December 3
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Events


Pre-1600

* 915
Pope John X Pope John X ( la, Ioannes X; died 28 May 928) 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, ...
crowns
Berengar I of Italy Berengar I ( la, Berengarius, Perngarius; it, Berengario; – 7 April 924) was the king of Italy from 887. He was Holy Roman Emperor between 915 and his death in 924. He is usually known as Berengar of Friuli, since he ruled the March of Friu ...
as
Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...
(probable date).


1601–1900

*
1775 Events Summary The American Revolutionary War began this year, with the first military engagement being the April 19 Battles of Lexington and Concord on the day after Paul Revere's now-legendary ride. The Second Continental Congress t ...
American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
: becomes the first vessel to fly the
Grand Union Flag The "Grand Union Flag" (also known as the "Continental Colours", the "Congress Flag", the "Cambridge Flag", and the "First Navy Ensign") is considered to be the first national flag of the United States of America. Similar to the current U.S. f ...
(the precursor to the Stars and Stripes); the flag is hoisted by
John Paul Jones John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-American naval captain who was the United States' first well-known naval commander in the American Revolutionary War. He made many friends among U.S political elites ( ...
. *
1799 Events January–June * January 9 – British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger introduces an income tax of two shillings to the pound, to raise funds for Great Britain's war effort in the French Revolutionary Wars. * January ...
War of the Second Coalition The War of the Second Coalition (1798/9 – 1801/2, depending on periodisation) was the second war on revolutionary France by most of the European monarchies, led by Britain, Austria and Russia, and including the Ottoman Empire, Portugal, N ...
: Battle of Wiesloch:
Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...
Lieutenant Field Marshal Anton Sztáray defeats the French at
Wiesloch Wiesloch (, locally ; South Franconian: ''Wissloch''), is a town in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 13 kilometres south of Heidelberg. After Weinheim, Sinsheim and Leimen it is the fourth largest town in the Rhein-Neckar-Krei ...
. *
1800 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 18), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 12 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 16), ...
– War of the Second Coalition:
Battle of Hohenlinden 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 Austri ...
: French General
Jean Victor Marie Moreau Jean Victor Marie Moreau (, 14 February 1763 – 2 September 1813) was a French general who helped Napoleon Bonaparte to power, but later became a rival and was banished to the United States. Biography Rise to fame Moreau was born at Morla ...
decisively defeats the
Archduke John of Austria Archduke John of Austria (german: Erzherzog Johann Baptist Joseph Fabian Sebastian von Österreich; 20 January 1782 – 11 May 1859), a member of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, was an Austrian field marshal and imperial regent (''Reichsverwese ...
near
Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
. Coupled with
First Consul The Consulate (french: Le Consulat) was the top-level Government of France from the fall of the Directory in the coup of 18 Brumaire on 10 November 1799 until the start of the Napoleonic Empire on 18 May 1804. By extension, the term ''The Con ...
Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
's earlier victory at Marengo, this will force the Austrians to sign an armistice and end the war. * 1800 –
United States presidential election The election of the president and the vice president of the United States is an indirect election in which citizens of the United States who are registered to vote in one of the fifty U.S. states or in Washington, D.C., cast ballots not dire ...
: The Electoral College casts votes for president and vice president that result in a tie between
Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...
and
Aaron Burr Aaron Burr Jr. (February 6, 1756 – September 14, 1836) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the third vice president of the United States from 1801 to 1805. Burr's legacy is defined by his famous personal conflict with Alexand ...
. * 1818
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
becomes the 21st
U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
. *
1834 Events January–March * January – The Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad is chartered in Wilmington, North Carolina. * January 1 – Zollverein (Germany): Customs charges are abolished at borders within its member states. * January 3 ...
– The
Zollverein The (), or German Customs Union, was a coalition of German states formed to manage tariffs and economic policies within their territories. Organized by the 1833 treaties, it formally started on 1 January 1834. However, its foundations had b ...
(German Customs Union) begins the first regular
census in Germany A national census in Germany (german: Volkszählung) was held every five years from 1875 to 1910. After the World Wars, only a few full population censuses have been held, the last in 1987. The most recent census, though not a national census, wa ...
. *
1854 Events January–March * January 4 – The McDonald Islands are discovered by Captain William McDonald aboard the ''Samarang''. * January 6 – The fictional detective Sherlock Holmes is perhaps born. * January 9 – The Teut ...
Battle of the Eureka Stockade: More than 20 gold miners at
Ballarat, Victoria Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. Within months of Vic ...
, are killed by state troopers in an uprising over mining licences. * 1881 – The first issue of
Tampere Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population o ...
an daily newspaper ''
Aamulehti (Finnish for "morning newspaper") is a Finnish-language daily newspaper published in Tampere, Finland. History and profile ''Aamulehti'' was founded in 1881 to "improve the position of the Finnish people and the Finnish language" during Russi ...
'' ("Morning Paper") is published. *
1898 Events January–March * January 1 – New York City annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York as the world's second largest. The city is geographically divided into five boroughs: Manhattan, B ...
– The
Duquesne Country and Athletic Club 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 1 ...
defeats an all-star collection of early football players 16–0, in what is considered to be the very first
all-star game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or div ...
for professional
American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
.


