site.btaToday's Observances: November 3

The world:

- National Day of Dominica. Independence Day (1978);

- National Day of Micronesia. Independence Day (1986).

On this date in Bulgarian history:

1907: Labour Inspectorate instituted by law.

1970: Chemical Works open in Vidin.

1977: Magnitude-5.3 quake strikes near Velingrad.

1988: Eighty intellectuals set up Informal Club Supporting Glasnost and Perestroika in Sofia.

1989: Ecoglasnost activists stage first civic demonstration against totalitarian regime, hand petition signed by 12,000 people to Parliament against two hydropower projects.

1996: Petar Stoyanov and Todor Kavaldzhiev of United Democratic Forces are elected President and Vice President in second round of voting.

2008: Bulgarian scientists Stoil Zahariev, Ivan Kasamakov and Roumen Kakanakov from Plovdiv's Central Laboratory of Applied Physics invent and patent device using UV light-emitting diodes for water purification (up to 500 ml).