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This day in history

This day in history: 3 December

Events, births and deaths on this date, ordered by how many people look them up.

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Born on this day · Died on this day237 · 88

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Key facts

375 historical events, births and deaths are listed for 3 December.
Entries come from Wikipedia’s day pages and are ordered by page views.
2024: Martial law is declared in South Korea.

Holidays and observances

Christian feast day: Abbo of Auxerre

Christian feast day: Adrian (Ethernan)

Christian feast day: Birinus

Christian feast day: Blessed Johann Nepomuk von Tschiderer zu Gleifheim

Christian feast day: Cassian of Tangier

Christian feast day: December 3 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Christian feast day: Emma (of Lesum or of Bremen)

Christian feast day: Francis Xavier

Christian feast day: Pope Abraham of Alexandria (Coptic, 6 Koiak))

Christian feast day: Zephaniah

Doctors' Day (Cuba)

International Day of Persons with Disabilities

Events

2024Martial law is declared in South Korea.

2023Mount Marapi located in West Sumatra, Indonesia begins a sporadic series of eruptions. 23 people were killed, and 12 were injured.

2022Massive power outage after Moore County substation attack that leaves 45,000 people without power for five days, leading to an FBI probe.

2014The Japanese space agency, JAXA, launches the space explorer Hayabusa2 from the Tanegashima Space Center on a six-year round trip mission to an asteroid to collect rock samples.

2012At least 475 people are killed after Typhoon Bopha makes landfall in the Philippines.

2009A suicide bombing at a hotel in Mogadishu, Somalia, kills 25 people, including three ministers of the Transitional Federal Government.

2007Winter storms cause the Chehalis River to flood many cities in Lewis County, Washington, and close a 32-kilometre (20 mi) portion of Interstate 5 for several days. At least eight deaths and billions of dollars in damages are blamed on the f

2005XCOR Aerospace makes the first crewed rocket aircraft delivery of U.S. Mail in Kern County, California.

1999In Worcester, Massachusetts, firefighters responded to a fire at the Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse Co. facility, which takes the lives of 6 firefighters.

1999NASA loses radio contact with the Mars Polar Lander moments before the spacecraft enters the Martian atmosphere.

1997In Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, representatives from 121 countries sign the Ottawa Treaty prohibiting manufacture and deployment of anti-personnel landmines. The United States, People's Republic of China, and Russia do not sign the treaty, howe

1995Cameroon Airlines Flight 3701 crashes on approach to Douala International Airport in Douala, Cameroon, killing 71 of the 76 people on board.

1994Sony releases the PlayStation game console in Japan.

1994Taiwan holds its first full local elections; James Soong elected as the first and only directly elected Governor of Taiwan, Chen Shui-bian became the first directly elected Mayor of Taipei, Wu Den-yih became the first directly elected Mayor

1992A test engineer for Sema Group uses a personal computer to send the world's first text message via the Vodafone network to the phone of a colleague.

1992The Greek oil tanker Aegean Sea, carrying 80,000 tonnes of crude oil, runs aground in a storm while approaching A Coruña, Spain, and spills much of its cargo.

1989In a meeting off the coast of Malta, U.S. President George H. W. Bush and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev release statements indicating that the Cold War between NATO and the Warsaw Pact may be coming to an end.

1984Bhopal disaster: A methyl isocyanate leak from a Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, India, kills more than 3,800 people outright and injures 150,000–600,000 others (some 6,000 of whom later died from their injuries) in one of the wors

1982A soil sample is taken from Times Beach, Missouri, that will be found to contain 300 times the safe level of dioxin.

1979In Cincinnati, 11 fans are suffocated in a crush for seats on the concourse outside Riverfront Coliseum before a Who concert.

1979Iranian Revolution: Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini becomes the first Supreme Leader of Iran.

1973Pioneer program: Pioneer 10 sends back the first close-up images of Jupiter.

1972Spantax Flight 275 crashes during takeoff from Tenerife North–Ciudad de La Laguna Airport, killing all 155 people on board.

1971Indo-Pakistani War of 1971: Pakistan launches a pre-emptive strike against India and a full-scale war begins.

1967At Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa, a transplant team headed by Christiaan Barnard carries out the first heart transplant on a human (53-year-old Louis Washkansky).

1965Soviet Union, Space probe of the Luna program, called Luna 8, is launched, but crashes on the Moon.

1960The musical Camelot debuts at the Majestic Theatre on Broadway. It will become associated with the Kennedy administration.

1959The current flag of Singapore is adopted, six months after Singapore became self-governing within the British Empire.

1954Väinö Linna's war novel The Unknown Soldier (Tuntematon sotilas) is published.

1944Greek Civil War: Fighting breaks out in Athens between the ELAS and government forces supported by the British Army.

1938Nazi Germany issues the Decree on the Utilization of Jewish Property forcing Jews to sell real property, businesses, and stocks at below market value as part of Aryanization.

1929President Herbert Hoover delivers his first State of the Union message to Congress. It is presented in the form of a written message rather than a speech.

1925Final agreement is signed between the Irish Free State, Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom formalizing the Partition of Ireland.

