December 2nd
What Happened on the day you were born on This day in History
1907 Canada Immigrant Workers
December 2nd, 1907 : Toronto faced a throng of immigrant workers who faced poverty and starvation unless employment could be found for them. The worst off were 300 people from Bulgaria who were in danger of perishing in a matter of days. Advertisements had brought a large group of immigrants over from Europe to work on railways and in construction, but they were laid off until spring.
1927 Hawaii Sacred Stone Pilgrimage
December 2nd, 1927 : Near Honolulu the faithful have been making pilgrimages to a sacred stone called the Wahawa, which natives claim has healing powers. The site has attracted crowds of sick people and on the previous Sunday 1,200 visitors came to the site. Twenty miles out of Honolulu, the holy monolith is devotedly hung with garlands and it is rumoured that bad luck follows those who scoff.
1930 U.S.A. Unemployment
December 2nd, 1930 : President Herbert Hoover goes before Congress to make a plea for a $150 million public works program to work on various construction projects and help to put America back to work.
1932 Germany Economy
December 2nd, 1932 : Germany’s economy had not rallied despite the government’s cut backs and 20 million Germans were at the point of starvation. Begging was common place, there was nation-wide unemployment, and industries were failing.
1939 U.S.A. LaGuardia Airport
December 2nd, 1939 : New York's LaGuardia Airport ( dedicated as New York Municipal Airport )located on the waterfront of Flushing Bay is opened and from the beginning proved popular with major US Airlines including Pan American Airways, American. United, Eastern Air Lines and Transcontinental & Western Air
1942 U.S.A. First Nuclear Demonstration
December 2nd, 1942 : A self sustaining nuclear chain reaction was demonstrated for the first time at a racquets court below the bleachers of Stagg Field at the University of Chicago.
1943 U.S.A. Food Rationing
December 2nd, 1943 : In early 1943 rationing of food was to take place starting with meat and then including canned foods. Each household was limited to 48 points in a ration book. Rationing had been in effect in England for a year before it took place in America.
1954 U.S.A. Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy
December 2nd, 1954 : The US Senate votes to condemn Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy, R Wis., for "conduct that tends to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute".
1957 Japan US Restrictions On Imports
December 2nd, 1957 : Aiichiro Fujiyama, foreign minister of Japan, strenuously protested American restrictions on Japanese exports to the United States. He asserted that Japan was the biggest importer of American goods and limiting Japan’s exports was “a matter of life or death” for his country.
1959 France Dam Collapses
December 2nd, 1959 : The Malpasset Dam in France collapses resulting in a flood that devastates Frejus and leaves over 400 dead.
1961 Cuba Fidel Castro
December 2nd, 1961 : On a national radio broadcast in Cuba Fidel Castro declares that he was a Marxist-Leninist and that Cuba was to adopt Communism
1964 U.S.A. Student Protesters
December 2nd, 1964 : Students storm the administration building ( Sproul Hall ) on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley which protesters took over in a massive sit-in as part of the Free Speech Movement (FSM) .
1967 UK Foot and Mouth
December 2nd, 1967 : The rate of slaughter for animals affected by the Foot and mouth disease continues to increase with 134,000 animals slaughtered in the latest epidemic of foot-and-mouth disease.
1967 Egypt Israeli Planes Shot Down
December 2nd, 1967 : Egyptian anti-aircraft armaments shot down two Israeli planes near Suez City. This was the first skirmish between Egypt and Israel since Israel demolished Egypt’s oil refineries.
1974 England Birmingham Pub Bombing
December 2nd, 1974 : Suspected IRA Terrorists plant bombs in two central Birmingham pubs, killing 19 people and injuring over 180.
1979 Pakistan US Embassy
December 2nd, 1979 : A mob in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, has burned the US Embassy to the ground, killing a US marine
1982 U.S.A. First Artificial Heart
December 2nd, 1982 : Doctors at the University of Utah Medical Center performed the first implant of a permanent artificial heart in Barney Clark the artificail heart used was designed by Robert Jarvik The Jarvik-7. Barney Clark lived 112 days with the device.
