December 3

December 3 in recent years

2024 (Tuesday)

2023 (Sunday)

2022 (Saturday)

2021 (Friday)

2020 (Thursday)

2019 (Tuesday)

2018 (Monday)

2017 (Sunday)

2016 (Saturday)

2015 (Thursday)

December 3 is the 337th day of the year (338th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 28 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

Up to 1960

• 915 – Pope John X crowns Berengar I of Italy as Holy Roman Emperor.
• 1799 – War of the Second Coalition: Battle of Wiesloch – Austrian Lieutenant Field Marshal Szatary de Nagy–Mihaly defeats the French at Wiesloch.
• 1800 – War of the Second Coalition: Battle of Hohenlinden – French General Moreau decisively defeats Austrian Archduke John.
• 1818 – Illinois becomes the 21st State of the United States.
• 1834 – The Zollverein (German customs union) begins the first regular census in Germany.
• 1854 – Eureka Stockade rebellion occurs in Ballarat, Australia.
• 1904 – Jupiter's Moon Himalia is discovered by Charles Dillon Perrine at the California Lick Observatory.
• 1910 – Modern Neon lighting is first demonstrated by Georges Claude at the Paris Motor Show.
• 1912 – Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro and Serbia sign an armistice.
• 1919 – The Quebec Bridge opens to traffic.
• 1925 – The Locarno Treaty is signed in London, creating post–war territorial settlements.
• 1927 – Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy's first movie, Putting Pants on Philip, is released.
• 1944 – Greek Civil War: Fighting breaks out in Athens between the Greek People's Liberation Army and Government forces supported by the British Army.
• 1959 – The current flag of Singapore is adopted.
• 1960 – The musical Camelot is first shown on Broadway.

From 1961

• 1967 – The first successful heart transplant operation is performed on Louis Washkansky by Dr. Christiaan Barnard in South Africa.
• 1970 – October Crisis: In Montreal, Quebec, British Trade Commissioner James Cross is released by the Front de la Liberation de Quebec, after 60 days in captivity.
• 1971 – Full–scale war erupts between India and Pakistan.
• 1972 – A Spantax Charter flight crashes on Tenerife, killing all 155 people on board.
• 1973 – The Pioneer 10 space probe sends back close–up images of Jupiter.
• 1974 – The Pioneer 11 space probe flies within 43,000 kilometers of Jupiter.
• 1976 – An assassination attempt is made on Bob Marley.
• 1979 – Ayatollah Khomeini becomes the first Supreme Leader of Iran.
• 1979 – In Cincinnati, Ohio, 11 fans are crushed to death in a race for seats before a The Who concert.
• 1984 – A deadly chemical leak occurs in Bhopal, India. 8,000 people die instantly, and thousands die in the years following the accident.
• 1989 – George H. W. Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev meet in Malta, signifying an end to the Cold War.
• 1992 – The Greek oil tanker Aegean Sea, with 80,000 tonnes of crude oil, runs aground off Galicia, causing an oil spill, affecting around 300 kilometres of coastline.
• 1992 – UN Security Resolution 794 is passed, approving UN peacekeepers' intervention in Somalia.
• 1999 – NASA loses radio contact with the Mars Polar Lander before it enters the Martian atmosphere.
• 1999 – Six firefighters are killed in the Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse fire in Massachusetts.
• 2007 – Kevin Rudd becomes Prime Minister of Australia.
• 2007 – Winter storms cause flooding of the Chehalis River in Washington, killing 8 people.
• 2009 – A suicide bombing in Mogadishu, Somalia, kills 25 people.
• 2012 – Typhoon Bopha strikes the Philippines, killing at least 475 people.

