Who are famous people born on December 3?

Famous people born on December 3 include: Julius Honka, Angèle, Jake T. Austin.

What famous people died on December 3?

Notable historical figures who died on December 3 include: Mohamed Ali Yusuf, Ragnar Ulstein, Gladstone Anderson.

What was the primary mission objective of Hayabusa2?

To study the asteroid's composition

December 3 in History

Q: What happened on December 3 in history?

On December 3, 2024: Martial law is declared in South Korea.

2024 — Martial law is declared in South Korea

December 3 spans 50 recorded events across recorded history — from 915 – 2024. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.

By thisDay.info Editorial Team · December 3 — Wikipedia

Historical Events 50 events 915 – 2024

Did you know

Yoon Suk Yeol was the president of South Korea when he declared martial law on December 3, 2024.

Did you know

The Democratic Party of Korea, led by Lee Jae-myung, held a majority in the National Assembly at the time of the declaration.

Did you know

General Chun Doo-hwan's military dictatorship, which ended in 1988, was the last time martial law was declared in South Korea before 2024.

Did you know

The People Power Party, led by Kim Gi-hyeon, was Yoon Suk Yeol's own party, and its leaders were also targeted in the martial law declaration.

Did you know

The declaration of martial law suspended the activities of local legislatures, including the Seoul Metropolitan Council and the Busan Metropolitan Council.

Pope John X crowns Berengar I of Italy as Holy Roman Emperor (probable date).

Head of the Catholic Church from 914 to 928

Pope John X was the bishop of Rome and nominal ruler of the Papal States from March 914 to his death. A candidate of the counts of Tusculum, he attempted to unify Italy under the leadership of Berengar of Friuli, and was instrumental in the defeat of the Saracens at the Battle of Garigliano. He eventually fell out with Marozia, who had him deposed, imprisoned, and finally murdered. John’s pontificate occurred during the period known as the Saeculum obscurum.

915

American Revolution: USS Alfred becomes the first vessel to fly the Continental Union Flag (precursor to the "Stars and Stripes"); the flag is hoisted by John Paul Jones.

Founding of the United States

The American Revolution (1765–1789) was a political movement in the Thirteen Colonies of Great Britain. The movement began as a rebellion and evolved into a revolution resulting in the sovereign United States. These changes were the outcome of the associated American Revolutionary War. The Second Continental Congress, as the provisional government, established the Continental Army and appointed George Washington as its commander-in-chief in 1775. The following year, the Congress passed the Lee Resolution on July 2nd, then unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence on the Fourth of July. Throughout most of the war, the outcome appeared uncertain. However, in 1781, a decisive victory by Washington and the Continental Army in the Siege of Yorktown led King George III and the Fox–North coalition in government to negotiate the cessation of colonial rule and the acknowledgment of American sovereignty, formalized in the Treaty of Paris in 1783. The Constitution took effect in 1789 and the Bill of Rights was ratified in 1791.

1775

War of the Second Coalition: Battle of Wiesloch: Austrian Lieutenant Field Marshal Anton Sztáray defeats the French at Wiesloch.

Second war on revolutionary France by European monarchies

The War of the Second Coalition (1798–1802) was the second war between revolutionary France and a coalition of European monarchies, led by Britain, Austria and Russia, and including the Ottoman Empire, Portugal, Naples and various German monarchies. Prussia did not join the coalition, while Spain supported France.

1799

War of the Second Coalition: Battle of Hohenlinden: French General Jean Victor Marie Moreau decisively defeats the Archduke John of Austria near Munich.

Coupled with First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte's earlier victory at Marengo, this will force the Austrians to sign an armistice and end the war.

The Battle of Hohenlinden was fought on 3 December 1800 during the French Revolutionary Wars. A French army under Jean Victor Marie Moreau won a decisive victory over an Austrian and Bavarian force led by 18-year-old Archduke John of Austria. The allies were forced into a disastrous retreat that compelled them to request an armistice, effectively ending the War of the Second Coalition. Hohenlinden is 33 km (21 mi) east of Munich in modern Germany.

1800

United States presidential election: The Electoral College casts votes for president and vice president that result in a tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr.