1985 Switzerland US / USSR Meeting
December 2nd, 1985 : After a meeting in Geneva, Switzerland United States President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev end of their two-day meeting in Switzerland announcing the Geneva Accord, which commits the two countries to speeding up arms talks, working towards the abolition of chemical weapons and a new commitment to human rights
1988 Soviet Union School Bus Hijack
December 2nd, 1988 : A bus full of school children and teachers was hijacked in southern Russia. The two armed men demanded to have an airplane at their disposal. It wasn’t clear what the men were armed with, however, to protect the children Russian officials gave them an Ilyushin-76 to fly to Israel in.
1990 Germany Free Elections
December 2nd, 1990 : Chancellor Helmut Kohl's center-right coalition won the first free elections since 1932 for a combined East and West Germany.
1995 U.S.A. Dayton Accord
December 2nd, 1995 : Bosnian, Serb and Croat leaders agree to the Dayton Accord peace plan for war-torn Bosnia Herzegovina brokered by Bill Clinton in the United States.
1998 Chile Augusto Pinochet
December 2nd, 1998 : Great Britain may have lost its reputation for fairness over its treatment of 83-year-old General Augusto Pinochet. Instead of granting him diplomatic immunity when he visited Britain for surgery, the British government gave in to a Spanish magistrate who wanted him tried for genocide, torture, and killings. Relations between Chile and Great Britain are strained because of this. When Pinochet staged a coup in Chile over Marxist, Salvador Allende, 3,200 persons were killed or went missing.
1999 Northern Ireland Power Sharing
December 2nd, 1999 : In Northern Ireland, a power-sharing cabinet of Protestants and Catholics sit down together for the first time.
2001 U.S.A. Enron
December 2nd, 2001 : Enron an energy trading company filed for Chapter 11 protection in one of the largest corporate bankruptcies in U.S. history. By the end of the year, Enron's collapse had cost investors including pension plans billions of dollars.
2006 Italy Rome Film Festival
December 2nd, 2006 : An old western, “Once upon a Time”, starring Henry Fonda and Claudia Cardinale (1968) was going to be restored and shown at the Rome Film Festival. Thanks to Martin Scorsese and the Festival a three year conservation program for old Italian movies will continue.
Find Out What Happened This Day in History Date and year What Events happened on your Birthday, The Day You Were Born
What Happened on the day you were born on This day in History
1969 U.S.A. Boeing 747
December 2nd, 1969 : The Boeing 747 ( Often Known as Jumbo Jet ) a long-haul, widebody commercial airliner recieves its FAA airworthiness certificate paving the way for its introduction into commercial service in 1970
December 2nd, 1969 : The Boeing 747 ( Often Known as Jumbo Jet ) a long-haul, widebody commercial airliner recieves its FAA airworthiness certificate paving the way for its introduction into commercial service in 1970
1907 Canada Immigrant Workers
December 2nd, 1907 : Toronto faced a throng of immigrant workers who faced poverty and starvation unless employment could be found for them. The worst off were 300 people from Bulgaria who were in danger of perishing in a matter of days. Advertisements had brought a large group of immigrants over from Europe to work on railways and in construction, but they were laid off until spring.
1927 Hawaii Sacred Stone Pilgrimage
December 2nd, 1927 : Near Honolulu the faithful have been making pilgrimages to a sacred stone called the Wahawa, which natives claim has healing powers. The site has attracted crowds of sick people and on the previous Sunday 1,200 visitors came to the site. Twenty miles out of Honolulu, the holy monolith is devotedly hung with garlands and it is rumoured that bad luck follows those who scoff.
1930 U.S.A. Unemployment
December 2nd, 1930 : President Herbert Hoover goes before Congress to make a plea for a $150 million public works program to work on various construction projects and help to put America back to work.
1932 Germany Economy
December 2nd, 1932 : Germany’s economy had not rallied despite the government’s cut backs and 20 million Germans were at the point of starvation. Begging was common place, there was nation-wide unemployment, and industries were failing.
1939 U.S.A. LaGuardia Airport
December 2nd, 1939 : New York's LaGuardia Airport ( dedicated as New York Municipal Airport )located on the waterfront of Flushing Bay is opened and from the beginning proved popular with major US Airlines including Pan American Airways, American. United, Eastern Air Lines and Transcontinental & Western Air
1942 U.S.A. First Nuclear Demonstration
December 2nd, 1942 : A self sustaining nuclear chain reaction was demonstrated for the first time at a racquets court below the bleachers of Stagg Field at the University of Chicago.
1943 U.S.A. Food Rationing
December 2nd, 1943 : In early 1943 rationing of food was to take place starting with meat and then including canned foods. Each household was limited to 48 points in a ration book. Rationing had been in effect in England for a year before it took place in America.