1901–present

*
1901 Events January * January 1 – The Crown colony, British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria (Australia), Victoria and Western Australia Federation of Australia, federate as the Australia, ...
– In a State of the Union message, U.S. President
Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
delivers a 20,000-word speech to the
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
asking Congress to curb the power of trusts "within reasonable limits". *
1904 Events January * January 7 – The distress signal ''CQD'' is established, only to be replaced 2 years later by ''SOS''. * January 8 – The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library system. * ...
– The Jovian moon Himalia is discovered by
Charles Dillon Perrine Charles Dillon Perrine (July 28, 1867June 21, 1951) was an American astronomer at the Lick Observatory in California (1893-1909) who moved to Cordoba, Argentina to accept the position of Director of the Argentine National Observatory (1909-1936). ...
at California's
Lick Observatory The Lick Observatory is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by the University of California. It is on the summit of Mount Hamilton, in the Diablo Range just east of San Jose, California, United States. The observatory is managed by th ...
. *
1910 Events January * January 13 – The first public radio broadcast takes place; live performances of the operas '' Cavalleria rusticana'' and ''Pagliacci'' are sent out over the airwaves, from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York C ...
– Modern
neon lighting 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 ...
is first demonstrated by
Georges Claude Georges Claude (24 September 187023 May 1960) was a French engineer and inventor. He is noted for his early work on the industrial liquefaction of air, for the invention and commercialization of neon lighting, and for a large experiment on genera ...
at the
Paris Motor Show The Paris Motor Show (french: Mondial de l'Automobile) is a biennial auto show in Paris. Held during October, it is one of the most important auto shows, often with many new production automobile and concept car debuts. The show presently take ...
. *
1912 Events January * January 1 – The Republic of China (1912–49), Republic of China is established. * January 5 – The Prague Conference (6th All-Russian Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party) opens. * January 6 ...
Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
,
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
,
Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...
, and
Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
(the
Balkan League The League of the Balkans was a quadruple alliance formed by a series of bilateral treaties concluded in 1912 between the Eastern Orthodox kingdoms of Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro, and directed against the Ottoman Empire, which at the ...
) sign an armistice with the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
, temporarily halting the
First Balkan War The First Balkan War ( sr, Први балкански рат, ''Prvi balkanski rat''; bg, Балканска война; el, Αʹ Βαλκανικός πόλεμος; tr, Birinci Balkan Savaşı) lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and invo ...
. (The armistice will expire on February 3, 1913, and hostilities will resume.) *
1919 Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off the c ...
– After nearly 20 years of planning and construction, including two collapses causing 89 deaths, the
Quebec Bridge The Quebec Bridge (french: pont de Québec) is a road, rail, and pedestrian bridge across the lower Saint Lawrence River between Sainte-Foy, Quebec City, Sainte-Foy (a former suburb that in 2002 became a western area of Quebec City) and Lévis, Q ...
opens to traffic. *
1920 Events January * January 1 ** Polish–Soviet War in 1920: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20. ** Kauniainen, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its own ma ...
– Following more than a month of
Turkish–Armenian War The Turkish–Armenian war ( hy, Հայ-թուրքական պատերազմ), known in Turkey as the Eastern Front ( tr, Doğu Cephesi) of the Turkish War of Independence, was a conflict between the First Republic of Armenia and the Turkish Na ...
, the Turkish-dictated
Treaty of Alexandropol The Treaty of Alexandropol ( hy, Ալեքսանդրապոլի պայմանագիր; tr, Gümrü Anlaşması) was a peace treaty between the First Republic of Armenia and the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. The treaty ended the Turkish-Armeni ...
is concluded. *
1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...
– President
Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gr ...
delivers his first State of the Union message to Congress. It is presented in the form of a written message rather than a speech. *
1938 Events January * January 1 ** The Constitution of Estonia#Third Constitution (de facto 1938–1940, de jure 1938–1992), new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the a ...
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
issues the Decree on the Utilization of Jewish Property forcing Jews to sell
real property In English common law, real property, real estate, immovable property or, solely in the US and Canada, realty, is land which is the property of some person and all structures (also called improvements or fixtures) integrated with or affixe ...
,
businesses Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit." Having a business name does not separat ...
, and
stocks Stocks are feet restraining devices that were used as a form of corporal punishment and public humiliation. The use of stocks is seen as early as Ancient Greece, where they are described as being in use in Solon's law code. The law describing ...
at below market value as part of
Aryanization Aryanization (german: Arisierung) was the Nazi term for the seizure of property from Jews and its transfer to non-Jews, and the forced expulsion of Jews from economic life in Nazi Germany, Axis-aligned states, and their occupied territories. I ...
. *
1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...
Greek Civil War The Greek Civil War ( el, ο Eμφύλιος όλεμος ''o Emfýlios'' 'Pólemos'' "the Civil War") took place from 1946 to 1949. It was mainly fought against the established Kingdom of Greece, which was supported by the United Kingdom ...
:
Fighting Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...
breaks out in
Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
between the
ELAS The Greek People's Liberation Army ( el, Ελληνικός Λαϊκός Απελευθερωτικός Στρατός (ΕΛΑΣ), ''Ellinikós Laïkós Apeleftherotikós Stratós'' (ELAS) was the military arm of the left-wing National Liberat ...
and government forces supported by the
British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
. *
1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...
– The current
flag of Singapore The Flag of Singapore was adopted in 1959, the year Singapore became self-governing within the British Empire. It remained the national flag upon the country's independence from Malaysia on 9 August 1965. The design is a horizontal bicolour of ...
is adopted, six months after
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
became self-governing within the
British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
. *
1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...
– The musical ''
Camelot Camelot is a castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described as the ...
'' debuts at the
Majestic Theatre Majestic Theatre or Majestic Theater may refer to: Australia * Majestic Theatre, Adelaide, former name of a theatre in King William Street, Adelaide, built 1916, now demolished *Majestic Theatre, Launceston, a former cinema in Tasmania designed by ...
on
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
. It will become associated with the
Kennedy administration John F. Kennedy's tenure as the 35th president of the United States, began with his inauguration on January 20, 1961, and ended with his assassination on November 22, 1963. A Democrat from Massachusetts, he took office following the 1960 p ...
. *
1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...
– At
Groote Schuur Hospital Groote Schuur Hospital is a large, government-funded, 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-huma ...
in
Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
, South Africa, a transplant team headed by
Christiaan Barnard Christiaan Neethling Barnard (8 November 1922 – 2 September 2001) was a South African cardiac surgeon who performed the world's first human-to-human heart transplant operation. On 3 December 1967, Barnard transplanted the heart of accident-v ...
carries out the first
heart transplant A heart transplant, or a cardiac transplant, is a surgical transplant procedure performed on patients with end-stage heart failure or severe coronary artery disease when other medical or surgical treatments have failed. , the most common proce ...
on a human (53-year-old
Louis Washkansky Louis Joshua Washkansky (12 April 1912 – 21 December 1967) was a South African man who was the recipient of the world's first human-to-human heart transplant, and the first patient to regain consciousness following the operation. Washkansky l ...
). *
1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 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 Decem ...
: Pakistan launches a pre-emptive strike against India and a full-scale war begins. *
1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...
Spantax Flight 275 Spantax Flight 275, registration number EC-BZR, was a Convair 990 Coronado charter flight operated by Spantax from Tenerife to Munich with 148 passengers and 7 crew. On December 3, 1972, the plane crashed while taking off from Tenerife-Norte ...
crashes during takeoff from
Tenerife North–Ciudad de La Laguna Airport Tenerife North–Ciudad de La Laguna Airport , formerly Los Rodeos Airport, is the smaller of the two international airports on the island of Tenerife, Spain. It is located in San Cristóbal de La Laguna, by road from Santa Cruz and at an ele ...
, killing all 155 people on board. *
1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...
Pioneer program The Pioneer programs were two series of United States lunar and planetary space probes exploration. The first program, which ran from 1958 to 1960, unsuccessfully attempted to send spacecraft to orbit the Moon, successfully sent one spacecraft to ...
:
Pioneer 10 ''Pioneer 10'' (originally designated Pioneer F) is an American space probe, launched in 1972 and weighing , that completed the first mission to the planet Jupiter. Thereafter, ''Pioneer 10'' became the first of five artificial objects to ach ...
sends back the first close-up images of
Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but ...
. *
1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
– In
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
, 11 fans are suffocated in a crush for seats on the concourse outside
