August 3

1492: Christopher Columbus set sail from Spain with a convoy of three small ships, the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. 1576: Construction began on the Uraniborg Observatory, Hveen Island, Denmark. 1811: Elisha Otis, inventor of the automatic safety brake for elevators, was born. 1869: Isaac Adams received a patent on nickel plating. 1900: Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. was founded. 1921: The first crop dusting from an airplane occurred over a six acre grove in Troy, OH. 1922: Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone, died. 1926: The first traffic lights in Britain were installed at Piccadilly Circus. 1958: The Nautilus became the first vessel to cross the North Pole underwater. 1949: The National Basketball Association was formed. 1963: The Beatles made their final appearance at the Cavern Club in Liverpool, England. 1967: James Law rode the entire New York City subway in 22 hours 12 minutes. 1977: Radio Shack issued a press release introducing TRS-80 computer. 1981: 13,000 air traffic controllers (PATCO) began their strike, and were ultimately fired by President Reagan. 1994: Tokyo, Japan recorded a temperature of102.4 °F (39.1 °C).  2003: London police used the Taser electric stun gun on a suspect for the first time in England.