- 1492: Christopher Columbus sets sail on his first voyage with three ships, Santa María, Pinta and Niña from Palos de la Frontera, Spain for the “Indies”
The Santa María was the largest and the flagship of three ships used by Christopher Columbus’ for his first voyage to the “Indies” in 1492. The other two ships were the Pinta and Niña. The Santa María ran aground and sunk off the island of Hispaniola (Haiti) and was rediscovered in 2014.
- 1596: David Fabricius discovered a light variation of Mira (1st variable star)
Mira was the first pulsating variable star to be discovered. It was discovered by David Fabricius(1564-1617), who was a disciple of Tycho Brahe and an amateur astronomer. It is also known as Omicron Ceti. Later it was regarded as a nova because it appeared and faded from view later.
- 1804: Naturalist Alexander von Humboldt lands at Bordeaux, France completing his 5-year expedition to Latin America
He set sail in the summer of 1799 from Marseille. He financed the whole expedition from his own pocket with the help of the estate he inherited at the death of his mother. Humboldt and Bonpland spent five years, from 1799 to 1804, in Central and South America, covering more than 6,000 miles (9,650 kilometers) on foot, on horseback, and in canoes. It was a life of great physical exertion and serious deprivation.
- 1900: Firestone Tire and Rubber Company founded by Harvey Firestone
On August 3, 1900, the American tire company, Firestone Tire and Rubber Company was founded by Harvey Firestone initially to supply solid rubber side-wire tires for fire apparatus, and later, pneumatic tires for wagons, buggies, and other forms of wheeled transportation common in the era.
- 1949: NBA is born
Basketball Association of America (BAA) & National Basketball League (NBL) merge to form the National Basketball Association (NBA), Maurice Podoloff elected head of the new league. This finally happened after a damaging three-year battle to win both players and fans.
- 1958: The Billboard Hot 100 is founded
The Billboard Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming in the United States.
- 1960: Niger gains independence from France
The date of December 18, 1958, marked the formation of the Republic, but the formal date of complete independence from France was August 3, 1960. Therefore, August 3 is celebrated as the formal Independence Day.
Some more notable events were:
1971: Paul McCartney announces formation of his group Wings
2017: Camila Cabello releases her single “Havana” (biggest song worldwide 2018, 19 million copies sold)