Riverfront Coliseum Heritage Bank Center is an indoor arena located in downtown Cincinnati, next to the Great American Ball Park. It was completed in September 1975 and named Riverfront Coliseum because of its placement next to Riverfront Stadium. In 1997, the fac ...
before a
Who Who or WHO may refer to: * Who (pronoun), an interrogative or relative pronoun * Who?, one of the Five Ws in journalism * World Health Organization Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Who, a creature in the Dr. Seuss book '' Horton He ...
concert. * 1979 –
Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynas ...
: Ayatollah
Ruhollah Khomeini Ruhollah Khomeini, Ayatollah Khomeini, Imam Khomeini ( , ; ; 17 May 1900 – 3 June 1989) was an Iranian political and religious leader who served as the first supreme leader of Iran from 1979 until his death in 1989. He was the founder of ...
becomes the first
Supreme Leader of Iran The Supreme Leader of Iran ( fa, رهبر ایران, rahbar-e irān) is the List of heads of state of Iran, head of state of the Iran, Islamic Republic of Iran. The Supreme Leader directs the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, executiv ...
. *
1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...
– A soil sample is taken from
Times Beach, Missouri Times Beach is a ghost town in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States, southwest of St. Louis and east of Eureka. Once home to more than two thousand people, the town was completely evacuated early in 1983 due to TCDD—also known as dioxin ...
, that will be found to contain 300 times the safe level of
dioxin Dioxin may refer to: * 1,2-Dioxin or 1,4-Dioxin, two unsaturated heterocyclic 6-membered rings where two carbon atoms have been replaced by oxygen atoms, giving the molecular formula C4H4O2 *Dibenzo-1,4-dioxin, the parent compound also known as ...
. *
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...
Bhopal disaster The Bhopal disaster, also referred to as the Bhopal gas tragedy, was a chemical accident on the night of 2–3 December 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India. Considered the world's wo ...
: A
methyl isocyanate Methyl isocyanate (MIC) is an organic compound with the molecular formula CH3NCO. Synonyms are isocyanatomethane and methyl carbylamine. Methyl isocyanate is an intermediate chemical in the production of carbamate pesticides (such as carbaryl, c ...
leak from a
Union Carbide Union Carbide Corporation is an American chemical corporation wholly owned subsidiary (since February 6, 2001) by Dow Chemical Company. Union Carbide produces chemicals and polymers that undergo one or more further conversions by customers befor ...
pesticide plant in
Bhopal Bhopal (; ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of both Bhopal district and Bhopal division. It is known as the ''City of Lakes'' due to its various natural and artificial lakes. It i ...
, 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. *
1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
– In a
meeting A meeting is when two or more people come together to discuss one or more topics, often in a formal or business setting, but meetings also occur in a variety of other environments. Meetings can be used as form of group decision making. Defini ...
off the coast of Malta, U.S. President
George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...
and Soviet General Secretary
Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet politician who served as the 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...
release statements indicating that the
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
between
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
and the
Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republic ...
may be coming to an end. *
1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...
– The Greek
oil tanker 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 crud ...
''Aegean Sea'', carrying 80,000 tonnes of
crude oil Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crude ...
, runs aground in a storm while approaching
A Coruña A Coruña (; es, La Coruña ; historical English: Corunna or The Groyne) is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. A Coruña is the most populated city in Galicia and the second most populated municipality in the autonomous community and s ...
, Spain, and spills much of its cargo. * 1992 – A test engineer for
Sema Group 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. History The Company was founded in 1988 by the merger of t ...
uses a personal computer to send the world's first
text message Text messaging, or texting, is the act of composing and sending electronic messages, typically consisting of alphabetic and numeric characters, between two or more users of mobile devices, desktops/ laptops, or another type of compatible comput ...
via the
Vodafone Vodafone Group Public limited company, plc () is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Telephone company, telecommunications company. Its registered office and Headquarters, global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It ...
network to the phone of a colleague. *
1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...
– Taiwan holds its first full local elections;
James Soong James Soong Chu-yu (born 16 March 1942) is a Taiwanese politician. He is the founder and current Chairman of the People First Party. Born to a Kuomintang military family of Hunanese origin, Soong began his political career as a secretary to ...
elected as the first and only directly elected Governor of Taiwan,
Chen Shui-bian Chen Shui-bian (; born 12 October 1950) is a retired Taiwanese politician and lawyer who served as the president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 2000 to 2008. Chen was the first president from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) whic ...
became the first directly elected Mayor of Taipei,
Wu Den-yih Wu may refer to: States and regions on modern China's territory *Wu (state) (; och, *, italic=yes, links=no), a kingdom during the Spring and Autumn Period 771–476 BCE ** Suzhou or Wu (), its eponymous capital ** Wu County (), a former county i ...
became the first directly elected Mayor of Kaohsiung. *
1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...
Cameroon Airlines Flight 3701 crashes on approach to
Douala International Airport MD-Douala International Airport (french: link=no, Aéroport international MD-Douala) is an international airport located in Douala, the largest city in Cameroon and the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Region. With its 4 terminals and an averag ...
in
Douala Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and its economic capital. It is also the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Region (Cameroon), Littoral Region. Home to Central Africa's largest port and its major international airport, Douala International Ai ...
,
Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
, killing 71 of the 76 people on board. *
1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...
– In
Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
, Canada, representatives from 121 countries sign the
Ottawa Treaty The Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction of 1997, known informally as the Ottawa Treaty, the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, or often simply the Mine ...
prohibiting manufacture and deployment of anti-personnel landmines. The United States, People's Republic of China, and Russia do not sign the treaty, however. *
1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
loses radio contact with the
Mars Polar Lander The Mars Polar Lander, also known as the Mars Surveyor '98 Lander, was a 290-kilogram robotic spacecraft lander launched by NASA on January 3, 1999, to study the soil and climate of Planum Australe, a region near the south pole on Mars. It for ...
moments before the spacecraft enters the
Martian atmosphere The atmosphere of Mars is the layer of gases surrounding Mars. It is primarily composed of carbon dioxide (95%), molecular nitrogen (2.8%), and argon (2%). It also contains trace levels of water vapor, oxygen, carbon monoxide, hydrogen, and no ...
. *
2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
XCOR Aerospace 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 Netherla ...
makes the first manned rocket aircraft delivery of U.S. Mail in
Kern County, California Kern County is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield, California, Bakersfield. Kern County comprise ...
. *
2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
Winter storms cause the Chehalis River to flood many cities in
Lewis County, Washington Lewis County is a county in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 82,149. The county seat is Chehalis, and its largest city is Centralia. Lewis County comprises the Centralia, WA Micropolitan Statisti ...
, and close a portion of
Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Califor ...
for several days. At least eight deaths and billions of dollars in damages are blamed on the floods. *
2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
– A
suicide bombing A suicide attack is any violent attack, usually entailing the attacker detonating an explosive, where the attacker has accepted their own death as a direct result of the attacking method used. Suicide attacks have occurred throughout histor ...
at a hotel in
Mogadishu Mogadishu (, also ; so, Muqdisho or ; ar, مقديشو ; it, Mogadiscio ), locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and List of cities in Somalia by population, most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port ...
,
Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
, kills 25 people, including three ministers of the
Transitional Federal Government The Transitional Federal Government (TFG) ( so, Dowladda Federaalka Kumeelgaarka, ar, الحكومة الاتحادية الانتقالية) was internationally recognized as a provisional government of the Republic of Somalia from 14 October ...
. *
2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
– At least 475 people are killed after
Typhoon Bopha Typhoon Bopha, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Pablo, was the strongest tropical cyclone on record to ever affect the southern Philippine island of Mindanao, making landfall as a Category 5 super typhoon with winds of 175 mph (2 ...
makes landfall in the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
. *
2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
– The Japanese space agency,
JAXA The is the Japanese national air and space agency. Through the merger of three previously independent organizations, JAXA was formed on 1 October 2003. JAXA is responsible for research, technology development and launch of satellites into orb ...
, launches the space explorer Hayabusa2 from the Tanegashima Space Center on a six-year round trip mission to an 162173 Ryugu, asteroid to collect rock samples. *2021 – COVID-19 pandemic: New Zealand moves into COVID-19 Protection Framework, COVID-19 Protection Framework (Traffic Light System), moving Auckland out of lockdown for fully vaccinated people.


