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.

1953:
The Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty between the United States and Republic of China is signed in Washington, DC.

1925:
George Gershwin's Piano Concerto in F is premiered at Carnegie Hall.

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.