4th quadrennial U.S. presidential election

Presidential elections were held in the United States from October 31 to December 3, 1800. In what is sometimes called the "Revolution of 1800", the Democratic-Republican Party candidate, Vice President Thomas Jefferson, defeated the Federalist Party candidate and incumbent, President John Adams in the first peaceful transfer of power in the history of the United States, creating a political realignment that ushered in a generation of Democratic-Republican leadership. This was the first presidential election in U.S. history to be a rematch, the first election where an incumbent president lost re-election, leading to the first time in modern history where a national government changed hands peaceably following a free election.

1800

Illinois becomes the 21st U.S.

state.

Illinois is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash and Ohio rivers to its south. Of the fifty U.S. states, Illinois has the fifth-largest gross domestic product (GDP), the sixth-largest population, and the 25th-most land area. Its capital city is Springfield in the center of the state, and the state's largest city is Chicago in the northeast.

1818

The Zollverein (German Customs Union) begins the first regular census in Germany.

Economic union of German states (1834–1919)

The Zollverein, or German Customs Union, was a coalition of German states formed to manage tariffs and economic policies within their territories. Organized by the 1833 Zollverein treaties, it formally started on 1 January 1834. However, its foundations had been in development from 1818 with the creation of a variety of custom unions among the German states. By 1866, the Zollverein included most of the German states. The Zollverein was not part of the German Confederation (1815–1866).

1834

Battle of the Eureka Stockade: More than 20 gold miners at Ballarat, Victoria, are killed by state troopers in an uprising over mining licences.

1854 military conflict in Victoria, Australia

The Battle of the Eureka Stockade was fought in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, on 3 December 1854, between gold miners and the colonial forces of Australia. It was the culmination of the 1851–1854 Eureka Rebellion during the Victorian gold rush. The fighting resulted in at least 27 deaths and many injuries, the majority of casualties being rebels. The miners had various grievances, chiefly the cost of mining permits and the officious way the system was enforced.

1854

Nigeria's first newspaper, missionary Henry Townsend's Iwe Irohin, was published.

British missionary in Nigeria (1815–1886)

Henry Townsend (1815–1886) was an Anglican missionary in Nigeria.

1859

The first issue of Tamperean daily newspaper Aamulehti ("Morning Paper") is published.

City in Western Finland

Tampere is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Pirkanmaa. It is in the Finnish Lakeland. Tampere's population is about 263,000, while the metropolitan area has a population of about 428,000. It is Finland's 3rd most populous municipality and the second most populous urban area in the country after the Helsinki metropolitan area.

1881

The 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.

American football team in Pennsylvania (1895–1900)

The Duquesne Country and Athletic Club was a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1895 until 1900. The team was considered one of the best, if not the best, professional football teams in the country from 1898 until 1900. However, the team is most famous for being the first football franchise to be owned by an individual, William Chase Temple.

1898

In 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.

The 1901 State of the Union Address was given on Tuesday, December 3, 1901, by the 26th president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt. It was presented to both houses of the 57th United States Congress, but he was not present. He stated, "The Congress assembles this year under the shadow of a great calamity. On the sixth of September, President McKinley was shot by an anarchist while attending the Pan-American Exposition at Buffalo, and died in that city on the fourteenth of that month." He concluded it with, "Indeed, from every quarter of the civilized world we received, at the time of the President's death, assurances of such grief and regard as to touch the hearts of our people. In the midst of our affliction we reverently thank the Almighty that we are at peace with the nations of mankind; and we firmly intend that our policy shall be such as to continue unbroken these international relations of mutual respect and good will."

1901

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

Natural satellites of the planet Jupiter

There are 115 known moons of the planet Jupiter as of 9 April 2026. This number does not include a number of meter-sized moonlets thought to be shed from the inner moons, nor hundreds of possible kilometer-sized outer irregular moons that were only briefly captured by telescopes. All together, Jupiter's moons form a satellite system, colloquially referred to as the Jovian system. The most massive of the moons are the four Galilean moons: Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto, all of which were independently discovered in 1610 by Galileo Galilei and Simon Marius and were the first objects found to orbit a body that was neither Earth nor the Sun. Much more recently, beginning in 1892, dozens of far smaller Jovian moons have been detected and have received the names of lovers or daughters of the Roman god Jupiter or his Greek equivalent Zeus. The Galilean moons are by far the largest and most massive objects to orbit Jupiter, with the remaining 111 known moons and the rings together comprising just 0.003% of the total orbiting mass.