Births


Pre-1600

*1368 – Charles VI of France (d. 1422) *1447 – Bayezid II, Ottoman sultan (d. 1512) *1483 – Nicolaus von Amsdorf, German theologian and Protestant reformer (d. 1565) *1560 – Jan Gruter, Dutch scholar and critic (d. 1627) *1590 – Daniel Seghers, Flemish Jesuit brother and painter (d. 1661)


1601–1900

*1616 – John Wallis, English mathematician and cryptographer (d. 1703) *1684 – Ludvig Holberg, Norwegian historian and writer (d. 1754) *1722 – Hryhorii Skovoroda, Ukrainian poet, composer, and philosopher (d. 1794) *1729 – Antonio Soler, Spanish composer and theorist (d. 1783) *1730 – Mahadaji Shinde, Maratha Empire, Maratha ruler of Gwalior (d. 1794) *1755 – Gilbert Stuart, American painter (d. 1828) *1793 – Clarkson Frederick Stanfield, English painter and academic (d. 1867) *
1800 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 18), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 12 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 16), ...
– France Prešeren, Slovenian poet and lawyer (d. 1849) *1810 – Louisa Susannah Cheves McCord, American author and political essayist (d. 1879) *1826 – George B. McClellan, American general and politician, 24th Governor of New Jersey (d. 1885) *1827 – Lombe Atthill, Northern Irish obstetrician and gynaecologist (d. 1910) *1833 – Carlos Finlay, Cuban epidemiologist and physician (d. 1915) *1838 – Cleveland Abbe, American meteorologist and academic (d. 1916) * 1838 – Octavia Hill, English activist and author (d. 1912) * 1838 – Princess Louise of Prussia (d. 1923) *1842 – Phoebe Hearst, American philanthropist and activist (d. 1919) * 1842 – Charles Alfred Pillsbury, American businessman, founded the Pillsbury Company (d. 1899) * 1842 – Ellen Swallow Richards, American chemist, ecologist, and educator (d. 1911) *1848 – William Shiels, Irish-Australian politician, 16th Premier of Victoria (d. 1904) *1850 – Richard Butler (Australian politician), Richard Butler, English-Australian politician, 23rd Premier of South Australia (d. 1925) *1856 – George Leake, Australian politician, 3rd Premier of Western Australia (d. 1902) *1857 – Joseph Conrad, Polish-born British novelist (d. 1924) * 1857 – Mathilde Kralik, Austrian pianist and composer (d. 1944) *1863 – Gussie Davis, African-American songwriter (d. 1899) *1864 – Herman Heijermans, Dutch author and playwright (d. 1924) *1867 – William John Bowser, Canadian lawyer and politician, 17th List of premiers of British Columbia, Premier of British Columbia (d. 1933) *1872 – Arthur Charles Hardy, Canadian lawyer and politician, Speaker of the Senate (Canada), Canadian Speaker of the Senate (d. 1962) * 1872 – William Haselden, English cartoonist (d. 1953) * 1875 – Max Meldrum, Scottish-Australian painter and educator (d. 1955) *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 – Kafū Nagai, Japanese author and playwright (d. 1959) * 1879 – Donald Matheson Sutherland, Canadian physician and politician, 5th Minister of National Defence (Canada), Canadian Minister of National Defence (d. 1970) *1880 – Fedor von Bock, German field marshal (d. 1945) *1883 – Anton Webern, Austrian composer and conductor (d. 1945) *1884 – Rajendra Prasad, Indian lawyer and politician, 1st President of India (d. 1963) * 1884 – Walther Stampfli, Swiss lawyer and politician, 50th List of Presidents of the Swiss Confederation, President of the Swiss Confederation (d. 1965) *1886 – Manne Siegbahn, Swedish physicist and academic, Nobel Prize in Physics, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1978) *1887 – Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni, Japanese general and politician, 43rd Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1990) *1891 – Thomas Farrell (general), Thomas Farrell, American general (d. 1967) *1894 – Deiva Zivarattinam, Indian lawyer and politician (d. 1975) *1895 – Anna Freud, Austrian-English psychologist and psychoanalyst (d. 1982) * 1895 – Sheng Shicai, Chinese warlord (d. 1970) *1897 – William Gropper, American cartoonist and painter (d. 1977) *1899 – Hayato Ikeda, Japanese politician, 58th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1965) * 1899 – Howard Kinsey, American tennis player (d. 1966) *1900 – Albert Hawke, Australian politician, 18th Premier of Western Australia (d. 1986) * 1900 – Ulrich Inderbinen, Swiss mountaineer (d. 2004) * 1900 – Richard Kuhn, Austrian-German biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1967)


