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.
Up to 1960
- 915 - Pope John X crowns Berengar I of Italy as Holy Roman Emperor.
- 1799 - War of the Second Coalition: Battle of Wiesloch - Austrian Lieutenant Field Marshal Szatary de Nagy-Mihaly defeats the French at Wiesloch.
- 1800 - War of the Second Coalition: Battle of Hohenlinden - French General Moreau decisively defeats Austrian Archduke John.
- 1818 – Illinois becomes the 21st State of the United States.
- 1834 – The Zollverein (German customs union) begins the first regular census in Germany.
- 1854 – Eureka Stockade rebellion occurs in Ballarat, Australia.
- 1904 - Jupiter's Moon Himalia is discovered by Charles Dillon Perrine at the California Lick Observatory.
- 1910 – Modern Neon lighting is first demonstrated by Georges Claude at the Paris Motor Show.
- 1912 - Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro and Serbia sign an armistice.
- 1919 - The Quebec Bridge opens to traffic.
- 1925 - The Locarno Treaty is signed in London, creating post-war territorial settlements.
- 1927 - Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy's first movie, Putting Pants on Philip, is released.
- 1944 - Greek Civil War: Fighting breaks out in Athens between the Greek People's Liberation Army and Government forces supported by the British Army.
- 1959 – The current flag of Singapore is adopted.
- 1960 - The musical Camelot is first shown on Broadway.
From 1961
- 1967 – The first successful heart transplant operation is performed on Louis Washkansky by Dr. Christiaan Barnard in South Africa.
- 1970 – October Crisis: In Montreal, Quebec, British Trade Commissioner James Cross is released by the Front de la Liberation de Quebec, after 60 days in captivity.
- 1971 – Full-scale war erupts between India and Pakistan.
- 1972 - A Spantax Charter flight crashes on Tenerife, killing all 155 people on board.
- 1973 – The Pioneer 10 space probe sends back close-up images of Jupiter.
- 1974 - The Pioneer 11 space probe flies within 43,000 kilometers of Jupiter.
- 1976 – An assassination attempt is made on Bob Marley.
- 1979 - Ayatollah Khomeini becomes the first Supreme Leader of Iran.
- 1979 - In Cincinnati, Ohio, 11 fans are crushed to death in a race for seats before a The Who concert.
- 1984 – A deadly chemical leak occurs in Bhopal, India. 8,000 people die instantly, and thousands die in the years following the accident.
- 1989 – George H. W. Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev meet in Malta, signifying an end to the Cold War.
- 1992 – The Greek oil tanker Aegean Sea, with 80,000 tonnes of crude oil, runs aground off Galicia, causing an oil spill, affecting around 300 kilometres of coastline.
- 1992 - UN Security Resolution 794 is passed, approving UN peacekeepers' intervention in Somalia.
- 1999 – NASA loses radio contact with the Mars Polar Lander before it enters the Martian atmosphere.
- 1999 - Six firefighters are killed in the Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse fire in Massachusetts.
- 2007 – Kevin Rudd becomes Prime Minister of Australia.
- 2007 - Winter storms cause flooding of the Chehalis River in Washington, killing 8 people.
- 2009 – A suicide bombing in Mogadishu, Somalia, kills 25 people.
- 2012 - Typhoon Bopha strikes the Philippines, killing at least 475 people.