1904

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

Electric lighting using rarefied gas

Neon lighting consists of brightly glowing, electrified glass tubes or bulbs that contain rarefied neon or other gases. Neon lights are a type of cold cathode gas-discharge light. A neon tube is a sealed glass tube with a metal electrode at each end, filled with one of a number of gases at low pressure. A high potential of several thousand volts applied to the electrodes ionizes the gas in the tube, causing it to emit colored light. The color of the light depends on the gas in the tube. Neon lights were named for neon, a noble gas which gives off a popular orange light, but other gases and chemicals called phosphors are used to produce other colors, such as hydrogen (purple-red), helium, carbon dioxide (white), and mercury (blue). Neon tubes can be fabricated in curving artistic shapes, to form letters or pictures. They are mainly used to make dramatic, multicolored glowing signage for advertising, called neon signs, which were popular from the 1920s to 1960s and again in the 1980s.

1910

Bulgaria, 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.)

The Tsardom of Bulgaria, also known as the Third Bulgarian Tsardom, commonly known in English as the Kingdom of Bulgaria, or simply Bulgaria, was a constitutional monarchy in Southeastern Europe, which was established on 5 October [O.S. 22 September] 1908, when the Bulgarian state was raised from a principality to a tsardom.

1912

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

Bridge in Quebec City and Lévis, Quebec

The Quebec Bridge is a road, rail, and pedestrian bridge across the lower Saint Lawrence River between Sainte-Foy and Lévis, in Quebec, Canada. The project failed twice during its construction, in 1907 and 1916, at the cost of 88 lives and additional people injured. The bridge eventually opened in 1919.

1919

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

Battles involving Armenian National movement

The Turkish invasion of Armenia, also known as the Turkish–Armenian War and known in Turkey as the Eastern Front of the Turkish War of Independence, was a conflict fought between the recently established First Republic of Armenia and the Turkish National Movement, following the signing of the Treaty of Sèvres in 1920. The treaty transferred vast portions of eastern Anatolia from the Ottoman Empire to Armenia, including the towns of Trabzon, Erzurum and Van. While delegates of the Ottoman government reluctantly signed the treaty following their defeat in World War I, members of the Ottoman parliament refused to ratify it. The treaty greatly angered the Turkish Nationalists, led by Mustafa Kemal Pasha, who refused to recognize it. In September 1920, remnants of the Ottoman Army's XV Corps under the command of Kâzım Karabekir, attacked Western Armenia with orders from the Ankara Government to "eliminate Armenia physically and politically".

1920

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

British dominion in Europe from 1922 to 1937

The Irish Free State, also known by its Irish name Saorstát Éireann, was the Irish state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921, initially as a Dominion. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between the forces of the Irish Republic—the Irish Republican Army (IRA)—and British Crown forces.

1925

President 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.

Herbert Clark Hoover was the 31st president of the United States, serving from 1929 to 1933. As a member of the Republican Party, he served as the third United States secretary of commerce from 1921 to 1928 before being elected president in 1928. His presidency was dominated by the Great Depression, and his policies and methods to combat it were seen as inadequate and overly conservative. Amid his unpopularity, he decisively lost re-election to Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932.

1929

Nazi 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.

German state from 1933 to 1945

Nazi Germany, officially the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictatorship. The Third Reich, meaning "Third Realm" or "Third Empire", referred to the Nazi claim that Nazi Germany was the successor to the Holy Roman Empire (800–1806) and the German Empire (1871–1918). The Third Reich, which the Nazis referred to as the Thousand-Year Reich, ended in May 1945, after 12 years, when the Allies defeated Germany and entered the capital, Berlin, ending World War II in Europe.

1938

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

1946–1949 civil war in Greece

The Greek Civil War took place from 1946 to 1949. The conflict, which erupted shortly after the end of World War II, consisted of a Communist-led uprising against the established government of the Kingdom of Greece. The rebels declared a people's republic, the Provisional Democratic Government of Greece, which was governed by the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) and its military branch, the Democratic Army of Greece (DSE). The rebels were supported by Albania and Yugoslavia. With the support of the United Kingdom and the United States, the Greek royal government forces ultimately prevailed.

