On this Day on December 2nd in History, a lot of things happened on this date:

SAVINGS BANK: 1st Savings Bank in the US opens. (Philadelphia Savings Fund Society). (1816)

BIRTHDAY: Dr. Joseph Bell, a British physician believed to be the prototype of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s detective Sherlock Holmes. (1837)

INJURED PLAYERS: The National Baseball Commission orders that injured players get full pay for the duration of their contracts. The injury clause previously let clubs suspend players after 15 days’ pay. (1916)

PEARL HARBOR ATTACK: Occurred on this date. (1941)

WHO: Some 10 years after the World Health Organization began a global vaccination program against smallpox, the disease was officially declared eradicated. (1979)

ARTIFICIAL HEART: 1st permanent artificial heart successfully implanted (U of Utah) in retired dentist Barney Clark; lived 112 days with Jarvic-7 heart. (1982)

ARMENIA: The earthquake devastated numerous cities in northwestern Armenia. (1988)

AI: Stephen Hawking claims that Artificial Intelligence could be a “threat to mankind” and spell the end of the human race. (2014)

WAREHOUSE FIRE: An illegally converted former warehouse into an artist collective with living spaces named the Ghost Ship in Oakland, California.

Photo Courtesy: Wikipedia

This was only zoned for industrial purposes. Residential and entertainment uses were illegal. This was the deadliest building fire in the U.S. since another fire in 2003. 36 counts of voluntary manslaughter. The owner lived at the location with his wife and children and then sublet first-floor units.

The owner was sentenced to 12 years in prison. A civil lawsuit was filed in July 2020 against the city of Oakland for the victims who agreed to pay a total of $33 million and $9 million to one person who survived with lifelong injuries and $24 million to the families of the 36 who were killed.

Attorney General William Barr says there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election despite claims by President Donald Trump. (2020)

JAPAN DEATHS:  9 people are killed after 30 cars are trapped in Sasago Tunnel, Japan.

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