1954 U.S.A. Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy
December 2nd, 1954 : The US Senate votes to condemn Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy, R Wis., for "conduct that tends to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute".
1957 Japan US Restrictions On Imports
December 2nd, 1957 : Aiichiro Fujiyama, foreign minister of Japan, strenuously protested American restrictions on Japanese exports to the United States. He asserted that Japan was the biggest importer of American goods and limiting Japan’s exports was “a matter of life or death” for his country.
1959 France Dam Collapses
December 2nd, 1959 : The Malpasset Dam in France collapses resulting in a flood that devastates Frejus and leaves over 400 dead.
1961 Cuba Fidel Castro
December 2nd, 1961 : On a national radio broadcast in Cuba Fidel Castro declares that he was a Marxist-Leninist and that Cuba was to adopt Communism
1964 U.S.A. Student Protesters
December 2nd, 1964 : Students storm the administration building ( Sproul Hall ) on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley which protesters took over in a massive sit-in as part of the Free Speech Movement (FSM) .
1967 UK Foot and Mouth
December 2nd, 1967 : The rate of slaughter for animals affected by the Foot and mouth disease continues to increase with 134,000 animals slaughtered in the latest epidemic of foot-and-mouth disease.
1967 Egypt Israeli Planes Shot Down
December 2nd, 1967 : Egyptian anti-aircraft armaments shot down two Israeli planes near Suez City. This was the first skirmish between Egypt and Israel since Israel demolished Egypt’s oil refineries.
1974 England Birmingham Pub Bombing
December 2nd, 1974 : Suspected IRA Terrorists plant bombs in two central Birmingham pubs, killing 19 people and injuring over 180.
1979 Pakistan US Embassy
December 2nd, 1979 : A mob in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, has burned the US Embassy to the ground, killing a US marine
1982 U.S.A. First Artificial Heart
December 2nd, 1982 : Doctors at the University of Utah Medical Center performed the first implant of a permanent artificial heart in Barney Clark the artificail heart used was designed by Robert Jarvik The Jarvik-7. Barney Clark lived 112 days with the device.
1985 Switzerland US / USSR Meeting
December 2nd, 1985 : After a meeting in Geneva, Switzerland United States President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev end of their two-day meeting in Switzerland announcing the Geneva Accord, which commits the two countries to speeding up arms talks, working towards the abolition of chemical weapons and a new commitment to human rights
1988 Soviet Union School Bus Hijack
December 2nd, 1988 : A bus full of school children and teachers was hijacked in southern Russia. The two armed men demanded to have an airplane at their disposal. It wasn’t clear what the men were armed with, however, to protect the children Russian officials gave them an Ilyushin-76 to fly to Israel in.
1990 Germany Free Elections
December 2nd, 1990 : Chancellor Helmut Kohl's center-right coalition won the first free elections since 1932 for a combined East and West Germany.
1995 U.S.A. Dayton Accord
December 2nd, 1995 : Bosnian, Serb and Croat leaders agree to the Dayton Accord peace plan for war-torn Bosnia Herzegovina brokered by Bill Clinton in the United States.
1998 Chile Augusto Pinochet
December 2nd, 1998 : Great Britain may have lost its reputation for fairness over its treatment of 83-year-old General Augusto Pinochet. Instead of granting him diplomatic immunity when he visited Britain for surgery, the British government gave in to a Spanish magistrate who wanted him tried for genocide, torture, and killings. Relations between Chile and Great Britain are strained because of this. When Pinochet staged a coup in Chile over Marxist, Salvador Allende, 3,200 persons were killed or went missing.
1999 Northern Ireland Power Sharing
December 2nd, 1999 : In Northern Ireland, a power-sharing cabinet of Protestants and Catholics sit down together for the first time.
2001 U.S.A. Enron
December 2nd, 2001 : Enron an energy trading company filed for Chapter 11 protection in one of the largest corporate bankruptcies in U.S. history. By the end of the year, Enron's collapse had cost investors including pension plans billions of dollars.
2006 Italy Rome Film Festival
December 2nd, 2006 : An old western, “Once upon a Time”, starring Henry Fonda and Claudia Cardinale (1968) was going to be restored and shown at the Rome Film Festival. Thanks to Martin Scorsese and the Festival a three year conservation program for old Italian movies will continue.