1901–present

*
1901 Events January * January 1 – The Crown colony, British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria (Australia), Victoria and Western Australia Federation of Australia, federate as the Australia, ...
– Glenn Hartranft, American shot putter and discus thrower (d. 1970) * 1901 – Mildred Wiley, American high jumper (d. 2000) *1902 – Mitsuo Fuchida, Japanese captain and pilot (d. 1976) * 1902 – Feliks Kibbermann, Estonian chess player and philologist (d. 1993) *
1904 Events January * January 7 – The distress signal ''CQD'' is established, only to be replaced 2 years later by ''SOS''. * January 8 – The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library system. * ...
– Edgar Moon, Australian tennis player (d. 1976) *1905 – Les Ames, English cricketer (d. 1990) *1907 – Connee Boswell, American jazz singer (d. 1976) *1911 – Nino Rota, Italian pianist, composer, conductor, and academic (d. 1979) *1914 – Irving Fine, American composer and academic (d. 1962) *1918 – Abdul Haris Nasution, Indonesian general and politician, 12th Ministry of Defence (Indonesia), Indonesian Minister of Defence (d. 2000) *
1919 Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off the c ...
– Charles Lynch (journalist), Charles Lynch, Canadian journalist and author (d. 1994) *1921 – Phyllis Curtin, American soprano and academic (d. 2016) * 1921 – John Doar, American lawyer and activist (d. 2014) *1922 – Len Lesser, American actor (d. 2011) * 1922 – Eli Mandel, Canadian poet, critic, and academic (d. 1992) * 1922 – Sven Nykvist, Swedish director and cinematographer (d. 2006) *1923 – Trevor Bailey, English cricketer and sportscaster (d. 2011) * 1923 – Stjepan Bobek, Croatian-Serbian footballer and manager (d. 2010) * 1923 – Moyra Fraser, Australian-English actress, singer, and dancer (d. 2009) *1924 – Wiel Coerver, Dutch footballer and manager (d. 2011) * 1924 – F. Sionil José, Filipino journalist, writer and author (d. 2022) * 1924 – Roberto Mieres, Argentinian race car driver and sailor (d. 2012) *1925 – Ferlin Husky, American country music singer (d. 2011) *1927 – Andy Williams, American singer (d. 2012) *1928 – Thomas M. Foglietta, American politician and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Italy (d. 2004) * 1928 – Muhammad Habibur Rahman, Indian-Bangladeshi jurist and politician, List of Prime Ministers of Bangladesh, Prime Minister of Bangladesh (d. 2014) *
1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...
– John S. Dunne, American priest and theologian (d. 2013) *1930 – Jean-Luc Godard, French-Swiss director and screenwriter (d. 2022) * 1930 – Raul M. Gonzalez, Filipino lawyer and politician, 42nd Secretary of Justice (Philippines), Filipino Secretary of Justice (d. 2014) * 1930 – Yves Trudeau (artist), Yves Trudeau, Canadian sculptor (d. 2017) *1931 – Franz Josef Degenhardt, German author and poet (d. 2011) * 1931 – Jaye P. Morgan, American singer and actress *1932 – Takao Fujinami, Japanese lawyer and politician (d. 2007) *1933 – Paul J. Crutzen, Dutch chemist and engineer, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2021) *1934 – Nicolas Coster, British-American actor * 1934 – Viktor Gorbatko, Russian general, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2017) * 1934 – Abimael Guzmán, Peruvian philosopher and academic (d. 2021) *1935 – Eddie Bernice Johnson, American nurse and politician *1937 – Bobby Allison, American race car driver and businessman * 1937 – Morgan Llywelyn, American-Irish model and author * 1937 – Binod Bihari Verma, Indian physician and author (d. 2003) *
1938 Events January * January 1 ** The Constitution of Estonia#Third Constitution (de facto 1938–1940, de jure 1938–1992), new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the a ...
– Jean-Claude Malépart, Canadian lawyer and politician (d. 1989) * 1938 – Sally Shlaer, American mathematician and engineer (d. 1998) *1939 – John Paul Sr. (racing driver), John Paul, Sr., Dutch-American race car driver * 1939 – David Phillips (chemist), David Phillips, English chemist and academic *1940 – Jeffrey R. Holland, American academic and religious leader *1942 – Mike Gibson (rugby union), Mike Gibson, Northern Irish-Irish rugby player * 1942 – Pedro Rocha (Uruguayan footballer), Pedro Rocha, Uruguayan footballer and manager (d. 2013) * 1942 – Alice Schwarzer, German journalist and publisher, founded ''EMMA (magazine), EMMA Magazine'' * 1942 – David K. Shipler, American journalist and author *1943 – J. Philippe Rushton, English-Canadian psychologist and academic (d. 2012) * 1943 – Joseph Franklin Ada, Guamanian lawyer and politician, 5th Governor of Guam *
1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...
– Ralph McTell, English singer-songwriter and guitarist * 1944 – Craig Raine, English poet, author, and playwright * 1944 – António Variações, Portuguese musician (d. 1984) *1948 – Jan Hrubý, Czech violinist and songwriter * 1948 – Maxwell Hutchinson, English architect and television host * 1948 – Ozzy Osbourne, English singer-songwriter *1949 – Heather Menzies, Canadian-American actress (d. 2017) * 1949 – Mickey Thomas (singer), Mickey Thomas, American singer-songwriter *1950 – Alberto Juantorena, Cuban runner *1951 – Mike Bantom, American basketball player and manager * 1951 – Ray Candy, American wrestler and trainer (d. 1994) * 1951 – Rick Mears, American race car driver * 1951 – Mike Stock (musician), Mike Stock, English songwriter, record producer, and musician *1952 – Don Barnes, American singer-songwriter and guitarist * 1952 – Benny Hinn, Israeli-American evangelist and author * 1952 – Duane Roland, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 2006) *1953 – Franz Klammer, Austrian skier and race car driver * 1953 – Rob Waring, American-Norwegian vibraphonist and contemporary composer *1954 – Grace Andreacchi, American-English author, poet, and playwright *1956 – Ewa Kopacz, Polish physician and politician, 15th Prime Minister of Poland *1957 – Maxim Korobov, Russian businessman and politician *