1944

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

Finnish author (1920–1992)

Väinö Valtteri Linna was a Finnish author and a former soldier who fought in the Continuation War (1941–44). Linna gained literary fame with his third novel, Tuntematon sotilas, and consolidated his position with the trilogy Täällä Pohjantähden alla. Both have been adapted to a film format on several occasions; The Unknown Soldier was first adapted into a film in 1955 and Under the North Star in 1968 as Here, Beneath the North Star, both directed by Edvin Laine.

1954

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

The flag of Singapore was adopted in 1959, the year Singapore became self-governing within the British Empire. Designed by a government committee led by deputy prime minister Toh Chin Chye, it remained as the national flag upon the country's independence from Malaysia on 9 August 1965. The design is a horizontal bicolour of red above white, overlaid in the canton by a white crescent moon facing a pentagon of five small white five-pointed stars. The elements of the flag denote a young nation on the ascendant, universal brotherhood and equality, and national ideals.

1959

The musical Camelot debuts at the Majestic Theatre on Broadway.

It will become associated with the Kennedy administration.

Camelot is a musical with music by Frederick Loewe and lyrics and a book by Alan Jay Lerner. It is based on the legend of King Arthur as adapted from the 1958 novel The Once and Future King by T. H. White.

1960

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

Country in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991

The Soviet Union, officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until its dissolution in 1991. It was the world's third-most populous country, the largest by area, and bordered twelve countries. A diverse multinational state, it was organized as a federal union of national republics, with the largest and most populous being the Russian SFSR. In practice, its government and economy were highly centralized. As a one-party state governed by the Communist Party, it was the flagship communist state. Its capital and largest city was Moscow.

1965

At 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).

Teaching hospital in Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa

Groote Schuur Hospital is a public teaching hospital situated on the slopes of Devil's Peak in the city of Cape Town, South Africa. It was founded in 1938 and is famous for being the institution where the first human-to-human heart transplant took place on the 3rd December 1967, conducted by surgeon Christiaan Barnard on the patient Louis Washkansky.

1967

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

Military confrontation between India and Pakistan alongside the Bangladesh Liberation War

The India–Pakistan war of 1971, also known as the third Indo-Pakistani war, was a military confrontation between India and Pakistan that occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan from 3 December 1971 until the Pakistani capitulation in Dhaka on 16 December 1971. The war began with Pakistan's Operation Chengiz Khan, consisting of preemptive aerial strikes on eight Indian air stations. The strikes led to India declaring war on Pakistan, marking their entry into the war for East Pakistan's independence, on the side of Bengali nationalist forces. India's entry expanded the existing conflict with Indian and Pakistani forces engaging on both the eastern and western fronts.

1971

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

1972 plane crash in Spain

On December 3, 1972, a Convair CV-990 Coronado charter flight operated by Spantax from Tenerife to Munich with 148 passengers and 7 crew crashed while taking off from Tenerife-Norte Los Rodeos Airport in Tenerife, killing all 155 passengers and crew on board. Many of the passengers were French tourists heading on a tour of Germany.

1972

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

Series of United States uncrewed lunar and planetary space probes (1958-60; 1965-92)

The Pioneer programs were two series of United States lunar and planetary space probes. The first program, which ran from 1958 to 1960, unsuccessfully attempted to send spacecraft to orbit the Moon, successfully sent one spacecraft to fly by the Moon, and successfully sent one spacecraft to investigate interplanetary space between the orbits of Earth and Venus. The second program, which ran from 1965 to 1992, sent four spacecraft to measure interplanetary space weather, two to explore Jupiter and Saturn, and two to explore Venus. The two outer planet probes, Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11, became the first two of five artificial objects to achieve the escape velocity that will allow them to leave the Solar System, and carried a golden plaque each depicting a man and a woman and information about the origin and the creators of the probes, in case any extraterrestrials find them someday.

1973

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

City in Ohio, United States

Cincinnati is the most populous city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line with Kentucky. The third-most populous city in Ohio with a population of 309,317 at the 2020 census, Cincinnati serves as the economic and cultural hub of the tri-state Cincinnati metropolitan area, Ohio's most populous metropolitan area and the nation's 30th-largest at over 2.3 million residents.

1979

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

Revolution in Iran from 1978 to 1979

The Iranian Revolution, also known as the Islamic Revolution, culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Imperial State of Iran by the Islamic Republic of Iran, as the monarchical government of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was superseded by Ruhollah Khomeini, an Islamist cleric who had headed one of the rebel factions. The ousting of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran, formally marked the end of Iran's historical monarchy.

