Today in History

Today is Saturday, Dec. 3, the 337th day of 2022. 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 1818, Illinois was admitted as the 21st state.

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 1964, police arrested some 800 students at the University of California at Berkeley, one day after the students stormed the administration building and staged a massive sit-in.

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-year-old 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 1991, radicals in Lebanon released American hostage Alann Steen, who'd been held captive nearly five years.

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 2017, the second-largest U.S. drugstore chain, CVS, announced that it was buying Aetna, the third-largest health insurer, in order to push much deeper into customer care.

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

Ten years ago: The White House rejected a $2.2 trillion proposal by House Republicans to avert the "fiscal cliff," a plan that included $800 billion in higher tax revenue over 10 years but no increase in tax rates for the wealthy. St. James's Palace announced that Britain's Prince William and his wife, Kate, were expecting their first child (Prince George was born the following July).

Five years ago: Former longtime Illinois congressman John Anderson, who ran for president as an independent in 1980, died in Washington at the age of 95.

One year ago: A prosecutor filed involuntary manslaughter charges against the parents of a teen accused of killing four students at a Michigan high school, saying they failed to intervene on the day of the tragedy despite being confronted with a drawing and chilling message -- "blood everywhere" -- that was found at the boy's desk. President Joe Biden pledged to make it "very, very difficult" for Russia's Vladimir Putin to take military action in Ukraine as U.S. intelligence officials determined that Russian planning was underway for a possible military offensive. A judge in Denver ruled that Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, charged with killing 10 people at a Colorado supermarket earlier in the year was mentally incompetent to stand trial and ordered him to be treated at the state mental hospital to see if he could be made well enough to face prosecution.

Today's Birthdays: Singer Jaye P. Morgan is 91. Actor Nicolas Coster is 89. Rock singer Ozzy Osbourne is 74. Rock singer Mickey Thomas is 73. Country musician Paul Gregg (Restless Heart) is 68. Actor Steven Culp is 67. Actor Daryl Hannah is 62. Actor Julianne Moore is 62. Olympic gold medal figure skater Katarina Witt is 57. Actor Brendan Fraser is 54. Singer Montell Jordan is 54. Actor Royale Watkins is 53. Actor Bruno Campos is 49. Actor Holly Marie Combs is 49. Actor Liza Lapira is 47. Pop-rock singer Daniel Bedingfield is 43. Actor/comedian Tiffany Haddish is 43. Actor Anna Chlumsky is 42. Actor Jenna Dewan is 42. Actor Brian Bonsall is 41. Actor Dascha Polanco is 40. Pop/rock singer-songwriter Andy Grammer is 39. Americana musician Michael Calabrese (Lake Street Dive) is 38. Actor Amanda Seyfried is 37. Actor Michael Angarano is 35. Actor Jake T. Austin is 28.