Up to 1900
- 1368 – King Charles VI of France (d. 1422)
- 1483 – Nicolaus von Amsdorf, German theologian and reformer (d. 1565)
- 1596 - Nicola Amati, Italian violin maker (d. 1684)
- 1684 – Ludvig Holberg, Danish writer (d. 1754)
- 1722 - Hrihorii Skovoroda, Ukrainian philosopher, poet and composer (d. 1794)
- 1729 – Antonio Soler, Spanish composer (d. 1783)
- 1753 – Samuel Crompton, British inventor (d. 1827)
- 1755 – Gilbert Stuart, American painter (d. 1828)
- 1800 – France Preseren, Slovenian poet (d. 1849)
- 1826 - George B. McClellan, American general and politician, 24th Governor of New Jersey (d. 1885)
- 1833 - Carlos Finlay, Cuban physician and scientist (d. 1915)
- 1838 – Octavia Hill, British social reformer (d. 1912)
- 1842 – Phoebe Hearst, American philanthropist (d. 1919)
- 1842 - Ellen Swallow Richards, American ecologist and chemist (d. 1911)
- 1857 – Joseph Conrad, Polish-born British writer (d. 1924)
- 1864 - Anna Boberg, Swedish artist (d. 1935)
- 1867 - William John Bowser, 17th Premier of British Columbia (d. 1933)
- 1871 - Newton D. Baker, American politician (d. 1937)
- 1875 – Bernhard Lichtenberg, German priest and humanitarian (d. 1943)
- 1875 - Emile Delchambre, French rower (d. 1958)
- 1878 - Francis A. Nixon, American businessman (d. 1956)
- 1879 - Albert Asher, New Zealand rugby player (d. 1965)
- 1879 - Charles Hutchison, American actor, director and screenwriter (d. 1949)
- 1879 - Donald Matheson Sutherland, Canadian physician and politician (d. 1970)
- 1880 - Fedor von Bock, German field marshal (d. 1945)
- 1883 - Anton Webern, Austrian composer (d. 1945)
- 1884 – Rajendra Prasad, first President of India (d. 1963)
- 1884 - Walther Stampfli, Swiss politician (d. 1965)
- 1885 - Edward Lasker, German-American chess and Go player (d. 1981)
- 1886 – Manne Siegbahn, Swedish pacifist (d. 1978)
- 1887 – Prince Higashikuni of Naruhiko, Japanese royal and Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1990)
- 1895 – Anna Freud, Austrian-British psychoanalyst (d. 1982)
- 1895 - Teller Ammons, 27th Governor of Colorado (d. 1972)
- 1899 – Ikeda Hayato, Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1965)
- 1900 – Ulrich Inderbinen, Swiss mountain guide (d. 2004)
- 1900 – Richard Kuhn, Austrian-German biochemist (d. 1967)
1901 – 1950
- 1901 - Mildred Wiley, American high jumper (d. 2000)
- 1902 - Mitsuda Fuchida, Japanese writer (d. 1976)
- 1908 - Edward Underdown, English actor (d. 1989)
- 1911 – Nino Rota, Italian composer (d. 1979)
- 1914 - Irving Fine, American composer (d. 1962)
- 1917 - Wilhelm Brasse, Polish photographer (d. 2012)
- 1917 - Manuel Solis Palma, President of Panama (d. 2009)
- 1920 - Antonio Imbert Barrera, former President of the Dominican Republic (d. 2016)
- 1921 - Phyllis Curtin, American soprano (d. 2016)
- 1921 - John Doar, American lawyer (d. 2014)
- 1922 - Len Lesser, American actor (d. 2011)
- 1922 – Sven Nykvist, Swedish cinematographer (d. 2006)
- 1923 – Stjepan Bobek, Yugoslav-Croatian footballer (d. 2010)
- 1924 – John Backus, American computer programmer (d. 2007)
- 1925 – Kim Dae Jung, President of South Korea (d. 2009)
- 1927 – Andy Williams, American singer (d. 2012)
- 1928 - Muhammad Habibur Rahman, Prime Minister of Bangladesh (d. 2014)
- 1930 – Jean-Luc Godard, French-Swiss movie director and screenwriter
- 1930 - Raul M. Gonzalez, Filipino politician (d. 2014)
- 1930 - Yves Trudeau, Canadian sculptor
- 1931 - Franz Josef Degenhardt, German writer (d. 2011)
- 1931 - Jaye P. Morgan, American singer and actress
- 1932 - Corry Brokken, Dutch singer (d. 2016)
- 1933 – Paul J. Crutzen, Dutch chemist
- 1934 - Viktor Gorbatko, Soviet-Russian cosmonaut