1920Following more than a month of Turkish–Armenian War, the Turkish-dictated Treaty of Alexandropol is concluded.

1919After nearly 20 years of planning and construction, including two collapses causing 89 deaths, the Quebec Bridge opens to traffic.

1912Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro, and Serbia (the Balkan League) sign an armistice with the Ottoman Empire, temporarily halting the First Balkan War. (The armistice will expire on February 3, 1913, and hostilities will resume.)

1910Modern neon lighting is first demonstrated by Georges Claude at the Paris Motor Show.

1904The Jovian moon Himalia is discovered by Charles Dillon Perrine at California's Lick Observatory.

1901In a State of the Union message, U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt delivers a 20,000-word report to the House of Representatives asking Congress to curb the power of trusts "within reasonable limits". The speech was not delivered in person

1898The Duquesne Country and Athletic Club defeats an all-star collection of early football players 16–0, in what is considered to be the first all-star game for professional American football.

Born on this day

1995Angèle, Belgian singer

1995Julius Honka, Finnish ice hockey player

1994Bernarda Pera, American tennis player

1994Jake T. Austin, American actor

1994Lil Baby, American rapper

1994Solomone Kata, New Zealand rugby league player

1992Cristian Ceballos, Spanish footballer

1992Joseph McManners, English singer-songwriter, musician and actor

1991Ekaterine Gorgodze, Georgian tennis player

1990Christian Benteke, Belgian footballer

1990Matt Reynolds, American baseball player

1990Sharon Fichman, Canadian-Israeli tennis player

1989Alex McCarthy, English footballer

1989Selçuk Alibaz, Turkish footballer

1989Tomasz Narkun, Polish mixed martial artist

1988Melissa Aldana, Chilean saxophonist

1987Alicia Sacramone, American gymnast

1987Brian Robiskie, American football player

1987Eric Barone, American video game designer and musician

1987Erik Grönwall, Swedish singer-songwriter

1987Michael Angarano, American actor, director, and screenwriter

1986James Laurinaitis, American football player

1985Amanda Seyfried, American actress

1985Brian Roberts, American basketball player

1985László Cseh, Hungarian swimmer

1985Marcus Williams, American basketball player

1985Mike Randolph, American soccer player

1985Nina Ansaroff, American martial artist

1985Robert Swift, American basketball player

1984Avraam Papadopoulos, Greek footballer

1984Manuel Arana, Spanish footballer

1983Aleksey Drozdov, Russian decathlete

1983Andy Grammer, American singer, songwriter, and record producer

1983James Ihedigbo, American football player

1983Sherri DuPree, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

1983Stephen Donald, New Zealand rugby player

1982Dascha Polanco, Dominican-American actress

1982Franco Sbaraglini, Argentinian-Italian rugby player

1982Manny Corpas, Panamanian baseball player

1982Michael Essien, Ghanaian footballer

Died on this day

2024Mohamed Ali Yusuf, Somali politician (born 1944)

2019Ragnar Ulstein, Norwegian journalist and war historian (born 1920)

2015Gladstone Anderson, Jamaican singer and pianist (born 1934)

2015Scott Weiland, American singer-songwriter (born 1967)

2014Herman Badillo, Puerto Rican-American lawyer and politician (born 1929)

2012Jules Mikhael Al-Jamil, Iraqi-Lebanese archbishop (born 1938)

2011Dev Anand, Indian actor, director, and producer (born 1923)

2010Abdumalik Bahori, Azerbaijani poet and author (born 1927)

2009Leila Lopes, Brazilian actress and journalist (born 1959)

2009Richard Todd, Irish-born British soldier and actor (born 1919)

2008Robert Zajonc, Polish-American psychologist and author (born 1923)

2007James Kemsley, Australian cartoonist and actor (born 1948)

2005Frederick Ashworth, American admiral (born 1912)

2005Herb Moford, American baseball player (born 1928)

2005Kikka Sirén, Finnish pop/schlager singer (born 1964)

2004Shiing-Shen Chern, Chinese-American mathematician and academic (born 1911)

2003David Hemmings, English actor (born 1941)

2003Sita Ram Goel, Indian historian, publisher and writer (born 1921)

2002Adrienne Adams, American illustrator (born 1906)

2002Glenn Quinn, Irish-American actor (born 1970)

2000Gwendolyn Brooks, American poet and educator (born 1917)

2000Hoyt Curtin, American composer and producer (born 1922)

1999Horst Mahseli, Polish footballer (born 1934)

1999Jarl Wahlström, Finnish 12th General of The Salvation Army (born 1918)

1999John Archer, American actor (born 1915)

1999Madeline Kahn, American actress, comedian, and singer (born 1942)

1999Scatman John, American singer-songwriter and pianist (born 1942)

1998Pierre Hétu, Canadian pianist and conductor (born 1936)

1996Georges Duby, French historian and author (born 1919)

1993Lewis Thomas, American physician, etymologist, and academic (born 1913)

Quote of the day

“Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.”

attributed to the Buddha

Questions people ask

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From Wikipedia’s on-this-day pages for this language, updated once a day and ordered by how often each article is read.

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