Summary of the Day ✨ 2 December (02/12)
The UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs reclassified cannabis by removing it from the list of most dangerous drugs, while the United Kingdom transferred political power to Northern Ireland’s Executive as part of the Good Friday Agreement implementation. Tragedy struck as a warehouse fire in Oakland claimed 36 lives, a terrorist attack in San Bernardino killed 14 and wounded 22, and energy giant Enron filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy amidst its corporate scandal.
Historical Events 📜
- 2020: Cannabis is removed from the list of most dangerous drugs of the international drug control treaty by the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs.
- 2016: Thirty-six people die in a fire at a converted Oakland, California, warehouse serving as an artist collective.
- 2015: San Bernardino attack: Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik kill 14 people and wound 22 at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, California.
- 2001: Enron files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
- 1999: The United Kingdom devolves political power in Northern Ireland to the Northern Ireland Executive following the Good Friday Agreement.
- 1993: Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar is shot and killed by police in Medellín.
- 1993: Space Shuttle program: STS-61: NASA launches the Space Shuttle Endeavour on a mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope.
- 1992: Space Shuttle Discovery is launched on STS-53 for the United States Department of Defense.
- 1991: Canada and Poland become the first nations to recognize the independence of Ukraine from the Soviet Union.
- 1990: Space Shuttle Columbia is launched on STS-35, carrying the ASTRO-1 spacelab observatory.
- 1989: The Peace Agreement of Hat Yai is signed and ratified by the Malayan Communist Party (MCP) and the governments of Malaysia and Thailand, ending the over two-decade-long communist insurgency in Malaysia.
- 1988: Benazir Bhutto is sworn in as Prime Minister of Pakistan, becoming the first woman to head the government of a Muslim-majority state.
- 1988: Space Shuttle Atlantis is launched on STS-27, a classified mission for the United States Department of Defense.
- 1982: At the University of Utah, Barney Clark becomes the first person to receive a permanent artificial heart.
- 1980: Salvadoran Civil War: Four American missionaries are raped and murdered by a death squad.
Famous Births 👶
- 2005: Learner Tien, American tennis player
- 2004: Ilia Malinin, American competitive figure skater
- 2003: Neil Erasmus, South African-Australian footballer
- 1998: Annalise Basso, American actress
- 1998: Anna Kalinskaya, Russian tennis player
- 1998: Juice Wrld, American rapper, singer and songwriter (died 2019)
- 1997: De’Andre Hunter, American basketball player
- 1996: Jake Doran, Australian cricketer
- 1995: Uladzislau Hancharou, Belarusian trampolinist
- 1995: Inori Minase, Japanese actress, voice actress and singer
- 1994: Zach Cunningham, American football player
- 1994: Aaron Jones, American football player
- 1994: Elias Lindholm, Swedish ice hockey player
- 1994: Fumika Shimizu, Japanese actress and model
- 1994: Tomokaze Yūta, Japanese sumo wrestler
Notable Deaths 🕊️
- 2024: Ed Botterell, Canadian Olympic sailor (born 1931)
- 2024: Helmut Duckadam, Romanian footballer (born 1959)
- 2024: Neale Fraser, Australian tennis player (born 1933)
- 2024: Paul Maslansky, American film producer and writer (born 1933)
- 2024: Debbie Mathers, Mother of Eminem (born 1955)
- 2024: Israel Vázquez, Mexican boxer (born 1977)
- 2020: Pat Patterson, American wrestler (born 1941)
- 2015: Sandy Berger, American lawyer and politician, 19th United States National Security Advisor (born 1945)
- 2015: Will McMillan, American actor, director, and producer (born 1944)
- 2015: George T. Sakato, American soldier, Medal of Honor recipient (born 1921)
- 2014: A. R. Antulay, Indian lawyer and politician, 8th Chief Minister of Maharashtra (born 1929)
- 2014: Jean Béliveau, Canadian ice hockey player (born 1931)
- 2014: Josie Cichockyj, English basketball player and coach (born 1964)
- 2014: Bobby Keys, American saxophonist (born 1943)
- 2014: Don Laws, American figure skater and coach (born 1929)
Holidays & Observances 🎉
- Armed Forces Day (Cuba)
- Christian feast day:
Avitus of Rouen - Christian feast day:
Bibiana - Christian feast day:
Channing Moore Williams (Anglicanism) - Christian feast day:
Chromatius - Christian feast day:
Habakkuk - Christian feast day:
Blessed Ivan Slezyuk - Christian feast day:
Blessed Maria Angela Astorch - Christian feast day:
December 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) - International Day for the Abolition of Slavery (United Nations)
- Lao National Day
- National Day (United Arab Emirates)
- Chichibu Night Festival