1979

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

Ghost town in Missouri, United States

Times Beach is a ghost town in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States, 17 miles (27 km) southwest of St. Louis and 2 miles (3 km) east of Eureka. Once home to more than two thousand people, the town was completely evacuated in early 1983 due to TCDD contamination, formerly the largest civilian exposure to the compound in the history of the United States.

1982

Bhopal 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 worst industrial disasters in history.

1984 gas-leak accident in Bhopal, India

On 3 December 1984, over 500,000 people in the vicinity of the Union Carbide India Limited pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India, were exposed to the highly toxic gas methyl isocyanate, in what is considered the world's worst industrial disaster. A government affidavit in 2006 stated that the leak caused approximately 558,125 injuries, including 38,478 temporary partial injuries and 3,900 severely and permanently disabling injuries. Estimates vary on the death toll, with the official number of immediate deaths being 2,259. Others estimate that 8,000 died within two weeks of the incident occurring, and another 8,000 or more died from gas-related diseases. In 1989, Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) of the United States paid $470 million to settle litigation stemming from the disaster.

1984

In 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.

The Malta Summit was a meeting between United States President George H. W. Bush and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev on December 2–3, 1989, just a few weeks after the fall of the Berlin Wall. It followed a meeting that included Ronald Reagan in New York in December 1988. During the summit, Bush and Gorbachev declared an end to the Cold War, although whether it was truly such is a matter of debate. News reports of the time referred to the Malta Summit as one of the most important since World War II, when British prime minister Winston Churchill, Soviet General Secretary Joseph Stalin and US President Franklin D. Roosevelt agreed on a post-war plan for Europe at the Yalta Conference.

1989

The 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.

Ship that carries petroleum

An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk transport of oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined crude oil from its point of extraction to refineries. Product tankers, generally much smaller, are designed to move refined products from refineries to points near consuming markets.

1992

A 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.

Defunct Anglo-French IT services company (1988-2001)

Sema Group plc was an Anglo-French IT services company. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It was acquired by Schlumberger in 2001.

1992

Taiwan 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 of Kaohsiung.

Country in East Asia

Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main island of Taiwan, also known as Formosa, lies between the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast, and the Philippines to the south. It has an area of 35,808 square kilometers, with mountain ranges dominating the eastern two-thirds and plains in the western third, where its highly urbanized population is concentrated. The combined territories under ROC control consist of 168 islands in total covering 36,193 square kilometers. The largest metropolitan area is formed by Taipei, New Taipei City, and Keelung. With around 23.9 million inhabitants, Taiwan is among the most densely populated countries.

1994

Sony releases the PlayStation game console in Japan.

Japanese multinational corporation

Sony Group Corporation, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including electronics, imaging and sensing, film and television, music, video games, and others.

1994

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

1995 aviation accident in Cameroon

On 3 December 1995, Cameroon Airlines Flight 3701, a Boeing 737-200 operating a scheduled international passenger flight from Cadjehoun Airport, Benin, to Douala International Airport, Cameroon, crashed on its second approach to Douala after it lost control following a loss of power in its left engine. Of the 76 occupants, 68 passengers and 3 crew members were killed. Three passengers and two crew members survived injured.

1995

In 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, however.

Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southeastern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core of the Ottawa–Gatineau census metropolitan area (CMA) and the National Capital Region (NCR). As of 2021, Ottawa had a city population of 1,017,449 and a metropolitan population of 1,488,307, making it the fourth-largest city and fourth-largest metropolitan area in Canada.

1997

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

American space and aeronautics agency

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government responsible for the United States' civil space program and for research in aeronautics and space. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., NASA operates ten field centers across the U.S. and is organized into three mission directorates: Human Spaceflight, Research and Technology, and Science. Established in 1958 amid the Space Race, NASA succeeded the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) to give the U.S. space program a distinct civilian orientation focused on peaceful applications. Since then, it has led most American spaceflight programs, including Project Mercury, Project Gemini, the Apollo program, Skylab, the Space Shuttle, the International Space Station (ISS) and the ongoing multi-national Artemis program.

1999

In Worcester, Massachusetts, firefighters responded to a fire at the Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse Co.

facility, which takes the lives of 6 firefighters.

