Today is Monday, December 3rd, the 337th day of the year. There are 28 days until the end of the year.
On this day:
In 1818, Illinois was admitted as the 21st state of the Union.
In 1833, Oberlin College in Ohio became the first coed institution of higher learning in the United States.
In 1894, author Robert Louis Stevenson died at the age of 44. He penned the classic "Treasure Island."
In 1931, Alka Seltzer hit the market.
In 1950, legendary radio newsman Paul Harvey began broadcasting his national radio program.
In 1955, Elvis Presley's first release on RCA records was announced. The two songs were "Mystery Train" and "I Forgot to Remember to Forget."
In 1964, the Christmas classic "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" aired on television for the first time.
In 1967, the world's first human heart transplant operation was performed in Cape Town, South Africa. The patient lived for 18 days.
In 1994, American cyclist Greg LeMond announced his retirement. He won the Tour de France three times during his racing career.
In 1999, Tori Murden became the first woman to row across the Atlantic Ocean alone. Murden arrived at the French Caribbean island of Guadelupe, 81 days after leaving the Canary Islands near the coast of Africa.
In 1999, billionaire banker Edmond Safra and his nurse died in smoke-filled closet in his Monaco apartment after a fire was set. American nurse Ted Maher later confessed to setting the fire that killed the 67-year-old billionaire.
In 1999, after a long bout with cancer comedic-actress Madeline Kahn died at the age of 57.
In 2004, "The San Francisco Chronicle" reported that San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds admitted to unwittingly taking steroids during a testimony before a federal grand jury in 2003. Bonds' attorney says the baseball star's personal trainer and best friend Greg Anderson gave him two substances that Bonds did not think were steroids. A day earlier it was reported that New York Yankees slugger Jason Giambi had also admitted to taking the performance-enhancing substances.
In 2004, while under investigation for accusations of child molestation, investigators conducted a surprise raid on pop star's Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch in Southern California.
In 2015, Defense Secretary Ash Carter opened all combat jobs to women. He said, "Everyone who's able and willing to serve their country should have the full and equal opportunity to do so."
In 2015, A South African appeals court found track star Oscar Pistorius guilty of murder. The court overturned the trial judge's original finding of manslaughter in the shooting death of model Reeva Steenkamp, the double-amputee's girlfriend.
In 2017, A woman with a transplanted uterus gave birth. It happened at Baylor University in Texas and it was the first time the procedure worked in the U.S.