What happened on February 3 News and Events on This Day in History

U.S.

1959 U.S.A. Buddy Holly 3rd February, 1959 : Rock 'n' Roll singers Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. Richardson ( The Big Bopper ) died in a plane crash today along with the pilot when their chartered plane went down near Mason City, Iowa. The deaths are immortalized in the "The Day the Music Died" by Don McLean.

India

1986 India Mother Teresa 3rd February, 1986: The Pope meets Mother Teresa, and visited her refuge for the sick and dying. Her Missionaries of Charity order, now has 4,500 sisters in 133 countries providing food and shelter and hospices for the dying.

U.S. 1919 U.S.A. League of Nations 3rd February, 1919 : The first meeting of the League of Nations was held on this day. President Woodrow Wilson was head of this committee. The purpose of this committee was to promote international security as well as world peace.
This organization was later replaced by the present-day United Nations (UN). The goals of the UN are very similar to the goals of the League of Nations.

U.S. 1927 U.S.A. Federal Radio Commission Created 3rd February, 1927 : President Calvin Coolidge signed a bill on this day that created the Federal Radio Commission. This is the organization that issues licenses in the present day for people to broadcast over the radio.

New Zealand 1931 New Zealand Earthquake Napier 3rd February, 1931 : A major earthquake and fire devastated the area of Hawke's Bay region and the city of Napier in New Zealand and surrounding towns and villages, the city is still ablaze and virtually helpless with local hospitals also burned to the ground and 10,000 major injuries. The death toll is expected to reach many hundreds when rescuers can get into the collapsed buildings. Local inhabitants are planning to sleep on the beach as this appears to be the only safe place currently

U.S. 1931 U.S.A. Sir Malcolm Campbell 3rd February, 1931 : Sir Malcolm Campbell has bought his bluebird racing machine to Daytona Beach for an attempt on the world land speed record of 231 MPH . In an unofficial test he achieved 240 MPH so is confident of breaking the record. He went on to break the record on February 5, 1931 at Daytona Beach, USA with Blue Bird achieving 253.96 MPH

U.S. 1933 U.S.A. Fire 3rd February, 1933 : Nine women fled back to their rooms during the time that a fire was taking place in a mental hospital. As a result, they had died, despite efforts of workers to help them out of the building.

U.S. 1937 U.S.A. Flood Control Improvements 3rd February, 1937 : President Roosevelt had presented a request to Congress for almost three billion dollars ($2,750,000,000) money for flood control improvements. This money was to be spent on improving dikes and levee systems in areas such as the Ohio River and lower Mississippi River.

Germany 1945 Germany Operation Thunderclap 3rd February, 1945 : 1,000 B-17's of the Eighth Air Force bomb Berlin.

Canada 1947 Canada Coldest Recorded Temperature In North America 3rd February, 1947 : Snag, Yukon records the lowest temperature for North America of −63 °C (−81.4 °F).

U.S. 1948 U.S.A. Big Tailfins 3rd February, 1948 : Late in the 40's the first of the next generation of car design ( tailfins )is seen for the first time on the Cadillac

UK 1950 Great Britain Russian Spy 3rd February, 1950 : Klaus Fuchs one of the scientists who came to Britain following the end of World War II and helped develop the atomic bomb, is arrested for passing top secret information about the bomb to the Soviet Union

France 1953 France Jacques Cousteau 3rd February, 1953 : The well known oceanographer Jacques Cousteau’s last and most famous book The Silent World is published.

U.S. 1959 U.S.A. Increased Water Price 3rd February, 1959 : As of this year Algona, Iowa residents were expected to pay as high as 73% more for water than in previous years. This increase was intended to be used to help pay for the cost of water system improvement and expansion. This new water project was estimated to cost about $565,000 dollars.

Russia 1966 Soviet Union Lunix 9 3rd February, 1966 : The Soviet Union had successfully accomplished the first controlled landing on the moon. The unmanned ship Lunix 9 landed in the Ocean of Storms area on the moon’s surface.

Vietnam 1973 Vietnam Peace Treaty 3rd February, 1973: A peace treaty was signed a few days before and then U.S. troops were withdrawn in Vietnam as a part of the fulfillment of that agreement. However, fighting continued to take place in other areas of Vietnam, however, until the year 1925-despite the treaty that was signed.

U.S. 1988 U.S.A. Contras 3rd February, 1988: The U.S. House of Representatives rejects Ronald Reagan's request for more than $36 million in aid to the Nicaraguan Contras.

U.S. 1994 U.S.A. Space Shuttle Discovery 3rd February, 1994: A woman astronaut took control of the Space Shuttle Discovery during this year. This was the first time ever that a female had operated a spaceship as a pilot.

U.S. 1994 U.S.A. Bill Clinton 3rd February, 1994: President Bill Clinton had lifted the trade embargo that was placed on the Republic of Vietnam. Trade restrictions had been established for 19 years, ever since the capture of Saigon by North Vietnamese troops during the Vietnam War.

U.S. 1995 U.S.A. Aliens 3rd February, 1995 : An “alien” is someone who is not a citizen of a country-in this case, not a citizen of the U.S. Aliens-expected as early as 1959 to register with the post office upon their arrival in this country. The instructions for doing so were given in a newspaper article printed on this day.

