Today's Puzzle
Use only 2 letters to form a phrase saying you are twice as big as me
What Happened On
Photo Credit: Daniel P.B. Smith
Photo Credit: Daniel P.B. Smith
7-inch 45 rpm Record
December 3, 1948
The new format is announced by RCA in a front-page article in Billboard magazine. The first release of the 45s came the following March.
The records originally came in seven translucent colors, one for each type of music:
• dark blue = light classics
• light blue = international
• yellow = juvenile
• bright red = folk
• deep red = classical
• green = country
• black = popular
A Streetcar Named Desire
December 3, 1947
Tennessee Williams' Broadway play opens, starring Marlon Brando as Stanley.
First National Flag of the United States of America
December 3, 1775
During the first year of the American Revolutionary War, a flag was needed to represent the Congress and fledgling nation. The "Grand Union Flag" is adopted - also known as the "Continental Colors", the "Congress Flag", the "Cambridge Flag", and the "First Navy Ensign". It was replaced in 1777 by the flag of 13 stars and 13 stripes.
Presumption of Innocence and Reasonable Doubt
December 3, 1770
Future U.S. President John Adams in his opening comments for the defense of eight British soldiers accused of murder after the Boston Massacre, "…that many guilty persons should escape unpunished, than one innocent person should suffer. The reason is, because it's of more importance to community, that innocence should be protected, than it is, that guilt should be punished; for guilt and crimes are so frequent in the world, that all of them cannot be punished; and many times they happen in such a manner, that it is not of much consequence to the public, whether they are punished or not. But when innocence itself, is brought to the bar and condemned, especially to die, the subject will exclaim, it is immaterial to me, whether I behave well or ill; for virtue itself, is no security. And if such a sentiment as this, should take place in the mind of the subject, there would be an end to all security what so ever."
This set the precedence for presumption of innocence of clients and that they must be proven guilty as opposed to proving they are innocent.
This trial was also the first time the phrase "reasonable doubt" was used in court when Justice Peter Oliver instructed the jury, "If upon the whole ye are in any reasonable doubt of their guilt, ye must then, agreeable to the rule of law, declare them innocent."
Bhopal Gas Leak
December 3, 1984
A gas leak at the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India kills 3,787 people, with 558,125 injuries. In 1989, Union Carbide is ordered, by the Indian Supreme Court, to pay $470,000,000 in restitution.
First Long-Distance Solar-Powered Flight
December 3, 1980
By Janice Brown flying the Solar Challenger designed by Paul MacCready covering 6 miles in 22 minutes.
Eleven People Trampled to Death at Who Concert
December 3, 1979
Eleven people are trampled to death at a Who concert in Cincinnati.
First Successful Human Heart Transplant
December 3, 1967
Performed by a team led by Prof. Christiaan Barnard in South Africa. The patient lived for 18 days.
Malcolm X - Justice By Any Means Necessary
December 3, 1964
The civil-rights leader Malcolm X declares that if laws aren't enforced because of the color of a person's skin, those people are justified in using any means necessary to bring about justice.
Illinois
December 3, 1818
Illinois becomes the 21st state. Illinois is Algonquin for "warriors."
First Practical Steamboat
December 3, 1787
James Rumsey demonstrates his steamboat going against the current of the Potomac River at a rate of about 3 knots. His craft was about 50 feet long and carried 2 tons of rocks and eight women passengers. It utilized a form of jet propulsion by pumping water through a channel that ran along the keel.
Rumsey's is considered the first practical steamboat due to its ability to carry cargo and passengers.
John Fitch had demonstrated his first steamboat down the Delaware River the previous August.
Birthdays
Ozzy Osbourne (John Michael Osbourne)
Born December 3, 1948
English Hall of Fame Grammy-winning singer, songwriter. Bat-biting founding member of Black Sabbath. In 1982, he bit the head off of a bat during a concert. The bat was thrown on stage by an audience member and Osbourne didn't realize it was a real bat until after he bit the head off. In the process, the bat bit him and he had to be treated for rabies.
Music: Paranoid (1970), Crazy Train (1980), Bark at the Moon (1983), Suicide Solution (1985), and No More Tears (1991). TV: The Osbournes (2002-05) and Ozzy & Jack's World Detour (2016-18).
Andy Williams
Born December 3, 1927 d. 2012
American singer and Emmy-winning TV host. Music: Butterfly (1957, #1), Moon River (1962), and The Days of Wine and Roses (1962). TV: The Andy Williams Show (1962-71).
Gilbert Stuart
Born December 3, 1755 d. 1828
American artist. His best known work is the unfinished portrait of George Washington (1796) that is used on the $1 bill. His portrait paintings have also been used on U.S. postage stamps. Stuart painted portraits of more than 1,000 people, including the first six U.S. Presidents.
Although Washington's portrait was never completed or delivered to Washington, after Washington's death Gilbert cashed in on Washington's fame by making 130 copies of the painting and selling them for $100 each.