Births

Up to 1900

• 1368 – King Charles VI of France (d. 1422)
• 1483 – Nicolaus von Amsdorf, German theologian and reformer (d. 1565)
• 1596 – Nicola Amati, Italian violin maker (d. 1684)
• 1684 – Ludvig Holberg, Danish writer (d. 1754)
• 1722 – Hrihorii Skovoroda, Ukrainian philosopher, poet and composer (d. 1794)
• 1729 – Antonio Soler, Spanish composer (d. 1783)
• 1753 – Samuel Crompton, British inventor (d. 1827)
• 1755 – Gilbert Stuart, American painter (d. 1828)
• 1800 – France Preseren, Slovenian poet (d. 1849)
• 1826 – George B. McClellan, American general and politician, 24th Governor of New Jersey (d. 1885)
• 1833 – Carlos Finlay, Cuban physician and scientist (d. 1915)
• 1838 – Octavia Hill, British social reformer (d. 1912)
• 1842 – Phoebe Hearst, American philanthropist (d. 1919)
• 1842 – Ellen Swallow Richards, American ecologist and chemist (d. 1911)
• 1857 – Joseph Conrad, Polish–born British writer (d. 1924)
• 1864 – Anna Boberg, Swedish artist (d. 1935)
• 1867 – William John Bowser, 17th Premier of British Columbia (d. 1933)
• 1871 – Newton D. Baker, American politician (d. 1937)
• 1875 – Bernhard Lichtenberg, German priest and humanitarian (d. 1943)
• 1875 – Emile Delchambre, French rower (d. 1958)
• 1878 – Francis A. Nixon, American businessman (d. 1956)
• 1879 – Albert Asher, New Zealand rugby player (d. 1965)
• 1879 – Charles Hutchison, American actor, director and screenwriter (d. 1949)
• 1879 – Donald Matheson Sutherland, Canadian physician and politician (d. 1970)
• 1880 – Fedor von Bock, German field marshal (d. 1945)
• 1883 – Anton Webern, Austrian composer (d. 1945)
• 1884 – Rajendra Prasad, first President of India (d. 1963)
• 1884 – Walther Stampfli, Swiss politician (d. 1965)
• 1885 – Edward Lasker, German–American chess and Go player (d. 1981)
• 1886 – Manne Siegbahn, Swedish pacifist (d. 1978)
• 1887 – Prince Higashikuni of Naruhiko, Japanese royal and Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1990)
• 1895 – Anna Freud, Austrian–British psychoanalyst (d. 1982)
• 1895 – Teller Ammons, 27th Governor of Colorado (d. 1972)
• 1899 – Ikeda Hayato, Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1965)
• 1900 – Ulrich Inderbinen, Swiss mountain guide (d. 2004)
• 1900 – Richard Kuhn, Austrian–German biochemist (d. 1967)

1901 – 1950

• 1901 – Mildred Wiley, American high jumper (d. 2000)
• 1902 – Mitsuda Fuchida, Japanese writer (d. 1976)
• 1908 – Edward Underdown, English actor (d. 1989)
• 1911 – Nino Rota, Italian composer (d. 1979)
• 1914 – Irving Fine, American composer (d. 1962)
• 1917 – Wilhelm Brasse, Polish photographer (d. 2012)
• 1917 – Manuel Solis Palma, President of Panama (d. 2009)
• 1920 – Antonio Imbert Barrera, former President of the Dominican Republic (d. 2016)
• 1921 – Phyllis Curtin, American soprano (d. 2016)
• 1921 – John Doar, American lawyer (d. 2014)
• 1922 – Len Lesser, American actor (d. 2011)
• 1922 – Sven Nykvist, Swedish cinematographer (d. 2006)
• 1923 – Stjepan Bobek, Yugoslav–Croatian footballer (d. 2010)
• 1924 – John Backus, American computer programmer (d. 2007)
• 1925 – Kim Dae Jung, President of South Korea (d. 2009)
• 1927 – Andy Williams, American singer (d. 2012)
• 1928 – Muhammad Habibur Rahman, Prime Minister of Bangladesh (d. 2014)
• 1930 – Jean-Luc Godard, French–Swiss movie director and screenwriter
• 1930 – Raul M. Gonzalez, Filipino politician (d. 2014)
• 1930 – Yves Trudeau, Canadian sculptor
• 1931 – Franz Josef Degenhardt, German writer (d. 2011)
• 1931 – Jaye P. Morgan, American singer and actress
• 1932 – Corry Brokken, Dutch singer (d. 2016)
• 1933 – Paul J. Crutzen, Dutch chemist
• 1934 – Viktor Gorbatko, Soviet–Russian cosmonaut
• 1934 – Abimael Guzman, Peruvian revolutionary and leader of the Shining Path
• 1935 – Eddie Bernice Johnson, American politician
• 1936 – Saburo Kawabuchi, Japanese footballer
• 1937 – Bobby Allison, American racing driver
• 1937 – Morgan Llywelyn, American–Irish writer
• 1939 – Lee Israel, American writer and literary forger (d. 2014)
• 1942 – Alice Schwarzer, German journalist, feminist and writer
• 1942 – Mike England, Welsh rugby player
• 1942 – Pedro Rocha, Uruguayan footballer (d. 2013)
• 1943 – Kiyoshi Tomizawa, Japanese footballer
• 1944 – Paul Nicholas, British actor and singer
• 1945 – Bozhidar Dimitrov, Bulgarian politician (d. 2018)
• 1948 – Ozzy Osbourne, English singer
• 1948 – Maxwell Hutchinson, English architect and broadcaster
• 1948 – Ove Joensen, Faroese rower and adventurer (d. 1987)
• 1949 – John Akii-Bua, Ugandan athlete (d. 1997)
• 1949 – Heather Menzies, Canadian–American actress and model (d. 2017)
• 1950 – Alberto Juantorena, Cuban athlete

