1979: Eleven killed at concert in Ohio

Eleven people were trampled to death and another twenty injured during a stampede at Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati, Ohio today. The stampede started when the venue's security opened only two doors to accommodate the nearly 20,000 people waiting to get into the non-reserved seating area of a concert by The Who.

"The 11 young people were trampled to death, and another 20 injured, immediately after the first two doors were opened to an initial throng of 7,000 youngsters who had been waiting several hours in the near-freezing weather," reported The Chronicle Telegram. "Candice Momper, 21, of Covington, Ky., said when she got to the doors, 'I couldn't believe what was happening up there. There were people piled up. Off their feet. On the ground. At least 20 of them. Some were unconscious.'"

NOTE: The concert was allowed to go on as scheduled in order to prevent further panic within the venue. The members of The Who were not aware of what had occurred until after the concert. The stampede would bring scrutiny to sales of "festival seating" at concerts all across the country. A similar but non-fesitival-seating-related incident occured on Friday, November 28 2008, when a temporary Wal-Mart worker was trampled to death by shoppers after the doors were unlocked for 2,000 "Black Friday" consumers.

Links to the Past
11 Dead, 20 injured in Cincy concert crush
The Chronicle Telegram, December 4, 1979

Continued: Cincy Concert Crush


11 crushed to death in rock concert mob
The Intelligencer, December 4, 1979

Continued: Surging Concert Mob


Rock melee kills 11
The Daily Herald, December 4, 1979

India demands terror suspects

India has demanded that Pakistan turn over a list of suspected terrorist leaders thought to be behind last week’s three-day reign of terror in Mumbai. Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee indicated that the demand was made along with formal protest to Pakistan over the attacks. India reports that the terrorist group responsible for the attacks, the Army of the Pure, is a Pakistan-based militant group. The Army of the Pure denies any involvement, and Pakistan has only responded to the demands by offering to take part in a joint investigation into the attacks.

In related news, the U.S. had evidently warned India about a plot to launch an attack on Mumbai by sea, with intents to target the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel among other locales. U.S. intelligence delivered the notice almost a month before the attacks. India did increase security following the warning, though after nothing happened in the following weeks, they gradually reduced the safety measures.

Links to the Past
Terrorists attack India’s Parliament...
Casa Grande Dispatch, December 13, 2001

India Demands More Arrests
The Post-Standard, January 1, 2002

Tensions continue to build between...
The Valley Independent, January 3, 2002

1973: Pioneer 10 captures first images of Jupiter

The Pioneer 10 spaceship returned the first photographic images of Jupiter today. The pictures revealed for the first time the famous "red spot" of Jupiter, which is now believed to be a hurricane that has been raging for centuries. After capturing the images, the unmanned craft was "hurled onward...destined to become the first manmade space relic to escape the solar system," informed The Times on December 15, 1973.

Links to the Past
Pioneer 10 Penetrates Mysteries of Jupiter
The Times, December 15, 1973

Pioneer probes, Jupiter...
The Press-Telegram, December 4, 1973

Pioneer unlocks Jupiter’s secrets
Berkshire Eagle, December 4, 1973

1967: First human heart transplant

The first successful human heart transplant was performed today at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa. "The heart was taken from the body of Denise Ann Darvell, 25, an accounting machine operator at a bank, and transferred to Louis Washkansky, a Lithuanian-born business man," reported the Galveston Daily News on December 4, 1967. NOTE: Although the heart transplant was a success, Washkansky died of double pneumonia 18 days after the operation.

Links to the Past
Successful Heart Transplant Claimed
The Galveston Daily News, December 4, 1967

Diabetic Survives Heart Transplant
The Times, December 4, 1967

Continued: Diabetic Survives Heart Transplant

1964: Protesters arrested for sit-in at Berkeley

More than 800 protesters were arrested at the University of California campus in Berkeley, California today, after a massive sit-in in Sproul Hall, the campus administration building. The sit-in was sparked by the arrest of former University of California student Jack Weinberg, who was collecting donations for the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) on campus property. “The police moved in some 12 hours on orders of Gov. Brown. He called the sit-in demonstration anarchy and said, ‘We’re not going to have anarchy in the state of California while I’m governor,’” reported the Independent on December 4, 1964.

Links to the Past
801 Demonstrators Jailed At Berkeley
The Independent, December 4, 1964

Hundreds Free After UC Arrests
The Daily Review, December 4, 1964

Police Jail 800 at U.C…
Independent, December 4, 1964

1904: Jupiter's moon Himalia discovered

Assistant Astronomer C.D. Perrine discovered the moon Himalia in orbit around Jupiter today at the Lick Observatory in California. "Now there comes the welcome intelligence that the Lick observatory scientists from their lofty lookout on Mount Hamilton, which overlooks San Francisco harbor, have satisfied themselves that the planet Jupiter has a sixth moon," reported The Daily Review on February 12, 1905. NOTE: Perrine would discover another moon in orbit around Jupiter, named Elara, in January of 1905.

Links to the Past
The Discovery Of A Fifth Satellite For The Planet Jupiter
The Daily Review, February 12, 1905

Jupiter's Sixth Moon
The Janesville Gazette, January 12, 1905

Finds a Sixth Moon for Jupiter
The Post-Standard, January 7, 1905