U.S. 1995 U.S.A. Brewers 3rd February, 1995 : Former Milwaukee Brewers player had received an examination by the Red Sox on this day. This was to determine whether or not he was able to play after needing abdominal surgery. He was playing for the Brewers until a labor strike took place.

Italy 1998 Italy Ski Lift Accident 3rd February, 1998 : A U.S. Marine Jet crashed into the Cavalese cable-car ski lift in the town of Cavalese located in the Italian Alps, about 20 miles from Trento, Italy. A team of 20 people had crashed to the ground and 20 people had been killed as a result.

U.S. 2005 U.S.A. Alberto Gonzalez 3rd February, 2005 : Alberto Gonzalez was appointed U.S. Attorney General as of this date. Before he accepted this position, he had served as general council to George W. Bush while Bush was governor of Texas.

United States 2006 United States A trial has been set for Lewis Libby C.I.A. leak 3rd February, 2006 : A judge has given a trial date for the White House aide who leaked the then-classified covert identity of a C.I.A. agent to the press. The trial of Lewis Libby will be on January 8th, 2007.

Egypt 2006 Egypt Ferry Sinks 3rd February, 2006 : An old ferry "The Al Salam Boccaccio" sinks following fire breaking out in the choppy waters of the Red Sea on Friday with more than 1,400 people on board, mainly Egyptian workers returning from Saudi Arabia..

Iraq 2007 Iraq Suicide Bomber 3rd February, 2007 : A Suicide bomber with a truck loaded with high explosives commits suicide in a Baghdad market killing more than 130 mainly Shiite Muslims.

United States 2007 United States Obama announces his presidential intentions at Springfield, Illinois 3rd February, 2007 : By announcing his presidential intentions at the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Senator Obama is wrapping himself in the mystique of Abraham Lincoln. The Old State Capitol, which is just east of the present Illinois capitol, is where Lincoln served his fourth and final term as a state representative. It is also where, in 1858, he gave his 'House Divided' speech.

U.S. 2008 U.S.A. Gunman Kills 5 In Robbery 3rd February, 2008 : During a robbery at a Lane Bryant store in TINLEY PARK, Illinois a gunman kills five women who'd been herded to the back room of the store during a robbery attempt.
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U.S. 2008 U.S.A. Texan mayor resigns from hiding a dog 3rd February, 2008 : The mayor of a town in Texas, Grace Saenz-Lopez, has had to resign after pretending that her neighbor's Shih Tzu had died. She had been looking after the dog during the owner's holiday. But the dog, which the mayor had renamed Panchito, was seen at a dog groomer's, and at her sister's home. A custody hearing is expected to decide who keeps the pet, whose original name was Puddles. The mayor had filed a police report to say that Puddles was missing, and she has been indicted on two counts of tampering and concealing evidence. Her resignation letter was published in the Alice Echo-News Journal.

U.S. 2009 U.S.A. Tom Daschle has withdrawn his nomination as U.S. Health Secretary 3rd February, 2009 : Tom Daschle has withdrawn from his nomination as the Health and Human Services Secretary after the controversy of his unpaid taxes. President Obama has said he has accepted his nominee's withdrawal with regret. Obama later acknowledged that he had 'made a mistake' in his handling of the case. Daschle, an early Obama backer, had failed to pay some $130,000 in taxes.

U.S. 2009 U.S.A. Hillary Clinton meets with other foreign ministers 3rd February, 2009 : The Secretary of State has paid tribute to Britain's 'special relationship' with the US, saying it 'stands the test of time.' She had met her U.K. counterpart David Milibandas and the German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier. These were her first ministerial-level talks since Barack Obama's inauguration. Afghanistan, Middle East peace and a range of other issues were discussed. She told reporters that they had spoken about the continued need for German forces in Afghanistan, and called the Germans America's closest allies, whose help in the success and stability of the Afghan nation were essential. Mrs Clinton described Mr. Steinmeier's advice on Afghanistan as 'constructive.' Her appraisal of David Miliband, was that he is 'vibrant, vital, attractive and smart.'

France 2009 France J.K. Rowling receives the Légion d'Honneur 3rd February, 2009 : Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has been made a knight of the Légion d'Honneur, which is France's highest civilian award. The best-selling author's great-grandfather was French, and she was given the honorary title by President Nicolas Sarkozy at a ceremony in Paris. Speaking in fluent French, she apologised to the crowd for giving Potter's evil nemesis a French name. Nicolas Sarkozy bestowed the title of knight in the Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur on her, and she used her acceptance speech to apologise for the quality of her French accent.

United States 2010 World Avatar becomes the highest grossing film in the U.S. 3rd February, 2010 : The box office movie success Avatar becomes the highest grossing film in the U.S. and Canada and surpasses 2 billion dollars mark in worldwide sales. The Movie

United States   2011 United States Large Winter Storm Hits the United States and Canada 3rd February, 2011 :  A storm spanning nearly 2,000 miles across the United States and Canada brings heavy snowfall. The storm brought over two feet of snow to some areas, caused much damage to buildings and interrupted daily business. Over 2,000 flights were cancelled and many buildings collapsed from the weight of the snow.