1818 – Illinois became the 21st U.S. state on the 3rd December 1818.
1854 – The Eureka Stockade battle was fought between miners and the Colonial forces of Australia on the 3rd December 1854 at Eureka Lead, a small town in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. The battle over mining licences resulted in the deaths of 22 miners, becoming the most significant conflict in the colonial history of Victoria. The Eureka Stockade was also known as the birth of Australian democracy.
1883 – Anton Webern the Austrian composer was born on the 3rd December 1883 (died 1945).
1904 – The Jovian moon Himalia was discovered by Charles Dillon Perrine at California’s Lick Observatory on the 3rd December 1904.
1910 – Modern neon lighting was first demonstrated by Georges Claude at the Paris Motor Show on the 3rd December 1910.
1919 – The Quebec Bridge opened to traffic on the 3rd December 1919, after almost 20 years of planning and construction, including two collapses causing 89 deaths.
1927 – The 1st Laurel and Hardy film Putting Pants on Philip was released on the 3rd December 1927.
1948 – Ozzy Osbourne the English singer-songwriter from Black Sabbath was born on the 3rd December 1948.
1949 – Mickey Thomas the American singer-songwriter Jefferson Starship was born on the 3rd December 1949.
1959 – The current flag of Singapore was adopted, six months after Singapore became self-governing within the British Empire on the 3rd December 1959.
1960 – Daryl Hannah the American actress was born on the 3rd December 1960.
1960 – Julianne Moore the American actress was born on the 3rd December 1960.
1960 – The musical Camelot debuted at the Majestic Theatre on Broadway on the 3rd December 1960, and became associated with the Kennedy administration.
1968 – Brendan Fraser the Canadian-American actor was born on the 3rd December 1968.
1973 – Pioneer 10 sent back the first close-up images of Jupiter on the 3rd December 1973.
1976 – Bob Marley had an assassination attempt on his life on the 3rd December 1976, when he was shot twice, but still played a concert 2 days later.
1992 ~ SMS messaging was used for the very first time on the 3rd December 1992, when 22 year old Neil Papworth, a test engineer for Sema Group in the UK (now Airwide Solutions) sent the world’s first ever text message. Since mobile phones didn’t have keyboards at the time, he typed the “Merry Christmas” message out on a PC, and sent it to the phone of Richard Jarvis of Vodafone in the UK, who was enjoying his office Christmas party at the time. No-one on that day had any idea how gigantic the texting phenomenon would become, as this concept was for them to use essentially as a paging service.
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 ~ KEViN RUDD was sworn in as the 26th Prime Minister of Australia on the 3rd December 2007, when Labor won the 2007 federal election with a 23-seat swing.
2012 ~ The KATE MiDDLETON official pregnancy announcement was made by St. James Palace on behalf of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and her husband Prince William on the 3rd December 2012, when Kate was admitted to King Edward VII Hospital with a rare form of severe morning sickness. The Duchess was suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum, a condition that is often experienced by women expecting twins, and being 3 times more likely to have a multiple birth.
