History of 3 February
- 1980 – Conservationist Joy Adamson, author of “Born Free,” was killed in northern Kenya by a servant.
- 1983 – Tony Dorsett (Dallas Cowboys) made the longest run from scrimmage in NFL history. Dorsett ran 99 yards in a game against the Minnesota Vikings.
- 1984 – A woman died at Disneyland after falling from a ride. She had apparently unfastened her seatbelt while on the Matterhorn bobsled.
- 1988 – Margaret Thatcher became the longest-serving British Prime Minister in the 20th century.
- 1990 – Ousted Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega surrendered to U.S. forces, 10 days after taking refuge in the Vatican’s diplomatic mission.
- 1991 – The British government announced that seven Iraqi diplomats, another embassy staff member and 67 other Iraqis were being expelled from Britain.
- 1993 – U.S. President George H.W. Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed the second Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) in Moscow.
- 1995 – WHO reported that the cumulative total of officially reported cases of AIDS had risen to 1,025,073 in 192 countries as at the end of 1994.
- 1995 – The U.S. Postal Service raised the price of the first-class stamp to 32 cents.
- 1997 – Bryant Gumbel signed off for the last time as host of NBC’s “Today” show.
- 1998 – China announced that it would spend $27.7 billion to fight erosion and pollution in the Yangtze and Yellow river valleys.
- 1999 – Israeli authorities detained, and later expelled, 14 members of Concerned Christians. Israeli officials claimed that the Denver, CO-based cult was plotting violence in Jerusalem to bring about the Second Coming of Christ.
- 2000 – Charles M. Schulz’s final original daily comic strip appeared in newspapers.
- 2001 – The ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms) charged the “Texas 7” with weapons violations. An autopsy showed that Officer Aubrey Hawkins, killed by the convicts, had been shot 11 times and run over with a vehicle.
- 2004 – NASA’s Spirit rover landed on Mars. The craft was able to send back black and white images three hours after landing.
- 2019 – The Chinese probe Change 4 became the first human-made object to land on the far side of the Moon.
Celebrating Birthday Today
- 1982 – Becky Bayless, American wrestler
- 1982 – Marie-Ève Drolet, Canadian speed skater
- 1984 – Elizabeth Holmes, American fraudster, founder of Theranos
- 1985 – Angela Fong, Canadian wrestler, and actress
- 1985 – Andrei Kostitsyn, Belarusian ice hockey player
- 1986 – Lucas Duda, American baseball player
- 1986 – Mathieu Giroux, Canadian speed skater
- 1986 – Kanako Yanagihara, Japanese actress
- 1988 – Cho Kyuhyun, South Korean singer
- 1989 – Slobodan Rajković, Serbian footballer
- 1990 – Sean Kingston, American-Jamaican singer-songwriter
- 1990 – Martin Taupau, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1991 – Corey Norman, Australian rugby league player
- 1992 – Olli Aitolia, Finnish ice hockey player