December 3 in history — What Happened Today in History

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.

Sony releases the PlayStation game console in Japan.

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.

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.

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: 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.

A soil sample is taken from Times Beach, Missouri, that will be found to contain 300 times the safe level of dioxin.

In Cincinnati, 11 fans are suffocated in a crush for seats on the concourse outside Riverfront Coliseum before a Who concert.

Iranian Revolution: Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini becomes the first Supreme Leader of Iran.

Pioneer program: Pioneer 10 sends back the first close-up images of Jupiter.

Spantax Flight 275 crashes during takeoff from Tenerife North–Ciudad de La Laguna Airport, killing all 155 people on board.

Indo-Pakistani War of 1971: Pakistan launches a pre-emptive strike against India and a full-scale war begins.

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).

Soviet Union, Space probe of the Luna program, called Luna 8, is launched, but crashes on the Moon.

The musical Camelot debuts at the Majestic Theatre on Broadway. It will become associated with the Kennedy administration.

The current flag of Singapore is adopted, six months after Singapore became self-governing within the British Empire.

Väinö Linna's war novel The Unknown Soldier (Tuntematon sotilas) is published.

Greek Civil War: Fighting breaks out in Athens between the ELAS and government forces supported by the British Army.

Nazi Germany issues the Decree on the Utilization of Jewish Property forcing Jews to sell real property, businesses, and stocks at below market value as part of Aryanization.

President Herbert Hoover delivers his first State of the Union message to Congress. It is presented in the form of a written message rather than a speech.

Final agreement is signed between the Irish Free State, Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom formalizing the Partition of Ireland.

Following more than a month of Turkish–Armenian War, the Turkish-dictated Treaty of Alexandropol is concluded.

After nearly 20 years of planning and construction, including two collapses causing 89 deaths, the Quebec Bridge opens to traffic.

Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro, and Serbia (the Balkan League) sign an armistice with the Ottoman Empire, temporarily halting the First Balkan War. (The armistice will expire on February 3, 1913, and hostilities will resume.)

Modern neon lighting is first demonstrated by Georges Claude at the Paris Motor Show.

The Jovian moon Himalia is discovered by Charles Dillon Perrine at California's Lick Observatory.

In a State of the Union message, U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt delivers a 20,000-word report to the House of Representatives asking Congress to curb the power of trusts "within reasonable limits". The speech was not delivered in person.

The Duquesne Country and Athletic Club defeats an all-star collection of early football players 16–0, in what is considered to be the first all-star game for professional American football.

Selçuk Alibaz, Turkish footballer

Alex McCarthy, English footballer

Tomasz Narkun, Polish mixed martial artist

Melissa Aldana, Chilean saxophonist

Michael Angarano, American actor, director, and screenwriter

Eric Barone, American video game designer and musician

Erik Grönwall, Swedish singer-songwriter

Brian Robiskie, American football player

Alicia Sacramone, American gymnast

James Laurinaitis, American football player

Nina Ansaroff, American martial artist

László Cseh, Hungarian swimmer

Mike Randolph, American soccer player

Frederick Ashworth, American admiral (born 1912)

Herb Moford, American baseball player (born 1928)

Kikka Sirén, Finnish pop/schlager singer (born 1964)

Shiing-Shen Chern, Chinese-American mathematician and academic (born 1911)

David Hemmings, English actor (born 1941)

Sita Ram Goel, Indian historian, publisher and writer (born 1921)

Adrienne Adams, American illustrator (born 1906)

Glenn Quinn, Irish-American actor (born 1970)

Gwendolyn Brooks, American poet and educator (born 1917)

Hoyt Curtin, American composer and producer (born 1922)

John Archer, American actor (born 1915)

Scatman John, American singer-songwriter and pianist (born 1942)

Madeline Kahn, American actress, comedian, and singer (born 1942)