2024 South Korean martial law crisis
Martial law is declared in South Korea.
What happened on December 3
36 events · 20 births · 20 deaths · 8 observances. From 1283 to 2024.
Standout on December 3
2024
Yoon Suk Yeol
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (pictured) declares martial law.
About December 3
December 3 is the 337th day of the year. These facts are computed from the calendar, not copied from anywhere.
- Day of the year
- Day 337 of 365 (338 in leap years)28 days left in the year (28 in leap years)
- Falls on
- Thursday in 2026, Friday in 2027, Sunday in 2028, Monday in 2029, Tuesday in 2030
- Week
- ISO week 49 of 2026 · Q4
- Zodiac sign
- ♐ Sagittarius (November 22 – December 21)
- Season
- Autumn in the north · Spring in the south
- December birthstone
- Turquoise / Tanzanite / Zircongood fortune, wisdom and success
- December birth flower
- Narcissus / Holly / Poinsettiarespect, hope and good wishes
- Next occurrence
- In 37 days
- Roman numerals
- III.XIIday.month — see the Roman numeral date tool
Anniversaries in 2026
- 50thReggae1976
December 3 through the years
- 10 years ago2016
- Nothing recorded
- 25 years ago2001
- Nothing recorded
- 50 years ago1976
- Reggae
- 100 years ago1926
- Nothing recorded
- 200 years ago1826
- Nothing recorded
Born on December 3 — ages this year
- 1995Julius Honkaturns 31
- 1995Angèle (singer)turns 31
- 1994Jake T. Austinturns 32
- 1994Lil Babyturns 32
- 1994Solomone Kataturns 32
- 1994Bernarda Peraturns 32
Historical events 36
A dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
Yoon Suk Yeol
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (pictured) declares martial law.
Mount Marapi
Mount Marapi located in West Sumatra, Indonesia begins a sporadic series of eruptions. 23 people were killed, and 12 were injured.
Moore County substation attack
Massive power outage after Moore County substation attack that leaves 45,000 people without power for five days, leading to an FBI probe.
JAXA
The Japanese space agency, JAXA, launches the space explorer Hayabusa2 from the Tanegashima Space Center on a six-year round trip mission to an asteroid to collect rock samples.
Typhoon Bopha
At least 475 people are killed after Typhoon Bopha makes landfall in the Philippines.
2009 Hotel Shamo bombing
A suicide bombing in Mogadishu, Somalia, killed 25 people, including three ministers of the Transitional Federal Government.
Great Coastal Gale of 2007
Winter storms cause the Chehalis River to flood many cities in Lewis County, Washington, and close a 32-kilometre (20 mi) portion of Interstate 5 for several days. At least eight deaths and billions of dollars in damages are blamed on the floods.
XCOR Aerospace
XCOR Aerospace makes the first crewed rocket aircraft delivery of U.S. Mail in Kern County, California.
Worcester, Massachusetts
In Worcester, Massachusetts, firefighters responded to a fire at the Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse Co. facility, which takes the lives of 6 firefighters.
NASA
NASA lost contact with the Mars Polar Lander moments before it reached the atmosphere of Mars and disappeared.
Ottawa
In Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, representatives from 121 countries sign the Ottawa Treaty prohibiting manufacture and deployment of anti-personnel landmines. The United States, People's Republic of China, and Russia do not sign the treaty, however.
Cameroon Airlines Flight 3701
Cameroon Airlines Flight 3701 crashes on approach to Douala International Airport in Douala, Cameroon, killing 71 of the 76 people on board.
Sony Interactive Entertainment
Sony released the PlayStation, the first computer entertainment platform to ship 100 million units.
Sony
Sony releases the PlayStation game console in Japan.
Taiwan
Taiwan holds its first full local elections; James Soong elected as the first and only directly elected Governor of Taiwan, Chen Shui-bian became the first directly elected Mayor of Taipei, Wu Den-yih became the first directly elected Mayor of Kaohsiung.
Oil tanker
The Greek oil tanker Aegean Sea, carrying 80,000 tonnes of crude oil, runs aground in a storm while approaching A Coruña, Spain, and spills much of its cargo.
Sema Group
A test engineer for Sema Group uses a personal computer to send the world's first text message via the Vodafone network to the phone of a colleague.
Mary Robinson
Mary Robinson took office as the first female president of Ireland.
Malta Summit
In a meeting off the coast of Malta, U.S. President George H. W. Bush and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev release statements indicating that the Cold War between NATO and the Warsaw Pact may be coming to an end.
Bhopal disaster
Bhopal disaster: A methyl isocyanate leak from a Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, India, kills more than 3,800 people outright and injures 150,000–600,000 others (some 6,000 of whom later died from their injuries) in one of the worst industrial disasters in history.
Times Beach, Missouri
A soil sample is taken from Times Beach, Missouri, that will be found to contain 300 times the safe level of dioxin.
