December 3Birthdays & History

On this day: December 3 in history

Oldest first. Tap a year to see it on the World Chronicle timeline.

1. 915Pope John X crowns Berengar I of Italy as Holy Roman Emperor (probable date).Europe
2. 1775American 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.North America
3. 1799War of the Second Coalition: Battle of Wiesloch: Austrian Lieutenant Field Marshal Anton Sztáray defeats the French at Wiesloch.Europe
4. 1800United States presidential election: The Electoral College casts votes for president and vice president that result in a tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr.North America
5. 1800War 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.Europe
6. 1818Illinois becomes the 21st U.S. state.North America
7. 1834The Zollverein (German Customs Union) begins the first regular census in Germany.Europe
8. 1854Battle of the Eureka Stockade: More than 20 gold miners at Ballarat, Victoria, are killed by state troopers in an uprising over mining licences.Oceania
9. 1859Nigeria's first newspaper, missionary Henry Townsend's Iwe Irohin, was published.Africa
10. 1881The first issue of Tamperean daily newspaper Aamulehti ("Morning Paper") is published.Europe
11. 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.North America
12. 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.North America
13. 1904The Jovian moon Himalia is discovered by Charles Dillon Perrine at California's Lick Observatory.North America
14. 1910Modern neon lighting is first demonstrated by Georges Claude at the Paris Motor Show.Europe
15. 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.)EuropeMiddle East
16. 1919After nearly 20 years of planning and construction, including two collapses causing 89 deaths, the Quebec Bridge opens to traffic.North America
17. 1920Following more than a month of Turkish–Armenian War, the Turkish-dictated Treaty of Alexandropol is concluded.Middle EastEurope
18. 1925Final agreement is signed between the Irish Free State, Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom formalizing the Partition of Ireland.Europe
19. 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.North America
20. 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.Europe
21. 1944Greek Civil War: Fighting breaks out in Athens between the ELAS and government forces supported by the British Army.Europe
22. 1954Väinö Linna's war novel The Unknown Soldier (Tuntematon sotilas) is published.Europe
23. 1959The current flag of Singapore is adopted, six months after Singapore became self-governing within the British Empire.AsiaEurope
24. 1960The musical Camelot debuts at the Majestic Theatre on Broadway. It will become associated with the Kennedy administration.North America
25. 1965Soviet Union, Space probe of the Luna program, called Luna 8, is launched, but crashes on the Moon.Europe
26. 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).Africa
27. 1971Indo-Pakistani War of 1971: Pakistan launches a pre-emptive strike against India and a full-scale war begins.Asia
28. 1972Spantax Flight 275 crashes during takeoff from Tenerife North–Ciudad de La Laguna Airport, killing all 155 people on board.Europe
29. 1973Pioneer program: Pioneer 10 sends back the first close-up images of Jupiter.World
30. 1979In Cincinnati, 11 fans are suffocated in a crush for seats on the concourse outside Riverfront Coliseum before a Who concert.North America
31. 1979Iranian Revolution: Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini becomes the first Supreme Leader of Iran.Middle East
32. 1982A soil sample is taken from Times Beach, Missouri, that will be found to contain 300 times the safe level of dioxin.North America
33. 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 worst industrial disasters in history.Asia
34. 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.EuropeNorth America
35. 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.Europe
36. 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.Europe
37. 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 of Kaohsiung.Asia
38. 1994Sony releases the PlayStation game console in Japan.Asia
39. 1995Cameroon Airlines Flight 3701 crashes on approach to Douala International Airport in Douala, Cameroon, killing 71 of the 76 people on board.Africa
40. 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, however.North AmericaAsiaEurope
41. 1999NASA loses radio contact with the Mars Polar Lander moments before the spacecraft enters the Martian atmosphere.North America
42. 1999In Worcester, Massachusetts, firefighters responded to a fire at the Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse Co. facility, which takes the lives of 6 firefighters.North America
43. 2005XCOR Aerospace makes the first crewed rocket aircraft delivery of U.S. Mail in Kern County, California.North America
44. 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 floods.North America
45. 2009A suicide bombing at a hotel in Mogadishu, Somalia, kills 25 people, including three ministers of the Transitional Federal Government.Africa
46. 2012At least 475 people are killed after Typhoon Bopha makes landfall in the Philippines.Asia
47. 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.Asia
48. 2022Massive power outage after Moore County substation attack that leaves 45,000 people without power for five days, leading to an FBI probe.North America
49. 2023Mount Marapi located in West Sumatra, Indonesia begins a sporadic series of eruptions. 23 people were killed, and 12 were injured.Asia
50. 2024Martial law is declared in South Korea.Asia

Source: Wikipedia "December 3" / CC BY-SA 4.0