Today is Wednesday, Dec. 3, the 338th day of 2008. There are 28 days left in the year. On this date

Today is Wednesday, Dec. 3, the 338th day of 2008. There are 28 days left in the year. On this date in 1967, surgeons in Cape Town, South Africa, led by Dr. Christiaan Barnard, perform the first human heart transplant on Louis Washkansky, who lives 18 days with the new heart.

In 1828, Andrew Jackson is elected president of the United States by the Electoral College. In 1857, English novelist Joseph Conrad is born in Berdychiv, Poland. In 1925, Concerto in F by George Gershwin has its world premiere at New York’s Carnegie Hall, with Gershwin at the piano. In 1947, the Tennessee Williams play “A Streetcar Named Desire” opens on Broadway. In 1953, the musical “Kismet” opens on Broadway. In 1960, the musical “Camelot” opens on Broadway. In 1967, the 20th Century Limited, the famed luxury train, completes its final run from New York to Chicago. In 1979, 11 people are killed in a crush of fans at Cincinnati’s Riverfront Coliseum, where the British rock group The Who was performing. In 1984, thousands die after a cloud of methyl isocyanate gas escapes from a pesticide plant operated by a Union Carbide subsidiary in Bhopal, India.

December 3, 1983: Conrail’s abandonment of two spurs in Mahoning and Trumbull counties could force one company to relocate to the south, cripple some industrial concerns and cast doubt on the futures of others.

The U.S. Commerce Department may investigate the alleged dumping of titanium on the U.S. market by Japanese and English manufacturing, which is hurting Youngstown area producers.

Winners of the Keep Christ in Christmas poster contest are presented their awards in front of the creche on Federal Plaza.

December 3, 1968: U.S. Rep. Michael J. Kirwan of Youngstown marks his 82nd birthday quietly Among the greetings he received was one from President Lyndon B. Johnson congratulating him and thanking him for his support of LBJ’s legislative initiatives.

At least eight hunters die, three of gunshot wounds and five of heart attacks, on the opening day of Pennsylvania’s two-week buck season. Some 20,500 deer were bagged during the day.

The G.M. McKelvey Co. will open a series of branch stores, with the first coming in April at the Eastwood Mall in Niles. A second branch will open in Boardman’s Southern Park Mall.

President-elect Richard M. Nixon accepts an autographed football from Heisman Trophy winner O.J. Simpson of Southern California.

December 3, 1958: the devastating fire that took 90 lives at Our Lady of Angels School in Chicago prompts a thorough check of Youngstown area schools by fire chiefs to see if they’ve kept pace with fire prevention standards.

The Ohio Supreme Court issues a ruling that bars the simultaneous payment of Supplemental Unemployment Benefits and state jobless compensation, a decision that will affect thousands of laid-off Youngstown district steelworkers.

Ohio Edison Co. asks City Council to approve a 17.2 percent increase in residential and commercial electric rates.

December 3, 1933: The Cleveland Orchestra, under the direction of its brilliant new conductor, Artur Rodzinski, gives a symphony concert at Stambaugh Auditorium,. The Cleveland Orchestra has traveled to the area for summer concerts in the past, but never before for a winter performance.

Catherine McHale, 65, and her daughter, Mary McHale, 30, are seriously burned when naphtha they were using to clean clothes explodes in the kitchen of their home at 41 W. Lucius Ave.