This day in history

[December 03, 2008]  (AP)  Today is Wednesday, Dec. 3, the 338th day of 2008. There are 28 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Dec. 3, 1967, surgeons 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 new heart.

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 1857, English novelist Joseph Conrad was born in Berdychiv, Poland.

In 1925, Concerto in F by George Gershwin had its world premiere at New York's Carnegie Hall, with Gershwin himself at the piano.

In 1947, the Tennessee Williams play "A Streetcar Named Desire" opened on Broadway.

In 1953, the musical "Kismet" opened on Broadway.

In 1960, the musical "Camelot" opened on Broadway.

In 1967, the 20th Century Limited, the famed luxury train, completed its final run from New York to Chicago.

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 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.

Ten years ago: Republicans jettisoned campaign fundraising from their impeachment inquiry, clearing the way for a historic House Judiciary Committee vote over President Bill Clinton's relationship with Monica Lewinsky and his effort to cover it up. The movie "Shakespeare in Love" premiered.

Five years ago: A U.N. tribunal convicted and sentenced a radio news director and a newspaper editor to life imprisonment for their role in promoting the 1994 Rwandan genocide. British actor David Hemmings died on a Romanian movie set; he was 62.

One year ago: A U.S. intelligence report concluded that Iran had halted nuclear weapons development in 2003 - a stark contrast to the conclusions U.S. spy agencies had drawn just two years earlier. British teacher Gillian Gibbons, jailed in Sudan for insulting Islam after allowing her students to name a teddy bear Muhammad, flew home after being pardoned by the country's president. Former commissioner Bowie Kuhn was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame; former Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley, managers Dick Williams and Billy Southworth and ex-Pirates owner Barney Dreyfuss also were elected.

Today's birthdays: Country singer Ferlin Husky is 83. Singer Andy Williams is 81. Movie director Jean-Luc Godard is 78. Singer Jaye P. Morgan is 77. Actress Mary Alice is 67. Rock singer Ozzy Osbourne is 60. Actress Heather Menzies is 59. Rock singer Mickey Thomas is 59. Country musician Paul Gregg (Restless Heart) is 54. Actor Steven Culp is 53. Actress Daryl Hannah is 48. Actress Julianne Moore is 48. Actor Brendan Fraser is 40. Singer Montell Jordan is 40. Actor Royale Watkins is 39. Actor Bruno Campos is 35. Actress Holly Marie Combs is 35. Actress Lauren Roman is 33. Pop-rock singer Daniel Bedingfield is 29. Actress Anna Chlumsky is 28. Actor Brian Bonsall is 27. Actress Amanda Seyfried is 23. Actor Michael Angarano is 21. Actor Jake T. Austin is 14.

Thought for today: "There is a way to look at the past. Don't hide from it. It will not catch you if you don't repeat it." -- Pearl Bailey, American entertainer (1918-1990)

[Associated Press]

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