1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...
– Eamonn Holmes, Irish journalist and game show host *
1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...
– Daryl Hannah, American actress and producer * 1960 – Igor Larionov, Russian ice hockey player * 1960 – Julianne Moore, American actress and author * 1960 – Mike Ramsey (ice hockey), Mike Ramsey, American ice hockey player and coach *1962 – Richard Bacon (politician), Richard Bacon, English banker, journalist, and politician * 1962 – Nataliya Grygoryeva (hurdler), Nataliya Grygoryeva, Ukrainian hurdler *1963 – Joe Lally, American singer-songwriter and bass player * 1963 – Terri Schiavo, American medical patient (d. 2005) *1964 – Darryl Hamilton, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 2015) *1965 – Andrew Stanton, American voice actor, director, producer, screenwriter * 1965 – Katarina Witt, German figure skater and actress *1966 – Flemming Povlsen, Danish footballer and manager * 1966 – Irina Zhuk, Russian figure skater and coach *
1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...
– Marie Françoise Ouedraogo, Burkinabé mathematician *1968 – Brendan Fraser, American actor and producer * 1968 – Montell Jordan, American singer-songwriter and producer *1969 – Bill Steer, English guitarist and songwriter * 1969 – Hal Steinbrenner, American businessman *1970 – Paul Byrd, American baseball player * 1970 – Lindsey Hunter, American basketball player and coach * 1970 – Christian Karembeu, French footballer * 1970 – Laura Schuler, Canadian ice hockey player and coach *
1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...
– Heiko Herrlich, German footballer and manager * 1971 – Frank Sinclair, English-Jamaican footballer and manager * 1971 – Henk Timmer (footballer), Henk Timmer, Dutch footballer and manager * 1971 – Vernon White (fighter), Vernon White, American mixed martial artist and wrestler *
1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...
– Danilo Goffi, Italian runner *
1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...
– Holly Marie Combs, American actress and producer * 1973 – MC Frontalot, American rapper * 1973 – Charl Willoughby, South African cricketer *1974 – Lucette Rådström, Swedish journalist *1976 – Mark Boucher, South African cricketer * 1976 – Gary Glover, American baseball player * 1976 – Cornelius Griffin, American football player * 1976 – Byron Kelleher, New Zealand rugby player * 1976 – Tomotaka Okamoto (singer), Tomotaka Okamoto, Japanese soprano *1977 – Chad Durbin, American baseball player * 1977 – Troy Evans (American football), Troy Evans, American football player * 1977 – Adam Małysz, Polish ski jumper and race car driver * 1977 – Yelena Zadorozhnaya, Russian runner *1978 – Trina, American rapper and producer * 1978 – Daniel Alexandersson, Swedish footballer * 1978 – Jiří Bicek, Slovak ice hockey player * 1978 – Bram Tankink, Dutch cyclist *
1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
– Daniel Bedingfield, New Zealand-English singer-songwriter * 1979 – Rock Cartwright, American football player * 1979 – Tiffany Haddish, American comedian and actress *1980 – Anna Chlumsky, American actress * 1980 – Jenna Dewan, American actress and dancer *1981 – Ioannis Amanatidis, Greek footballer * 1981 – Tyjuan Hagler, American football player * 1981 – Edwin Valero, Venezuelan boxer (d. 2010) * 1981 – David Villa, Spanish footballer *
1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...
– Manny Corpas, Panamanian baseball player * 1982 – Michael Essien, Ghanaian footballer * 1982 – Dascha Polanco, Dominican-American actress * 1982 – Franco Sbaraglini, Argentinian-Italian rugby player *1983 – Stephen Donald, New Zealand rugby player * 1983 – Sherri DuPree, American singer-songwriter and guitarist * 1983 – Andy Grammer, American singer, songwriter, and record producer * 1983 – James Ihedigbo, American football player * 1983 – Aleksey Drozdov, Russian decathlete *
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...
– Avraam Papadopoulos, Greek footballer * 1984 – Manuel Arana, Spanish footballer *1985 – Nina Ansaroff, American martial artist * 1985 – László Cseh, Hungarian swimmer * 1985 – Mike Randolph, American soccer player * 1985 – Amanda Seyfried, American actress * 1985 – Robert Swift, American basketball player * 1985 – Marcus Williams (basketball, born 1985), Marcus Williams, American basketball player *1987 – Michael Angarano, American actor, director, and screenwriter * 1987 – Erik Grönwall, Swedish singer-songwriter * 1987 – Brian Robiskie, American football player * 1987 – Alicia Sacramone, American gymnast *1988 – Melissa Aldana, Chilean saxophonist *
1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
– Alex McCarthy, English footballer * 1989 – Selçuk Alibaz, Turkish footballer * 1989 – Tomasz Narkun, Polish mixed martial artist *1990 – Christian Benteke, Belgian footballer * 1990 – Sharon Fichman, Canadian-Israeli tennis player *1991 – Ekaterine Gorgodze, Georgian tennis player *
1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...
– Cristian Ceballos, Spanish footballer *
1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...
– Solomone Kata, New Zealand rugby league player * 1994 – Lil Baby, American rapper * 1994 – Bernarda Pera, American tennis player