- 1934 - Abimael Guzman, Peruvian revolutionary and leader of the Shining Path
- 1935 - Eddie Bernice Johnson, American politician
- 1936 - Saburo Kawabuchi, Japanese footballer
- 1937 - Bobby Allison, American racing driver
- 1937 - Morgan Llywelyn, American-Irish writer
- 1939 - Lee Israel, American writer and literary forger (d. 2014)
- 1942 – Alice Schwarzer, German journalist, feminist and writer
- 1942 - Mike England, Welsh rugby player
- 1942 - Pedro Rocha, Uruguayan footballer (d. 2013)
- 1943 - Kiyoshi Tomizawa, Japanese footballer
- 1944 - Paul Nicholas, British actor and singer
- 1945 - Bozhidar Dimitrov, Bulgarian politician (d. 2018)
- 1948 – Ozzy Osbourne, English singer
- 1948 - Maxwell Hutchinson, English architect and broadcaster
- 1948 - Ove Joensen, Faroese rower and adventurer (d. 1987)
- 1949 – John Akii-Bua, Ugandan athlete (d. 1997)
- 1949 - Heather Menzies, Canadian-American actress and model (d. 2017)
- 1950 – Alberto Juantorena, Cuban athlete
1951 – 1975
- 1951 – Nicky Stevens, British singer (Brotherhood of Man)
- 1952 – Mel Smith, English comedian (d. 2013)
- 1953 - Franz Klammer, Austrian skier
- 1955 – Warren Jeffs, American polygamist
- 1955 - Alberto Tarantini, Argentine footballer
- 1956 - Ewa Kopacz, former Prime Minister of Poland
- 1959 - Eamonn Holmes, Northern Irish journalist
- 1960 – Daryl Hannah, American actress
- 1960 – Julianne Moore, American actress
- 1960 - Igor Larionov, Russian ice hockey player
- 1960 - Mike Ramsey, American ice hockey player
- 1961 - Adal Ramones, Mexican comedian and actor
- 1963 – Terri Schiavo, American patient in right-to-die case (d. 2005)
- 1964 - Tosh McKinlay, Scottish footballer
- 1965 - Andrew Stanton, American director, screenwriter, producer and voice actor
- 1965 - Katarina Witt, German figure skater
- 1966 - Flemming Povlsen, Danish footballer
- 1968 – Brendan Fraser, American-Canadian actor
- 1970 – Christian Karembeu, French footballer
- 1970 - Lindsey Hunter, American basketball player
- 1971 – Ola Rapace, Swedish actor
- 1971 – Frank Sinclair, Jamaican footballer
- 1971 – Henk Timmer, Dutch footballer
- 1971 - Keegan Connor Tracy, Canadian actress
- 1973 – Holly Marie Combs, American actress
- 1975 - Mickey Avalon, American rapper
From 1976
- 1976 - Byron Kelleher, New Zealand rugby player
- 1977 – Adam Małysz, Polish ski jumper
- 1978 - Dan Snow, British television presenter
- 1979 – Daniel Bedingfield, British singer
- 1980 - Anna Chlumsky, American actress
- 1980 - Jenna Dewan, American actress
- 1981 - Martin Canning, Scottish footballer
- 1981 - Liza Lapira, American actress
- 1981 – David Villa, Spanish footballer
- 1982 – Michael Essien, Ghanaian footballer
- 1983 - Stephen Donald, New Zealand rugby player
- 1985 – Laszlo Cseh, Hungarian swimmer
- 1985 - Amanda Seyfried, American actress
- 1986 - Radek Smolenak, Czech ice hockey player
- 1987 - Michael Angarone, American actor
- 1987 – Alicia Sacramone, American gymnast
- 1990 - Christian Benteke, Belgian footballer
- 1990 - Takuji Yonemoto, Japanese footballer
- 1992 – Joseph McManners, English actor
- 1994 – Jake T. Austin, American actor
- 2005 – Prince Sverre Magnus of Norway
Up to 1900
- 312 – Diocletian, Roman Emperor (b. 244)
- 1048 – Al-Biruni, Iranian mathematician
- 1154 – Pope Anastasius IV
- 1265 – Odofredus, Italian jurist
- 1533 – Vasili III, Grand Prince of Moscow (b. 1479)
- 1552 - Saint Francis Xavier, Spanish missionary (b. 1506)
- 1610 – Honda Tadakatsu, Japanese general (b. 1548)
- 1765 – Lord John Philip Sackville, British cricketer (b. 1713)
- 1789 – Claude Joseph Vernet, French painter (b. 1714)