The Who concert disaster
Eleven people were crushed in a human stampede at a concert by British rock band the Who in Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
Cincinnati
In Cincinnati, 11 fans are suffocated in a crush for seats on the concourse outside Riverfront Coliseum before a Who concert.
1979 Iranian constitutional referendum
Following the result of a two-day referendum, the current Constitution of Iran was adopted.
Reggae
Jamaican reggae musician Bob Marley survived an assassination attempt by seven gunmen in Kingston.
Pakistan Air Force
With the Pakistani Air Force launching the unsuccessful pre-emptive airstrikes on several forward Indian Air Force airbases and radar installations, the 1971 India-Pakistan War begins and India also joins the Bangladesh Liberation War, siding with Bangladesh.
Elvis Presley
American singer Elvis Presley's first television special and first live performance in seven years, Singer Presents ... Elvis, was broadcast by NBC.
Cardiothoracic surgery
Cardiac surgeon Christiaan Barnard (pictured) performed the first successful human heart transplant on Louis Washkansky at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa.
Flag of Singapore
The current flag and coat of arms of Singapore (pictured) were adopted, six months after the island became self-governing within the British Empire.
Rupert Bruce-Mitford
Rupert Bruce-Mitford, the spiritus rector of research on the Sutton Hoo ship burial, joined the British Museum.
Putting Pants on Philip
Putting Pants on Philip, the first official film featuring the British-American comedy duo Laurel and Hardy, was released.
Freda Du Faur
Freda Du Faur became the first woman to climb Aoraki / Mount Cook, the highest peak in New Zealand.
Himalia (moon)
Himalia, Jupiter's largest irregular moon, was discovered by Charles Dillon Perrine at the Lick Observatory in California.
War of the Second Coalition
War of the Second Coalition: French forces defeated Austrian and Bavarian troops at the Battle of Hohenlinden, eventually resulting in the Austrians signing the Treaty of Lunéville.
First Mongol invasion of Burma
During the First Mongol invasion of Burma, the fort at Ngasaunggyan was overrun after a two-month siege.
Births 20
A notable person born on this day. Each links to a person page with their dates and story.
Joseph McManners
Joseph McManners, English singer-songwriter, musician and actor[citation needed]
Deaths 20
A notable person who died on this day.
Shiing-Shen Chern
Shiing-Shen Chern, Chinese-American mathematician and academic (born 1911)
Holidays & observances 8
A holiday, feast day, awareness day or national day observed every year on this date.
Emma of Lesum
Christian feast day: Emma (of Lesum or of Bremen)
Birinus
Christian feast day: Birinus
Pope Abraham of Alexandria
Christian feast day: Pope Abraham of Alexandria (Coptic, 6 Koiak))
Francis Xavier
Christian feast day: Francis Xavier
Cassian of Tangier
Christian feast day: Cassian of Tangier
Adrian of May
Christian feast day: Adrian (Ethernan)
Abbo of Auxerre
Christian feast day: Abbo of Auxerre
Johann Nepomuk von Tschiderer zu Gleifheim
Christian feast day: Blessed Johann Nepomuk von Tschiderer zu Gleifheim
Spread across the centuries
- 13th century1
- 18th century1
- 20th century45
- 21st century29
Earliest: First Mongol invasion of Burma (1283). Most recent: 2024 South Korean martial law crisis (2024).
What the categories mean, and how the standout is chosen
- Historical events
- A dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
- Births
- A notable person born on this day. Each links to a person page with their dates and story.
- Deaths
- A notable person who died on this day.
- Milestones
- A first, a founding or a turning point our editors flagged as a landmark moment.
- Holidays & observances
- A holiday, feast day, awareness day or national day observed every year on this date.
- Standout / notable
- Editor-written entries come first, then entries covered by the most Wikipedia language editions. For the standout tile we prefer an entry that has a picture.
Nearby and related
Questions about December 3
What day of the year is December 3?
December 3 is the 337th day of the year, with 28 days left after it.
What star sign is December 3?
December 3 falls under Sagittarius (November 22 – December 21), a fire sign ruled by Jupiter. The birthstone for the month is Turquoise or Tanzanite or Zircon.
How many things happened on December 3?
We record 84 entries for December 3: 36 events · 20 births · 20 deaths · 8 observances. From 1283 to 2024.
Who was born on December 3?
Julius Honka (1995) is among the notable births on December 3. The births section lists the rest.
How often is the December 3 page updated?
The day is filled the first time anyone opens it and then re-checked for new entries about every 90 days. Computed facts such as the weekday and the anniversaries update every year.
Get a daily entry like December 3
One short email a day from this calendar. Kept for this site only.
Text adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0 and from Wikidata (CC0). Images come from Wikimedia Commons; credit and licence are shown with each image. Editorial entries are © What's On This Date. Sources & licensing · How this site works.