DECEMBER 3
Daily Historical Chronicle UPSC CSE • State PSC • SSC CGL Matrix

3 December: What Happened On This Day in History

Curated historical timeline of momentous political pacts, freedom struggle uprisings, constitutional developments, scientific breakthroughs, and prominent birthdays recorded on 3 December.

Observances & Special Days
International Day of Persons with Disabilities
Historic Milestones

Major Events on 3 December

Year 1790

Lord Cornwallis took away the regulation power from Nawab Murshidabad and Sadar Nizamat was removed from Adalat in Calcutta.

Year 1796

Bajirao II became the Peshwa of the Maratha Empire. He was the last Peshwa of the Maratha Empire.

Year 1818

Illinois became the 21st Queen of the United States.

Year 1828

Andrew Jackson was elected as the seventh President of America.

Year 1829

Viceroy Lord William Bentick banned the practice of Sati in India.

Year 1870

The Bombay Mutual Life Assurance Society, India’s first insurance company, was established.

Year 1889

Khudiram Bose, famous revolutionary and freedom fighter of Muzaffarpur Bomb Case, was born at Habibpur village, West Bengal.

Year 1910

First performance of the world’s first neon lamp, developed by the French physicist Georges Claude, at the Paris Motor Show.

Year 1927

Laurel and Hardy’s first film, Putting Pat on Philips, was released.

Year 1948

1,100 people killed when a ship carrying a Chinese refugee explodes in the East China Sea.

Year 1955

In exercise of the powers conferred by the provision in Article 343 (2) of the constitution, orders were issued for the use of Hindi language in addition to the English language for specific purposes of the union.

Year 1967

India’s first rocket (Rohini RH 75) was launched from Thumba.

Year 1967

Dr. Christian Bernard successfully performed the world’s first human heart transplant surgery in Cape Town, South Africa.

Year 1970

Rajendra Agriculture University established at Bihar.

Year 1971

National Emergency started in India after the war between India and Pakistan started.

Year 1971

During the ensuing melee, three of the Sabres were shot down while all Gnats returning to base were unscathed. The first blood of a new Indo-Pakistan air war had been drawn. Other encounters were to follow over the next 10 days within both Indian and Pakistani airspace, before a full-scale war began.

Year 1971

Hostilities broke out between India and Pakistan. On the very night that hostilities commenced, with Pakistan bombing several air fields, IN Ships 'Rajput' and 'Akshay' were leaving Vishakapatnam harbour when they obtained a sonar contact. They fired several depth charges and proceeded on their mission when there was no further evidence of a submarine's presence. Thereafter, a loud explosion of rattling windows panes off the Vishakapatnam beach was heard . The Pakistani submarine 'Ghazi' (a Tench class submarine obtained from the USA in 1964) had come to grief.

Year 1971

India recognises Bangladesh. Indian army marches into Bangladesh and joins hands with Mukti Bahini. Pakistani Army in Bangladesh surrenders to the Indian Commander.

Year 1971

Pakistan took the initiative of striking the airfields both in the East and the West. While the IAF carried out retaliatory air strikes in the West and shot the Pakistan Air Force (PAP) out of the skies.

Year 1971

Indo-Pakistan war begins. On the same day National Emergency was declared by the President of India due to war between both the countries.

Year 1971

Third Pakistani aggression begins with air attacks on airports in the western sector; emergency declared.

Year 1979

Ayatollah Khomeini became Iran’s omnipotent leader.

Year 1984

Bhopal Air Accident: A leak of methyl isocyanate from the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal killed about 1400 people immediately, bringing the total death toll to 20,000 in the following years.

Year 1984

3,000 people died and more than 50,000 people were badly affected when they inhaled poisonous toxic gas emission from the Union Carbide plant. This event is better known as "the Bhopal Gas Tragedy", the biggest industrial disaster that occured in India.

Year 1989

Mulayam Singh Yadav named UP CM.

Year 1991

An all-party delegation from Tamil Nadu led by CM Jayalalita urges the PM to gazette the interim award on Cauvery.

Year 1991

Lok Sabha question hour telecast at 7.15 a.m for the first time .

Year 1991

Satinder Kumar Lamba appointed India's Ambassador to Pakistan.

Year 1992

Indian, UN Operations in Mozambique begins - ONUMOZ - from Dec 1992 to Oct 1994).

Year 1993

Bahadur Prasad wins silver in 1500 m in Asian Track and Field meet in Manila.

Year 1994

PlayStation released in Japan.

Year 1998

India and Portugal sign an agreement in New Delhi for setting up a joint committee to enhance cooperation in science and technology.

Year 1998

Maganbhai Kasundra, (50), Gujarat Minister, dies following a heart attack at his residence in Gandhinagar.

Year 1999

Bhopal gas victims take out rallies to mark the 15th anniversary of the tragedy.

Year 2004

India and Pakistan agreed to restore rail connectivity between Munabav and Khokhrapar after 40 years.

Year 2020

Indian village teacher Ranjitsinh Disale, who transformed the life chances of young girls at the Zilla Parishad Primary School, Paritewadi, Solapur, Maharashtra, India, has been named the winner of the Global Teacher Prize 2020, in partnership with UNESCO.

National & Global Icons

Prominent Births & Anniversaries

Born 1730

Mahadji Scindia, a Maratha Statesman and ruler of Ujjain.

Born 1776

Yashwant Rao Holkar, the king of the Maratha Empire (Holkar dynasty).

Born 1857

Joseph Conrad, a Polish-British writer.

Born 1882

Nandlal Bose, renowned Indian painter, and designer of the original work of the Constitution.

Born 1884

Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India.

Born 1889

Khudiram Bose, an Indian revolutionary.

Born 1894

Deiva Zivarattinam, Indian lawyer and politician (d. 1975)

Born 1899

Rama Devi, an Indian freedom fighter and a social reformer.

Born 1903

Yashpal, a Hindi-language author.

Born 1928

Muhammad Habibur Rahman, Indian-Bangladeshi jurist and politician, Prime Minister of Bangladesh (d. 2014)

Born 1937

Vinod Bihari Verma, an Indian linguist.

Born 1948

Surendra Pratap Singh, famous journalist and chief editor of Navbharat Times, was born.

Born 1950

H. L. Dattu, a former Chief Justice of India.

Born 1970

Jimmy Sheirgill, an Indian actor, and film producer.

Born 1979

Sean Parker, an American entrepreneur, and philanthropist.

Born 1982

Mithali Raj, an Indian cricketer.

Legacy & Remembrance

Death Anniversaries & Tributes

Died 1552

St. Francis Xavier, a Navarrese Catholic priest, missionary, and saint.

Died 1888

Carl Zeiss, maker of optical instruments.

Died 1894

R. L. Stevenson, an English writer, and poet.

Died 1951

Bahinabai Chaudhary, an Indian poetess.

Died 1956

Manik Bandopadhyay, an Indian writer, poet, and playwright.

Died 1979

Major Dhyanchand, an Indian hockey player.

Died 1979

Dhyan Chand, Indian field hockey player and coach (b. 1905)

Died 2003

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

Died 2011

Dev Anand, an Indian-Hindi film actor.

Died 2020

Mahashay Dharampal Gulati, the owner and CEO of MDH, an Indian spice company.