December 3rd, 2008

Today in History

1854:
Eureka Stockade: More than twenty goldminers at Ballarat, Australia were killed by state troopers in an uprising over mining licences. Claimed by many to be the birth of Australian democracy.

1984:
Bhopal Disaster: A methyl isocyanate leak from a Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India, kills more than 3,800 people outright and injures anywhere from 150,000 to 600,000 others (some 6,000 of whom would later die from their injuries) in one of the worst industrial disasters in history.

1982:
A soil sample is taken from Times Beach, Missouri that would be found to contain 300 times the safe level of dioxin.

1928:
In Rio de Janeiro, a seaplane sunk near Cap Arcona with a group of people paying homage to Alberto Santos-Dumont on board.

1818:
Illinois becomes the 21st U.S. state