Deaths


Pre-1600

*AD 311, 311 – Diocletian, Roman emperor (b. 244) * 649 – Birinus, French-English bishop and saint (b. 600) * 860 – Abbo of Auxerre, Abbo, bishop of Ancient Diocese of Auxerre, Auxerre * 937 – Siegfried, Count of Merseburg, Siegfried, Frankish Nobility, nobleman * 978 – Pope Abraham of Alexandria, Abraham, Coptic pope of Alexandria *1038 – Emma of Lesum, Saxon countess and Saint *1099 – Osmund (bishop of Salisbury), Saint Osmund (b. 1065) *1154 – Pope Anastasius IV (b. 1073) *1265 – Odofredus, Italian lawyer and jurist *1266 – Henry III the White, Duke of Wroclaw *1309 – Henry III, Duke of Głogów (b. 1251/60) *1322 – Maud Chaworth, Countess of Leicester (b. 1282) *1532 – Louis II, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken (b. 1502) *1533 – Vasili III of Russia (b. 1479) *1542 – Jean Tixier de Ravisi, French scholar and academic (b. 1470) *1552 – Francis Xavier, Spanish missionary and saint (b. 1506) *1592 – Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma (b. 1545)


1601–1900

*1610 – Honda Tadakatsu, Japanese general and daimyō (b. 1548) *1668 – William Cecil, 2nd Earl of Salisbury (b. 1591) *1691 – Katherine Jones, Viscountess Ranelagh, British scientist (b. 1615) *1706 – Countess Emilie Juliane of Barby-Mühlingen (b. 1637) *1752 – Henri-Guillaume Hamal, Walloon musician and composer (b. 1685) *1765 – Lord John Sackville, English cricketer and politician (b. 1713) *1789 – Claude Joseph Vernet, French painter (b. 1714) *1815 – John Carroll (bishop), John Carroll, American archbishop (b. 1735) *1876 – Samuel Cooper (general), Samuel Cooper, American general (b. 1798) *1882 – Archibald Tait, Scottish-English archbishop (b. 1811) *1888 – Carl Zeiss, German physicist and lens maker, created the optical instrument (b. 1816) *1890 – Billy Midwinter, English-Australian cricketer (b. 1851) *1892 – Afanasy Fet, Russian author and poet (b. 1820) *1894 – Robert Louis Stevenson, Scottish novelist, poet, and essayist (b. 1850)


