December 3

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December 3 in recent years 2008 (Wednesday)2007 (Monday)2006 (Sunday)2005 (Saturday)2004 (Friday)2003 (Wednesday)2002 (Tuesday)2001 (Monday)2000 (Sunday)

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

1 Events
2 Births
3 Deaths
4 Holidays and observances
5 External links

Events

1800 - War of the Second Coalition: Battle of Hohenlinden, French General Moreau defeats the Austrian Archduke John near Munich decisively, coupled with First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte's victory at Marengo effectively forcing the Austrians to sign an armistice and ending the war.
1805 - Lewis and Clark Expedition mark their explorations from the Missouri River overland to the Columbia River on a pine tree.
1818 - Illinois becomes the 21st U.S. state.
1854 - Eureka Stockade: In what is claimed by many to be the birth of Australian democracy, more than 20 goldminers at Ballarat, Victoria, Australia are killed by state troopers in an uprising over mining licences.
1901 - US President Theodore Roosevelt delivers a 20,000-word speech to the House of Representatives asking the Congress to curb the power of trusts "within reasonable limits".
1904 - The Jovian moon Himalia is discovered by Charles Dillon Perrine at California's Lick Observatory.
1912 - Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro, and Serbia (the Balkan League) sign an armistice with Turkey, ending the two-month long First Balkan War.
1912 - First Balkan War: The Naval Battle of Elli takes place.
1917 - After nearly 20 years of planning and construction, the Quebec Bridge opens to traffic.
1929 - Great Depression: US President Herbert Hoover announces to the U.S. Congress that the worst effects of the recent stock market crash are behind the nation and the American people have regained faith in the economy.
1944 - The Greek Civil War breaks out in a newly-liberated Greece, between communists and royalists.
1964 - Berkeley Free Speech Movement: Police arrest over 800 students at the University of California, Berkeley, following their takeover and sit-in at the administration building in protest at the UC Regents' decision to forbid protests on UC property.
1967 - 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).
1967 - The luxury train 20th Century Limited completes its last run from New York City to Chicago (the train was inaugurated on June 15, 1902).
1970 - October Crisis: In Montreal, Quebec, kidnapped British Trade Commissioner James Cross is released by the Front de Libération du Québec terrorist group after being held hostage for 60 days. Police negotiate his release and in return the Canadian government grants five terrorists from the FLQ's Chenier Cell their request for safe passage to Cuba.
1971 - Indo-Pakistani War of 1971: India invades East Pakistan and a full scale war begins claiming hundreds of lives.
1973 - Pioneer program: Pioneer 10 sends back the first close-up images of Jupiter.
1976 -An assassination attempt is made on Bob Marley-He is shot twice-plays a concert two days later
1979 - In Cincinnati, Ohio, eleven fans are killed during a stampede for seats before a Who concert at Riverfront Coliseum.
1979 - Shadow Traffic begins broadcasting in the New York City metropolitan area.
1982 - A soil sample is taken from Times Beach, Missouri that will be found to contain 300 times the safe level of dioxin.
1984 - 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 would later die from their injuries) in one of the worst industrial disasters in history.
1989 - Cold War: In a meeting off the coast of Malta, US President George H. W. Bush and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev release statements indicating that the cold war between their nations may be coming to an end (some commentators from both nations exaggerated the wording and independently declared the Cold War over).
1990 - At Detroit Metropolitan Airport, Northwest Airlines Flight 1482 collides with Northwest Airlines Flight 299 on the runway, killing 8 passengers and 4 crew members aboard flight 1482.
1992 - UN Security Council Resolution 794 is unanimously passed, approving a coalition of United Nations peacekeepers led by the United States to form UNITAF, with the task of establishing peace and ensuring that humanitarian aid is distributed in Somalia.
1992 - The Greek oil tanker Aegean Sea, carrying 80,000 tonnes of crude oil, runs aground in a storm while approaching La Coruña, Spain, and spills much of its cargo.
1997 - In Ottawa, Canada, representatives from 121 countries sign a 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.
1999 - NASA loses radio contact with the Mars Polar Lander moments before the spacecraft enters the Martian atmosphere.
2005 - XCOR Aerospace makes first manned rocket aircraft delivery of US Mail in Mojave, California.
2007 - Devastating winter storms caused the Chehalis River to flood many cities in Lewis County, Washington, also closing a 20-mile portion of Interstate 5 for several days. At least eight deaths and billions of dollars of damaged are blamed on the floods.

