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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