1951 – 1975

• 1951 – Nicky Stevens, British singer (Brotherhood of Man)
• 1952 – Mel Smith, English comedian (d. 2013)
• 1953 – Franz Klammer, Austrian skier
• 1955 – Warren Jeffs, American polygamist
• 1955 – Alberto Tarantini, Argentine footballer
• 1956 – Ewa Kopacz, former Prime Minister of Poland
• 1959 – Eamonn Holmes, Northern Irish journalist
• 1960 – Daryl Hannah, American actress
• 1960 – Julianne Moore, American actress
• 1960 – Igor Larionov, Russian ice hockey player
• 1960 – Mike Ramsey, American ice hockey player
• 1961 – Adal Ramones, Mexican comedian and actor
• 1963 – Terri Schiavo, American patient in right-to-die case (d. 2005)
• 1964 – Tosh McKinlay, Scottish footballer
• 1965 – Andrew Stanton, American director, screenwriter, producer and voice actor
• 1965 – Katarina Witt, German figure skater
• 1966 – Flemming Povlsen, Danish footballer
• 1968 – Brendan Fraser, American–Canadian actor
• 1970 – Christian Karembeu, French footballer
• 1970 – Lindsey Hunter, American basketball player
• 1971 – Ola Rapace, Swedish actor
• 1971 – Frank Sinclair, Jamaican footballer
• 1971 – Henk Timmer, Dutch footballer
• 1971 – Keegan Connor Tracy, Canadian actress
• 1973 – Holly Marie Combs, American actress
• 1975 – Mickey Avalon, American rapper

From 1976

• 1976 – Byron Kelleher, New Zealand rugby player
• 1977 – Adam Małysz, Polish ski jumper
• 1978 – Dan Snow, British television presenter
• 1979 – Daniel Bedingfield, British singer
• 1980 – Anna Chlumsky, American actress
• 1980 – Jenna Dewan, American actress
• 1981 – Martin Canning, Scottish footballer
• 1981 – Liza Lapira, American actress
• 1981 – David Villa, Spanish footballer
• 1982 – Michael Essien, Ghanaian footballer
• 1983 – Stephen Donald, New Zealand rugby player
• 1985 – Laszlo Cseh, Hungarian swimmer
• 1985 – Amanda Seyfried, American actress
• 1986 – Radek Smolenak, Czech ice hockey player
• 1987 – Michael Angarone, American actor
• 1987 – Alicia Sacramone, American gymnast
• 1990 – Christian Benteke, Belgian footballer
• 1990 – Takuji Yonemoto, Japanese footballer
• 1992 – Joseph McManners, English actor
• 1994 – Jake T. Austin, American actor
• 2005 – Prince Sverre Magnus of Norway

Deaths

Up to 1900

• 312 – Diocletian, Roman Emperor (b. 244)
• 1048 – Al-Biruni, Iranian mathematician
• 1154 – Pope Anastasius IV
• 1265 – Odofredus, Italian jurist
• 1533 – Vasili III, Grand Prince of Moscow (b. 1479)
• 1552 – Saint Francis Xavier, Spanish missionary (b. 1506)
• 1610 – Honda Tadakatsu, Japanese general (b. 1548)
• 1765 – Lord John Philip Sackville, British cricketer (b. 1713)
• 1789 – Claude Joseph Vernet, French painter (b. 1714)
• 1815 – John Carroll, first Roman Catholic archbishop in the U.S. (b. 1735)
• 1839 – King Frederick VI of Denmark (b. 1768)
• 1845 – Gregor McGregor, Scottish adventurer (b. 1786)
• 1882 – Archibald Campbell Tait, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1811)
• 1888 – Carl Zeiss, German lens maker (b. 1816)
• 1892 – Afanasy Fet, Russian poet (b. 1820)
• 1894 – Robert Louis Stevenson, British writer (b. 1850)