Worcester is a city in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. The principal city of Central Massachusetts, Worcester is both the second-most populous city in the state, and the 113th most populous city in the United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city had an estimated 213,862 people as of 2025, also making it the second-most populous city in New England, after Boston. Because it is near the geographic center of Massachusetts, Worcester is known as the "Heart of the Commonwealth"; a heart is the official symbol of the city. Worcester is the historical seat of Worcester County.

1999

XCOR Aerospace makes the first crewed rocket aircraft delivery of U.S.

Mail in Kern County, California.

XCOR Aerospace was an American private spaceflight and rocket engine development company based at the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, California, Midland International Air and Spaceport in Midland, Texas and the Amsterdam area, the Netherlands. XCOR was formed in 1999 by former members of the Rotary Rocket rocket engine development team, and ceased operations in 2017.

2005

Winter 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 floods.

The Great Coastal Storm of 2007 was a series of three powerful Pacific storms that affected the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington and the Canadian province of British Columbia between November 29 and December 4, 2007.

2007

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

Suicide terror attack in Mogadishu, Somalia

The 2009 Hotel Shamo bombing occurred at the Hotel Shamo in Mogadishu, Somalia, on 3 December 2009. The suicide bombing killed 25 people, including three ministers of the Transitional Federal Government, and injured 60 more, making it the deadliest attack in Somalia since the Beledweyne bombing on 18 June 2009 that claimed more than 30 lives.

2009

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

Pacific typhoon in 2012

Typhoon Bopha, also named Pablo by PAGASA, was a compact but powerful and catastrophic tropical cyclone that became the strongest on record to ever affect the Philippine island of Mindanao, making landfall as a Category 5 super typhoon with winds of 175 mph (282 km/h). The twenty-fourth tropical storm, along with being the fourth and final super typhoon of the 2012 Pacific typhoon season, Bopha originated unusually close to the equator, becoming the second-most southerly Category 5 super typhoon, reaching a minimum latitude of 7.4°N on December 3, 2012, as only Typhoon Louise of 1964 came closer to the equator at this strength, at 7.3°N. After first making landfall in Palau, where it destroyed houses, disrupted communications and caused power outages, flooding and uprooted trees, Bopha made landfall late on December 3 in Mindanao. The storm caused widespread destruction on Mindanao, leaving thousands of people homeless and killing 1,901 people.

2012

The 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.

Japan's national air and space agency

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is the operator of the Japanese space program and Japan's national aeronautics research agency. It was formed in 2003 through the merger of the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, the National Aerospace Laboratory of Japan, and the National Space Development Agency of Japan.

2014

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

2022 shooting of electrical substations in North Carolina, USA

On December 3, 2022, a shooting attack was carried out on two electrical distribution substations located in Moore County, North Carolina, United States. Damage from the attack left up to 40,000 residential and business customers without electrical power, causing the death of one woman. Initial estimates were that up to four days could be required to fully restore power in the area. A state of emergency and corresponding curfew were enacted by local government officials in the wake of the incident.

2022

Mount Marapi located in West Sumatra, Indonesia begins a sporadic series of eruptions.

23 people were killed, and 12 were injured.

The Marapi, or Mount Marapi, is a complex volcano in West Sumatra, Indonesia, and is the most active volcano in Sumatra. Like that of its quasi-homonym on Java, its name means "Mountain of Fire". Its elevation is 2,885 metres (9,465.2 ft). Several cities and towns are situated around the mountain including Bukittinggi, Padang Panjang, and Batusangkar. The volcano is also popular among hikers.

2023

Born on December 3

20 people 1987 – 1995

Julius Honka

Finnish ice hockey player

Julius Honka is a Finnish professional ice hockey player who is a defenceman for HC Davos of the National League (NL). Honka was selected by the Dallas Stars in the first round, 14th overall, in the 2014 NHL entry draft.

1995

Angèle

Belgian singer

Angèle Joséphine Aimée Van Laeken, known simply as Angèle, is a Belgian singer and songwriter. She was one of 2018's biggest breakout acts in French and Belgian pop music, breaking Stromae's record for weeks at the top…

1995

Jake T. Austin

American actor

Jake Toranzo Austin Szymanski is an American actor. Beginning his career as a child actor at the age of seven, Austin is best known for his role as Max Russo on the Disney Channel series Wizards of Waverly Place, and as…

1994

Lil Baby

American rapper

Dominique Armani Jones, known professionally as Lil Baby, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He rose to prominence following the release of his 2017 mixtapes Harder than Hard and Too Hard — the former of…

1994

Solomone Kata

New Zealand rugby league player

Solomone Kata is a professional dual-code rugby footballer who plays as a centre for Premiership Rugby club Leicester Tigers and the Tonga national team.