Births

1368 - King Charles VI of France (d. 1422)
1560 - Jan Gruter, Dutch critic (d. 1627)
1596 - Nicolo Amati, Italian violin maker (d. 1684)
1684 - Ludvig Holberg, Norwegian historian and writer (d. 1754)
1729 - Antonio Soler, Spanish composer (d. 1783)
1755 - Gilbert Stuart, American painter (d. 1828)
1776 - Johann Spurzheim, German neuroscientist (d. 1832)
1800 - France Prešeren, Slovenian poet (d. 1849)
1826 - George B. McClellan, American Civil War general (d. 1885)
1838 - Cleveland Abbe, American meteorologist (d. 1916)
1838 - Octavia Hill, British housing and open-space activist (d. 1912)
1842 - Phoebe Hearst, American socialite (d. 1919)
1842 - Charles Alfred Pillsbury, American industrialist (d. 1899)
1842 - Ellen Swallow Richards, American scientist (d. 1911)
1857 - Joseph Conrad, Polish-born British writer (d. 1924)
1875 - Max Meldrum, Scottish-born Australian painter (d. 1955)
1880 - Fedor von Bock, German field marshal (d. 1945)
1883 - Anton Webern, Austrian composer (d. 1945)
1884 - Rajendra Prasad, first President of India (d. 1963)
1884 - Walther Stampfli, Member of the Swiss Federal Council (d. 1965)
1886 - Manne Siegbahn, Nobel laureate (d. 1978)
1887 - Naruhiko, Prince Higashikuni of Japan (d. 1990)
1895 - Anna Freud, Austrian-born British psychoanalyst (d. 1982)
1899 - Ikeda Hayato, Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1965)
1900 - Ulrich Inderbinen, Swiss mountain guide (d. 2004)
1900 - Richard Kuhn, Austrian-German biochemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1967)
1908 - Edward Underdown, English actor (d. 1989)
1911 - Nino Rota, Italian composer (d. 1979)
1918 - Abdul Haris Nasution, Indonesian general (d. 2000)
1921 - Phyllis Curtin, American soprano
1922 - Sven Nykvist, Swedish cinematographer (d. 2006)
1924 - Roberto Mières, Argentine racing driver
1924 - John Winter, Australian high jumper (d. 2007)
1924 - Francisco Sionil José, Filipino novelist, Philippine National Artist for Literature
1925 - Ferlin Husky, American singer
1925 - Kim Dae Jung, South Korean President, Nobel laureate
1927 - Andy Williams, American singer
1930 - Jean-Luc Godard, French film director
1931 - Franz Josef Degenhardt, German author
1931 - Jaye P. Morgan, American singer
1932 - Corry Brokken, Dutch singer
1933 - Paul J. Crutzen, Dutch chemist, Nobel laureate
1934 - Viktor Gorbatko, Soviet cosmonaut
1937 - Bobby Allison, American race car driver
1937 - Binod Bihari Verma, Indian linguist
1938 - Jean-Claude Malépart, Canadian politician (d. 1989)
1942 - Alice Schwarzer, German journalist
1945 - Paul Nicholas English actor producer
1946 - Joop Zoetemelk, Dutch cyclist
1948 - Ozzy Osbourne, English singer
1949 - John Akii-Bua, Ugandan athlete (d. 1997)
1949 - Heather Menzies, American actress
1949 - Mickey Thomas, American singer (Jefferson Starship)
1951 - Ray Candy, American professional wrestler (d. 1994)
1951 - Riki Chōshū, Japanese professional wrestler
1951 - Rick Mears, American race car driver
1951 - John and Greg Rice, American twin dwarves and commercial and infomercial actors
1952 - Benny Hinn, televangelist
1952 - Mel Smith, English comedian
1953 - Franz Klammer, Austrian skier
1954 - Grace Andreacchi, American author
1955 - Steven Culp, American actor
1955 - Warren Jeffs, American convicted polygamist
1959 - Eamonn Holmes, Northern Irish TV presenter
1960 - Daryl Hannah, American actress
1960 - Igor Larionov, Russian ice hockey player
1960 - Julianne Moore, American actress
1960 - Mike Ramsey, American ice hockey player
1961 - Adal Ramones, Mexican television host
1963 - Joe Lally, American musician (Fugazi)
1963 - Terri Schiavo, center of right to die case (d. 2005)
1965 - Steve Harris, American actor
1965 - Andrew Stanton, American animator
1965 - Katarina Witt, German figure skater
1968 - Brendan Fraser, American actor
1968 - Montell Jordan, American singer, songwriter and record producer
1969 - Bill Steer, British guitarist
1970 - Paul Byrd, American baseball player
1970 - Lindsey Hunter, American basketball player
1970 - Christian Karembeu, French footballer
1971 - Frank Sinclair, Jamaican footballer
1971 - Keegan Connor Tracy, Canadian actress
1971 - Vernon White, American Mixed Martial Artist
1972 - Bucky Lasek, American skateboarder
1973 - Holly Marie Combs, American actress
1973 - Super Crazy, Mexican professional wrestler
1973 - Sammy Leung, Hong Kong disc jockey
1975 - Csaba Czébely, Hungarian drummer (Pokolgép)
1975 - Mickey Avalon, American rapper
1975 - Malinda Williams, African-American actress
1976 - Gary Glover, American baseball player
1976 - Byron Kelleher, New Zealand rugby union footballer
1976 - Mark Boucher, South African cricketer
1976 - Cornelius Griffin, American football player
1977 - Chad Durbin, American baseball player
1977 - Adam Małysz, Polish ski-jumper
1977 - Troy Evans, American football player
1978 - Trina, American rapper
1979 - Daniel Bedingfield, English singer
1979 - Rainbow Sun Francks, Canadian actor
1979 - Rock Cartwright, American football player
1980 - Anna Chlumsky, American actress
1980 - Jenna Dewan, American actress
1980 - Jim Sorgi, American football player
1981 - Ioannis Amanatidis, Greek footballer
1981 - David Villa, Spanish footballer
1981 - Tyjuan Hagler, American football player
1982 - Michael Essien, Ghanaian footballer
1982 - Jaycee Chan, Hong Kong singer and actor
1983 - Sherri DuPree, American vocalist
1984 - Avraam Papadopoulos, Greek footballer
1985 - Amanda Seyfried, American actress
1985 - Marcus Darrell Williams, American basketball player
1987 - Michael Angarano, American actor
1992 - Joseph McManners, English actor
1994 - Jake T. Austin, American actor
2005 - Prince Sverre Magnus of Norway