On This Day – November 3

• 1978 Dominica gains independence

  The Caribbean Island nation gained its independence from the British after being colonized in 1805.

• 1973 NASA launches Mariner 10

  The last of the Mariner Program, Mariner 10 was the first spacecraft to flyby two planets – Venus and Mercury. The probe flew by Venus on February 5, 1974, and did 3 flybys of Mercury on March 29, 1974, September 21, 1974, and on March 16, 1975, after which communications with the probe were terminated.

• 1954 Godzilla released

  The Japanese science fiction starring a mutated monster of the same name became an instant hit.

• 1868 John Willis Menard elected to U.S. House of Representatives

  He became the first African-American to be elected to the house.

• 1838 The Times of India founded

  The world’s largest English-language daily was launched as a bi-weekly as the Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce in Bombay, India.