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Events on June 3 in history

Ixtoc I
1979Jun, 3

A blowout at the Ixtoc I oil well in the southern Gulf of Mexico causes at least 3,000,000 barrels (480,000 m3) of oil to be spilled into the waters, the second-worst accidental oil spill ever recorded.

Ixtoc I was an exploratory oil well being drilled by the semi-submersible drilling rig Sedco 135 in the Bay of Campeche of the Gulf of Mexico, about 100 km (62 mi) northwest of Ciudad del Carmen, Campeche in waters 50 m (164 ft) deep. On 3 June 1979, the well suffered a blowout resulting in one of the largest oil spills in history.

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Events on 1979

  • 1Feb

    Ruhollah Khomeini

    Iranian Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returns to Tehran after nearly 15 years of exile.
  • 11Feb

    Ruhollah Khomeini

    The Iranian Revolution establishes an Islamic theocracy under the leadership of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
  • 16Mar

    People's Liberation Army

    Sino-Vietnamese War: The People's Liberation Army crosses the border back into China, ends the war.
  • 15Jul

    Malaise speech

    U.S. President Jimmy Carter gives his "malaise speech".
  • 16Dec

    OPEC

    Libya joins four other OPEC nations in raising crude oil prices, which has an immediate, dramatic effect on the United States.