Terri Schiavo
Born December 3, 1963 d. 2005
American medical case. After suffering a cardiac arrest in 1990 that left her brain damaged, a major legal battle ensued over the right of her husband to have her feeding tube removed. It was eventually removed, resulting in her death 13 days later.
Rick Mears
Born December 3, 1951
American auto racer, four-time Indianapolis 500 winner (1979, 84, 88, 91).
Photo Credit: Gary Stevens
Photo Credit: Gary Stevens
Jean-Luc Godard
Born December 3, 1930 d. 2022
French film director. Godard was arguably the most influential French filmmaker of the post-war era. Film: Breathless (1959) and A Woman is a Woman (1961).
Jack McMahon
Born December 3, 1928 d. 1989
American basketball player and coach with the NBA.
Ferlin Husky
Born December 3, 1925 d. 2011
American Country Music Hall of Fame singer. Music: A Dear John Letter (1953, #1), Gone (1957, #1), Country Music Is Here To Stay (1958), and Wings of a Dove (1960, #1).
Richard Pearse
Born December 3, 1877 d. 1953
New Zealand farmer, aviation pioneer. He reportedly built and flew a monoplane craft in March of 1903 - eight months before the Wright brothers.
First Female Professional Chemist in the U.S.
Ellen Henrietta Swallow Richards
Born December 3, 1842 d. 1911
American chemist, the first woman admitted to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1870). She earned her B.S. degree (1873) and became the first female professional chemist in the U.S. In 1884, she became MIT's first woman faculty member.
George B. McClellan (George Brinton McClellan)
Born December 3, 1826 d. 1885
American soldier. McClellan served during the Mexican War (1846-1848), leaving the Army to work in railroads until the outbreak of the Civil War (1861-1865), where he served as commander in chief of the Union Army.
Deaths
Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson
Died December 3, 1894 b. 1850
British author. Writings: New Arabian Nights (1882), Treasure Island (1883), and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886).
Diocletianic Persecution of Christians
Diocletianic Persecution of Christians
Diocletian
Died December 3, 311 b. 244
Roman emperor (A.D. 284-305). Known for the Diocletianic Persecution (A.D. 303-11), the empire's last, largest, and bloodiest official persecution of Christianity. Despite these efforts, Christianity became the empire's preferred religion under emperor Constantine I. Diocletian was able to stabilize the empire's economy, which had been on the brink of collapse. He was the first Roman emperor to abdicate the position voluntarily, doing so due to health reasons.
Popular Science, August 1965
Popular Science, August 1965
Inventor of the Sailboard
Sidney Newman Darby, Jr.
Died December 3, 2016 b. 1928
American sign painter. Inventor of the sailboard (1964).
First African-American Writer Awarded a Pulitzer Prize
Gwendolyn Brooks
Died December 3, 2000 b. 1917
American poet, author. She was the first African-American writer awarded a Pulitzer Prize (1950). She served as Poet Laureate to the Library of Congress (1985-86). Writings: Annie Allen (1950, Pulitzer for Poetry).
Madeline Kahn
Died December 3, 1999 b. 1942
American actress. Film: Paper Moon (1973), Blazing Saddles (1974), Young Frankenstein (1974), and History of the World - Part I (1981).
Lewis Thomas
Died December 3, 1993 b. 1913
American physician, "Poet Laureate of 20th Century Medical Science." Writings: The Lives of the Cell: Notes of a Biology Watcher (1974, National Book Award) and The Medusa and the Snail (1979, American Book Award).
Walter Marvin Knott
Died December 3, 1981 b. 1889
American entrepreneur. He turned a roadside stand selling boysenberries and pies into the amusement park Knott's Berry Farm.
Frank Ernest Gannett
Died December 3, 1957 b. 1876
American publisher. He built a media network of 21 newspapers and 7 radio and TV stations.
Charles Ringling
Died December 3, 1926 b. 1863
American circus operator, with Ringling Brothers Circus.
Mary Baker Eddy
Died December 3, 1910 b. 1821
American religious leader. She founded the Church of Christ, Scientist (1879, Christian Science). Quote: "Happiness is spiritual, born of truth and love. It is unselfish; therefore it cannot exist alone, but requires all mankind to share it."
Bartlett's Familiar Quotations
John Bartlett
Died December 3, 1905 b. 1820
American publisher, editor. He compiled A Collection of Familiar Quotations (1855), now called Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, often simply called Bartlett's, and is still in publication.
John Carroll
Died December 3, 1815 b. 1735
American clergyman. He was the first American bishop (1790), in charge of the Diocese of Baltimore, and founded (1789) the first Roman Catholic College in the U.S. (Georgetown College in Washington D.C.).
Anastasius IV
Died December 3, 1154 b. ????
Italian-born religious leader, 168th Pope (1153-54).