1901 – 2000

• 1902 – Robert Lawson, New Zealand architect (b. 1833)
• 1910 – Mary Baker Eddy, American religious leader (b. 1821)
• 1912 – Prudente José de Morais Barros, President of Brazil (b. 1841)
• 1919 – Pierre-Auguste Renoir, French impressionist painter (b. 1841)
• 1935 – Princess Victoria of the United Kingdom (b. 1868)
• 1939 – Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll (b. 1848)
• 1941 – Christian Sinding, Norwegian composer (b. 1856)
• 1949 – Maria Ouspenskaya, Russian–born American actress (b. 1876)
• 1956 – Mike Bandopadhyay, Indian–Bengali writer (b. 1908)
• 1956 – Alexander Rodchenko, Russian painter and photographer (b. 1881)
• 1972 – Bill Johnson, American musician (b. 1872)
• 1973 – Emile Christian, American musician (b. 1895)
• 1979 – Dhyan Chand, Indian hockey player and Olympic gold medalist (b. 1905)
• 1980 – Oswald Mosley, British politician (b. 1896)
• 1981 – Walter Knott, farmer and creator of Knott's Berry Farm (b. 1889)
• 1984 – Vladimir Rokhlin, Soviet mathematician (b. 1919)
• 1987 – Luis Federico Leloir, Argentine chemist (b. 1906)
• 1989 – Fernando Martín Espina, Spanish basketball player (b. 1962)
• 1996 – Georges Duby, French historian specializing in the Middle Ages (b. 1919)
• 1999 – Jarl Wahlström, the 12th General of The Salvation Army (b. 1918)
• 1999 – Madeline Kahn, American actress and comedian (b. 1942)
• 1999 – Scatman John, American singer (lung cancer) (b. 1942)
• 2000 – Gwendolyn Brooks, American poet (b. 1917)

From 2001

• 2002 – Glenn Quinn, Irish actor (b. 1970)
• 2003 – David Hemmings, British actor (b. 1941)
• 2004 – Shiing-Shen Chern, Chinese mathematician (b. 1911)
• 2004 – Maria Perschy, Austrian actress (b. 1938)
• 2009 – Richard Todd, Irish–born actor (b. 1919)
• 2013 – Ida Pollock, English writer and academic (b. 1908)
• 2013 – Ahmed Fouad Negm, Egyptian poet (b. 1929)
• 2013 – Ronald Hunter, American actor (b. 1943)
• 2014 – Herman Badillo, American politician (b. 1929)
• 2014 – Jacques Barrot, French politician (b. 1937)
• 2014 – Sjefke Janssen, Dutch cyclist (b. 1919)
• 2014 – Ian McLagan, English musician (b. 1945)
• 2014 – Luc Oursel, French businessman (b. 1959)
• 2014 – Giulio Questi, Italian director and screenwriter (b. 1924)
• 2014 – Walter Reyno, Uruguayan actor and director (b. 1935)
• 2014 – Nathaniel Branden, Canadian–American psychotherapist (b. 1930)
• 2015 – Scott Weiland, American musician (b. 1967)
• 2017 – John B. Anderson, American lawyer and politician (b. 1922)
• 2017 – Adam Darius, American dancer and choreographer (b. 1930)
• 2017 – Elmar Faber, German publisher (b. 1934)
• 2017 – Thomas Finlay, Irish judge and politician (b. 1922)
• 2017 – Kjell Opseth, Norwegian politician (b. 1936)
• 2017 – Ian Twitchin, English footballer (b. 1952)
• 2018 – Markus Beyer, German boxer (b. 1971)
• 2018 – Andrei Bitov, Russian writer (b. 1937)
• 2018 – Philip Bosco, American actor (b. 1930)
• 2018 – Geoff Murphy, New Zealand film director (b. 1938)
• 2018 – Josep Lluís Núñez, Spanish businessman (b. 1931)
• 2019 – Rawshan Ara Bachchu, Bangladeshi activist (b. 1932)

Obeservance

• International Day for persons with Disabilities
• International Day of the Basque language
• Doctors' Day (Cuba)