December 3rd, 2008

Today in History

1999:
NASA loses radio contact with the Mars Polar Lander moments before the spacecraft enters the Martian atmosphere.

1997:
In Ottawa, Canada, representatives from 121 countries sign a treaty prohibiting manufacture and deployment of anti-personnel landmines. The United States, People's Republic of China, and Russia do not sign the treaty, however.

1947:
Tennessee Williams' play A Streetcar Named Desire opens on Broadway.

1929:
Great Depression: US President Herbert Hoover announces to U.S. Congress that the worst effects of the recent stock market crash are behind the nation and the American people have regained faith in the economy.

1917:
After nearly 20 years of planning and construction, the Quebec Bridge opens to traffic (the bridge partially collapsed on August 29, 1907 and September 11, 1916).