- 1815 – John Carroll, first Roman Catholic archbishop in the U.S. (b. 1735)
- 1839 – King Frederick VI of Denmark (b. 1768)
- 1845 - Gregor McGregor, Scottish adventurer (b. 1786)
- 1882 – Archibald Campbell Tait, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1811)
- 1888 – Carl Zeiss, German lens maker (b. 1816)
- 1892 – Afanasy Fet, Russian poet (b. 1820)
- 1894 – Robert Louis Stevenson, British writer (b. 1850)
1901 – 2000
- 1902 – Robert Lawson, New Zealand architect (b. 1833)
- 1910 – Mary Baker Eddy, American religious leader (b. 1821)
- 1912 – Prudente José de Morais Barros, President of Brazil (b. 1841)
- 1919 – Pierre-Auguste Renoir, French impressionist painter (b. 1841)
- 1935 – Princess Victoria of the United Kingdom (b. 1868)
- 1939 – Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll (b. 1848)
- 1941 – Christian Sinding, Norwegian composer (b. 1856)
- 1949 – Maria Ouspenskaya, Russian-born American actress (b. 1876)
- 1956 - Mike Bandopadhyay, Indian-Bengali writer (b. 1908)
- 1956 - Alexander Rodchenko, Russian painter and photographer (b. 1881)
- 1972 – Bill Johnson, American musician (b. 1872)
- 1973 – Emile Christian, American musician (b. 1895)
- 1979 – Dhyan Chand, Indian hockey player and Olympic gold medalist (b. 1905)
- 1980 – Oswald Mosley, British politician (b. 1896)
- 1981 – Walter Knott, farmer and creator of Knott's Berry Farm (b. 1889)
- 1984 - Vladimir Rokhlin, Soviet mathematician (b. 1919)
- 1987 – Luis Federico Leloir, Argentine chemist (b. 1906)
- 1989 - Fernando Martín Espina, Spanish basketball player (b. 1962)
- 1996 – Georges Duby, French historian specializing in the Middle Ages (b. 1919)
- 1999 – Jarl Wahlström, the 12th General of The Salvation Army (b. 1918)
- 1999 – Madeline Kahn, American actress and comedian (b. 1942)
- 1999 – Scatman John, American singer (lung cancer) (b. 1942)
- 2000 – Gwendolyn Brooks, American poet (b. 1917)
From 2001
- 2002 – Glenn Quinn, Irish actor (b. 1970)
- 2003 – David Hemmings, British actor (b. 1941)
- 2004 – Shiing-Shen Chern, Chinese mathematician (b. 1911)
- 2004 - Maria Perschy, Austrian actress (b. 1938)
- 2009 – Richard Todd, Irish-born actor (b. 1919)
- 2013 - Ida Pollock, English writer and academic (b. 1908)
- 2013 - Ahmed Fouad Negm, Egyptian poet (b. 1929)
- 2013 - Ronald Hunter, American actor (b. 1943)
- 2014 - Herman Badillo, American politician (b. 1929)
- 2014 - Jacques Barrot, French politician (b. 1937)
- 2014 - Sjefke Janssen, Dutch cyclist (b. 1919)
- 2014 - Ian McLagan, English musician (b. 1945)
- 2014 - Luc Oursel, French businessman (b. 1959)
- 2014 - Giulio Questi, Italian director and screenwriter (b. 1924)
- 2014 - Walter Reyno, Uruguayan actor and director (b. 1935)
- 2014 - Nathaniel Branden, Canadian-American psychotherapist (b. 1930)
- 2015 - Scott Weiland, American musician (b. 1967)
- 2017 - John B. Anderson, American lawyer and politician (b. 1922)
- 2017 - Adam Darius, American dancer and choreographer (b. 1930)
- 2017 - Elmar Faber, German publisher (b. 1934)
- 2017 - Thomas Finlay, Irish judge and politician (b. 1922)
- 2017 - Kjell Opseth, Norwegian politician (b. 1936)
- 2017 - Ian Twitchin, English footballer (b. 1952)
- 2018 - Markus Beyer, German boxer (b. 1971)
- 2018 - Andrei Bitov, Russian writer (b. 1937)
- 2018 - Philip Bosco, American actor (b. 1930)
- 2018 - Geoff Murphy, New Zealand film director (b. 1938)
- 2018 - Josep Lluís Núñez, Spanish businessman (b. 1931)
- 2019 - Rawshan Ara Bachchu, Bangladeshi activist (b. 1932)
- International Day for persons with Disabilities
- International Day of the Basque language
- Doctors' Day (Cuba)
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