yellow fever. His theory was followed by the recommendation
to control the mosquito population as a way to control the spread
of the disease.
Events
1799 – War
of the Second Coalition: Battle of Wiesloch, Austrian Lieutenant
Field Marshal Sztáray de Nagy-Mihaly defeats the French at Wiesloch.
1800 – War of the Second Coalition: Battle of Hohenlinden, French
General Moreau defeats the Austrian Archduke John near Munich
decisively, coupled with First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte's victory
at Marengo effectively forcing the Austrians to sign an armistice
and ending the war.
1818 – Illinois becomes the 21st U.S. state.
1834 – The Zollverein (German Customs Union) begins the first
regular census in Germany.
1854 – Eureka Stockade: In what is claimed by many to be the
birth of Australian democracy, more than 20 gold miners at Ballarat,
Victoria, Australia are killed by state troopers in an uprising
over mining licences.
1901 – US President Theodore Roosevelt delivers a 20,000-word
speech to the House of Representatives asking the Congress to
curb the power of trusts "within reasonable limits".
1904 – The Jovian moon Himalia is discovered by Charles Dillon
Perrine at California's Lick Observatory.
1910 – Modern neon lighting is first demonstrated by Georges
Claude at the Paris Motor Show.
1912 – Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro, and Serbia (the Balkan
League) sign an armistice with Turkey, ending the two-month
long First Balkan War.
1912 – First Balkan War: The Naval Battle of Elli takes place.
1917 – After nearly 20 years of planning and construction, including
two collapses causing 89 deaths, the Quebec Bridge opens to
traffic.
1927 – Putting Pants on Philip, the first Laurel and Hardy film,
is released.
1944 – Greek Civil War: Fighting breaks out in Athens between
the ELAS and government forces supported by the British Army.
1959 – The current flag of Singapore is adopted, six months
after Singapore became self-governing within the British Empire.
1960 – The musical Camelot debuted at the Majestic Theatre on
Broadway, and would become associated with the Kennedy administration.
1964 – Berkeley Free Speech Movement: Police arrest over 800
students at the University of California, Berkeley, following
their takeover and sit-in at the administration building in
protest at the UC Regents' decision to forbid protests on UC
property.
1967 – At Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa,
a transplant team headed by Christiaan Barnard carries out the
first heart transplant on a human (53-year-old Louis Washkansky).
1970 – October Crisis: In Montreal, Quebec, kidnapped British
Trade Commissioner James Cross is released by the Front de libération
du Québec terrorist group after being held hostage for 60 days.
Police negotiate his release and in return the Canadian government
grants five terrorists from the FLQ's Chenier Cell their request
for safe passage to Cuba.
1971 – Indo-Pakistani War of 1971: Pakistan launches pre-emptive
strike against India and a full scale war begins claiming hundreds
of lives.
1973 – Pioneer program: Pioneer 10 sends back the first close-up
images of Jupiter.
1976 – An assassination attempt is made on Bob Marley. He is
shot twice, but plays a concert two days later.
1979 – In Cincinnati, Ohio, 11 fans are suffocated in a crush
for seats on the concourse outside Riverfront Coliseum before
a Who concert.
1982 – A soil sample is taken from Times Beach, Missouri that
will be found to contain 300 times the safe level of dioxin.
1984 – Bhopal Disaster: A methyl isocyanate leak from a Union
Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, India, kills more than 3,800
people outright and injures 150,000–600,000 others (some 6,000
of whom would later die from their injuries) in one of the worst
industrial disasters in history.
1989 – Cold War: In a meeting off the coast of Malta, US President
George H. W. Bush and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev release
statements indicating that the cold war between Nato and The
Soviet Union may be coming to an end.
1990 – At Detroit Metropolitan Airport, Northwest Airlines Flight
1482 collides with Northwest Airlines Flight 299 on the runway,
killing 7 passengers and 1 crew member aboard flight 1482.
1992 – UN Security Council Resolution 794 is unanimously passed,
approving a coalition of United Nations peacekeepers led by
the United States to form UNITAF, with the task of establishing
peace and ensuring that humanitarian aid is distributed in Somalia.
1992 – The Greek oil tanker Aegean Sea, carrying 80,000 tonnes
of crude oil, runs aground in a storm while approaching La Coruña,
Spain, and spills much of its cargo.
1992 – A test engineer for Sema Group uses a personal computer
to send the world's first text message via the Vodafone network
to the phone of a colleague.
1997 – In Ottawa, Canada, representatives from 121 countries
sign The Ottawa treaty prohibiting manufacture and deployment
of anti-personnel landmines. The United States, People's Republic
of China, and Russia do not sign the treaty, however.
1999 – NASA loses radio contact with the Mars Polar Lander moments
before the spacecraft enters the Martian atmosphere.
1999 – Six firefighters are killed in the Worcester Cold Storage
Warehouse fire in Worcester, Massachusetts.
2005 – XCOR Aerospace makes first manned rocket aircraft delivery
of US Mail in Mojave, California.
2007 – Winter storms cause 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 in damages are blamed on the floods.
2009 – A suicide bombing in Mogadishu, Somalia, claims the lives
of 25 people, including three ministers of the Transitional
Federal Government.
Holidays
and observances
Advocate's
Day (India)
Christian Feast Day:
Birinus
Francis Xavier (Roman Catholic Church and Anglican communion)
International Day of Persons with Disabilities (International)
National Day (Saba)
For details, contact Datacentre
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