1994

Bernarda Pera

American tennis player

Bernarda Pera is a Croatian-American professional tennis player. Pera has won two singles titles and one doubles title on the WTA Tour, along with nine singles and eight doubles titles on the ITF Circuit. She achieved…

1994

Cristian Ceballos

Spanish footballer

Cristian Ceballos Prieto is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or forward. He is currently the assistant head coach of Serie A club Fiorentina.

1992

Joseph McManners

English singer-songwriter, musician and actor[citation needed]

Joseph McManners is an English singer-songwriter, musician and actor.

1992

Ekaterine Gorgodze

Georgian tennis player

Ekaterine Gorgodze is a Georgian professional tennis player. On 23 May 2022, she reached her best singles ranking of world No. 108. On 15 August 2022, she peaked at No. 43 in the doubles rankings.

1991

Christian Benteke

Belgian footballer

Christian Benteke Liolo is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a forward for UAE Pro League club Al Wahda.

1990

Sharon Fichman

Canadian-Israeli tennis player

Sharon Fichman is a Canadian former tennis player. She achieved career-high WTA rankings of 77 in singles and 21 in doubles.

1990

Matt Reynolds

American baseball player

Matthew William Reynolds is an American former professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, Washington Nationals, Kansas City Royals, and Cincinnati Reds. He also…

1990

Selçuk Alibaz

Turkish footballer

Selçuk Alibaz is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Fethiyespor.

1989

Alex McCarthy

English footballer

Alex Simon McCarthy is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for EFL Championship club Southampton.

1989

Tomasz Narkun

Polish mixed martial artist

Tomasz "Giraffe" Narkun is a Polish mixed martial artist currently competing for KSW. A professional MMA competitor since 2009, he is the former KSW Light Heavyweight Champion and has also competed for M-1 Global, where…

1989

Melissa Aldana

Chilean saxophonist

Melissa Aldana is a Chilean tenor saxophone player, who performs both as a soloist and with her band Melissa Aldana & Crash Trio.

1988

Michael Angarano

American actor, director, and screenwriter

Michael Anthony Angarano is an American actor. He became known for his roles in the film Music of the Heart (1999) and the television series Cover Me (2000–2001), as well as for playing a recurring role as Elliott in…

1987

Eric Barone

American video game designer and musician

Eric Lorenz Barone, known professionally as ConcernedApe, is an American video game developer and musician.

1987

Erik Grönwall

Swedish singer-songwriter

Per Erik Magnus Grönwall is a Swedish hard rock and heavy metal singer. In 2009, he won the Swedish Idol reality television show, receiving several standing ovations from the jury for his performances over the course of…

1987

Brian Robiskie

American football player

Brian Anthony Robiskie is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the second round of the 2009 NFL draft.…

1987

See all birthdays on December 3

Died on December 3

20 people 2002 – 2024

Mohamed Ali Yusuf

Somali politician (born 1944)

Mohamed Ali Yusuf Gaagaab was a Somali politician. He served as acting Vice President of Puntland from 10 October 2004 to 8 January 2005, and later he was appointed Minister of Finance of Puntland beginning on 25…

2024

Ragnar Ulstein

Norwegian journalist and war historian (born 1920)

Ragnar Leif Ulstein MM was a Norwegian journalist, writer and resistance member. He wrote several documentary books from the Second World War, including surveys of the SOE group Norwegian Independent Company 1,…

2019

Gladstone Anderson

Jamaican singer and pianist (born 1934)

Gladstone Anderson, also known by his nickname "Gladdy", was a Jamaican pianist, keyboard player, and singer, who played a major part in the island's musical history, playing a key role in defining the ska sound and the…

2015

Scott Weiland

American singer-songwriter (born 1967)

Scott Richard Weiland was an American singer and songwriter. He was best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Stone Temple Pilots from 1989 to 2003 and again from 2008 to 2013, recording six albums with them.…

2015

Herman Badillo

Puerto Rican-American lawyer and politician (born 1929)

Herman Badillo was an American lawyer and politician who served as borough president of The Bronx and United States Representative, and ran for Mayor of New York City. He was the first Puerto Rican elected to these…

2014

Jules Mikhael Al-Jamil

Iraqi-Lebanese archbishop (born 1938)

Jules Mikhael Al-Jamil was a Syriac Catholic prelate who served as an auxiliary bishop for the Patriarchate of Antioch from 1986 until his death in 2012.

