December 3rd, 2008

Today in History

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

1989:
Cold War: In a meeting off the coast of Malta, US President George H. W. Bush and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev release statements indicating that the cold war between their nations may be coming to an end (some commentators from both nations exaggerated the wording and independently declared the Cold War over).

1976:
Patrick Hillery becomes the sixth President of Ireland.

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).

1904:
The Jovian moon Himalia is discovered by Charles Dillon Perrine at Lick Observatory.