1901–present

*1902 – Robert Lawson (architect), Robert Lawson, New Zealand architect, designed the Otago Boys' High School and Knox Church, Dunedin, Knox Church (b. 1833) *
1904 Events January * January 7 – The distress signal ''CQD'' is established, only to be replaced 2 years later by ''SOS''. * January 8 – The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library system. * ...
– David Bratton, American water polo player (b. 1869) *
1910 Events January * January 13 – The first public radio broadcast takes place; live performances of the operas '' Cavalleria rusticana'' and ''Pagliacci'' are sent out over the airwaves, from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York C ...
– Mary Baker Eddy, American religious leader and author, founded Christian Science (b. 1821) *
1912 Events January * January 1 – The Republic of China (1912–49), Republic of China is established. * January 5 – The Prague Conference (6th All-Russian Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party) opens. * January 6 ...
– Prudente de Morais, Brazilian lawyer and politician, 3rd President of Brazil (b. 1841) *1917 – Harold Garnett, English-French cricketer (b. 1879) *
1919 Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off the c ...
– Pierre-Auguste Renoir, French painter and sculptor (b. 1841) *1928 – Ezra Meeker, American farmer and politician (b. 1830) *1934 – Charles James O'Donnell, Irish lawyer and politician (b. 1849) *1935 – Princess Victoria of the United Kingdom (b. 1868) *1937 – William Propsting, Australian politician, 20th Premier of Tasmania (b. 1861) *1941 – Pavel Filonov, Russian painter and poet (b. 1883) *1949 – Maria Ouspenskaya, Russian-American actress and educator (b. 1876) *1952 – Rudolf Margolius, Czech lawyer and politician (b. 1913) *1956 – Manik Bandopadhyay, Indian author, poet, and playwright (b. 1908) * 1956 – Alexander Rodchenko, Russian sculptor, photographer, and graphic designer (b. 1891) *
1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...
– Harry Wismer, American football player and sportscaster (b. 1913) *
1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...
– William Manuel Johnson, American bassist (b. 1872) *
1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...
– Emile Christian, American trombonist, cornet player, and composer (b. 1895) * 1973 – Adolfo Ruiz Cortines, President of Mexico, 1952-1958 (b. 1889) *
1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
– Dhyan Chand, Indian field hockey player and coach (b. 1905) *1980 – Oswald Mosley, English lieutenant, fascist, and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (b. 1896) *1981 – Walter Knott, American farmer, founded Knott's Berry Farm (b. 1889) * 1981 – Joel Rinne, Finnish actor (b. 1897) *
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...
– Vladimir Abramovich Rokhlin, Azerbaijani-Russian mathematician and academic (b. 1919) *
1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
– Fernando Martín Espina, Spanish basketball player (b. 1962) * 1989 – Connie B. Gay, American businessman, founded the Country Music Association (b. 1914) *1993 – Lewis Thomas, American physician, etymologist, and academic (b. 1913) *1996 – Georges Duby, French historian and author (b. 1919) *1998 – Pierre Hétu, Canadian pianist and conductor (b. 1936) *
1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...
– John Archer (actor), John Archer, American actor (b. 1915) * 1999 – Scatman John, American singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1942) * 1999 – Madeline Kahn, American actress, comedian, and singer (b. 1942) * 1999 – Horst Mahseli, Polish footballer (b. 1934) * 1999 – Jarl Wahlström, Finnish 12th General of The Salvation Army (b. 1918) *2000 – Gwendolyn Brooks, American poet and educator (b. 1917) * 2000 – Hoyt Curtin, American composer and producer (b. 1922) *2002 – Adrienne Adams, American illustrator (b. 1906) * 2002 – Glenn Quinn, Irish-American actor (b. 1970) *2003 – David Hemmings, English actor (b. 1941) * 2003 – Sita Ram Goel, Indian historian, publisher and writer (b. 1921) *2004 – Shiing-Shen Chern, Chinese-American mathematician and academic (b. 1911) *
2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
– Frederick Ashworth, American admiral (b. 1912) * 2005 – Herb Moford, American baseball player (b. 1928) * 2005 – Kikka Sirén, Finnish pop/schlager singer (b. 1964) *
2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
– James Kemsley, Australian cartoonist and actor (b. 1948) *2008 – Robert Zajonc, Polish-American psychologist and author (b. 1923) *
2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
– Leila Lopes (Brazilian actress), Leila Lopes, Brazilian actress and journalist (b. 1959) * 2009 – Richard Todd, Irish-born British soldier and actor (b. 1919) *2010 – Abdumalik Bahori, Azerbaijani poet and author (b. 1927) *2011 – Dev Anand, Indian actor, director, and producer (b. 1923) *
2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
– Jules Mikhael Al-Jamil, Iraqi-Lebanese archbishop (b. 1938) * 2012 – Kuntal Chandra, Bangladeshi cricketer (b. 1984) * 2012 – Fyodor Khitruk, Russian animator, director, and screenwriter (b. 1917) * 2012 – Diego Mendieta, Paraguayan footballer (b. 1980) * 2012 – Janet Shaw (cyclist), Janet Shaw, Australian cyclist and author (b. 1966) *2013 – Paul Aussaresses, French general (b. 1918) * 2013 – Reda Mahmoud Hafez Mohamed, Egyptian air marshal (b. 1952) * 2013 – Ahmed Fouad Negm, Egyptian poet and educator (b. 1929) *
2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
– Herman Badillo, Puerto Rican-American lawyer and politician (b. 1929) * 2014 – Jacques Barrot, French politician, List of European Commissioners by nationality#France, French European Commissioner (b. 1937) * 2014 – Nathaniel Branden, Canadian–American psychotherapist and author (b. 1930) * 2014 – Ian McLagan, English-American singer-songwriter and keyboard player (b. 1945) * 2014 – James Stewart (mathematician), James Stewart, Canadian mathematician and academic (b. 1941) *2015 – Gladstone Anderson, Jamaican singer and pianist (b. 1934) * 2015 – Eevi Huttunen, Finnish speed skater (b. 1922) * 2015 – Scott Weiland, American singer-songwriter (b. 1967)


Holidays and observances

* Christian feast day: ** Abbo of Auxerre ** Pope Abraham of Alexandria (Coptic Orthodox Christian, Coptic, 6 Koiak)) ** Adrian of May, Adrian (Ethernan) ** Birinus ** Cassian of Tangier ** Emma of Lesum, Emma (of Lesum or of Bremen) ** Francis Xavier ** Blessed Johann Nepomuk von Tschiderer zu Gleifheim ** Zephaniah ** December 3 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) * National Doctors' Day, Doctors' Day (Cuba) * United Nations' International Day of Persons with Disabilities, International Day of Persons with Disabilities


References


External links


BBC: On This Day
*
Historical Events on December 3

Today in Canadian History
{{months Days of the year December