2012

Dev Anand

Indian actor, director, and producer (born 1923)

Dev Anand was an Indian actor, writer, director and producer known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is considered as one of the greatest and most successful actors in the history of Indian cinema. Through a career that…

2011

Abdumalik Bahori

Azerbaijani poet and author (born 1927)

Abdumalik Bahori was a children's poet and the first Tajikistani fiction writer. He was born into a middle-class family who worked in the silk producing industry. He graduated from Leninabad Pedagogical Institute in…

2010

Leila Lopes

Brazilian actress and journalist (born 1959)

Leila Lopes was a Brazilian actress, journalist and television presenter, known for her appearance in TV Globo telenovelas and later for entering the pornographic film industry.

2009

Richard Todd

Irish-born British soldier and actor (born 1919)

Richard Andrew Palethorpe-Todd OBE was an Irish-British actor, known for his leading man roles of the 1950s. He received a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer – Male, and an Academy Award for Best Actor…

2009

Robert Zajonc

Polish-American psychologist and author (born 1923)

Robert Bolesław Zajonc was a Polish social psychologist who is known for his decades of work on a wide range of social and cognitive processes. One of his most important contributions to social psychology is the…

2008

James Kemsley

Australian cartoonist and actor (born 1948)

James Lawrence Kemsley OAM was an Australian cartoonist who was notable for producing the comic strip Ginger Meggs between 1984 and 2007.

2007

Frederick Ashworth

American admiral (born 1912)

Frederick Lincoln "Dick" Ashworth was a United States Navy officer who served as the weaponeer on the B-29 Bockscar that dropped a Fat Man atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan on 9 August 1945 during World War II.

2005

Herb Moford

American baseball player (born 1928)

Herbert Moford was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals (1955), Detroit Tigers (1958), Boston Red Sox (1959) and New York Mets (1962). He was born in Brooksville,…

2005

Kikka Sirén

Finnish pop/schlager singer (born 1964)

Kirsi Hannele Sirén, better known by her stage name Kikka, was a Finnish pop/schlager singer. She was known for her sexpot image and suggestive, double entendre-filled songs. Kikka's best-known songs were "Mä haluun…

2005

Shiing-Shen Chern

Chinese-American mathematician and academic (born 1911)

Shiing-Shen Chern was a Chinese-born American mathematician and poet. He made fundamental contributions to differential geometry and topology. He has been called the "father of modern differential geometry" and is…

2004

David Hemmings

English actor (born 1941)

David Leslie Edward Hemmings was an English actor, director, and producer of film and television. Originally trained as a boy soprano in operatic roles, he began appearing in films as a child actor in the 1950s. He…

2003

Sita Ram Goel

Indian historian, publisher and writer (born 1921)

Sita Ram Goel was an Indian Hindu nationalist writer, and publisher known for his literature pertaining to Hinduism and Hindu nationalism in the late twentieth century. He was one of the founders of Voice of India.

2003

Adrienne Adams

American illustrator (born 1906)

Adrienne Adams was an American children's book illustrator as well as an artist and writer of children's books. She won two Caldecott Honors and in 1973 she was awarded the Rutgers Award for overall contributions to…

2002

Glenn Quinn

Irish-American actor (born 1970)

Glenn Martin Christopher Francis Quinn was an Irish actor, best known for his portrayal of Mark Healy on the 1990s family sitcom Roseanne and his role as the half-demon Allen Francis Doyle on Angel, a spin-off series of…

2002

See all deaths on December 3

What happened on December 3 in history?

On December 3, one notable event in history was 2024: Martial law is declared in South Korea..

This date currently highlights 50 recorded events on thisDay.info, spanning 915 – 2024.

DateDecember 3

Featured year2024

LocationSouth Korea

Events listed50

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2024 — Martial law is declared in South Korea

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