A birthday on the globe
3 December on the globe: what happened in the world on this day, and who was born
For 3 December, the English Wikipedia lists 58 events and 237 births. 28 of the events stand at their places as rays of light; eight more are dashed circles, where the sentence links only to a country or a sea. The taller the ray, the longer ago it happened. The people born that day come further down, as blue points.
A birthday, yours or someone else’s:
Turn it into a greetingScroll: the globe turns to each place
The day you were born, on the globe.
Three things from your day
Scroll: your day first, then 3 December through the years
The Earth on 3 December
The picture on the globe was assembled by NASA from satellite photographs taken in December 2004: the snow, the ice and the green are those of the month.
On 3 December the Sun passes straight overhead at noon along the parallel of 22.1° south. In London, the day lasts about 8 hours 10 minutes.
Beyond 68° south the Sun no longer sets; beyond 68° north it no longer rises.
The line between day and night is tilted on the globe exactly as on this day of the year. On the dark side you can see the lights of towns.
Britain & Ireland · Sutton Hoo
1937
Rupert Bruce-Mitford, the spiritus rector of research on the Sutton Hoo ship burial, joined the British Museum.
On the map: Sutton Hoo.
Europe · Tampere
1881
The first issue of Tamperean daily newspaper Aamulehti ("Morning Paper") is published.
On the map: Tampere.
Europe · Paris Motor Show
1910
Modern neon lighting is first demonstrated by Georges Claude at the Paris Motor Show.
On the map: Paris Motor Show.
Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Spanish and Chinese.
Africa · Groote Schuur Hospital
1967
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).
On the map: Groote Schuur Hospital.
Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Spanish and Chinese.
Asia · Taipei
1994
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.
On the map: Taipei.
Oceania · Aoraki / Mount Cook
1910
Freda Du Faur became the first woman to climb Aoraki / Mount Cook, the highest peak in New Zealand.
On the map: Aoraki / Mount Cook.
North America · 1901 State of the Union Address
1901
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.
On the map: the coordinates Wikidata gives for the article “1901 State of the Union Address”.
North America · Lick Observatory
1904
The Jovian moon Himalia is discovered by Charles Dillon Perrine at California's Lick Observatory.
On the map: Lick Observatory.
Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Chinese.
North America · Ottawa
1997
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.
On the map: Ottawa.
Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Chinese.
3 December
What the other Wikipedias remember#
For these years the English list has nothing on this day. The events below come from the same day’s lists on Wikipedia in Spanish and Chinese and were translated for this page.
From Wikipedia in Spanish · Trento
1563
In Trento (northern Italian peninsula), the twenty-fifth and last session of the Council of Trent is held.
On the map: Trento.
Translated from the list on Wikipedia in Spanish.
From Wikipedia in Chinese · Tsinghua University
1907
In his State of the Union address, US President Theodore Roosevelt proposes for the first time using the Boxer Indemnity to assist education in China; once the indemnity was returned to China, Tsinghua University was founded.
On the map: Tsinghua University.
Translated from the list on Wikipedia in Chinese.
From Wikipedia in Spanish · Seville
1977
In Seville (Spain), meetings begin for the creation of the Pre-autonomous Council of Andalusia.
On the map: Seville.
Translated from the list on Wikipedia in Spanish.
3 December
Born on 3 December#
The English Wikipedia lists 237 births for this day. The blue points are the birthplaces of 60 of these people: those written about in the most Wikipedia editions, where Wikidata gives a place of birth.
Born on 3 December
1857
Joseph Conrad, Polish-born British novelist (died 1924)
Place of birth: Terekhove.
Born on 3 December
1960
Julianne Moore, American actress and author
Place of birth: Fort Bragg.
Born on 3 December
1948
Ozzy Osbourne, English singer-songwriter (died 2025)
Place of birth: Marston Green.
Born on 3 December
1930
Jean-Luc Godard, French-Swiss director and screenwriter (died 2022)
Place of birth: 7th arrondissement of Paris.
Born in Britain and Ireland
1616
John Wallis, English mathematician and cryptographer (died 1703)
Place of birth: Ashford.
3 December
Number one in the charts that week
At the cinema
An animal recorded that day
The record can be seen in GBIF, which brings together wildlife records from around the world.
All your birthdays
The weather that day
Data: Met Office Hadley Centre (HadCET); NOAA (GHCN-Daily, Mauna Loa).
Above the Earth
Sources: Jonathan McDowell, GCAT (launches); GFZ Potsdam (Kp index). Days are counted in Universal Time.
Football that day
International matches played that day:
Source: the “International football results” dataset kept by Mart Jürisoo (CC0).
Also that day
The earthquake’s page at the USGS
Source: the USGS catalogue. The day is counted in Universal Time (UTC).
In those days
Make a link for someone
Type the name, pick the day and the year of birth. The link opens straight on their day, with their name in the greeting.
The link carries the name, date and place typed here; anyone who gets it can see them.
Put another birthday beside it
Your mother’s, your child’s, a friend’s: the two days appear side by side.
Below: 3 December through the years.
The whole globe of the day
Drag the globe to turn it. Touch a ray or a point to read what happened there.
Everything Wikipedia lists for 3 December
The list is the English Wikipedia’s, in its own wording, as it stood in October 2026. 22 events have no place on the map: the sentence links to no place with coordinates, only to places too wide to mark, or to several countries.
- 915
Pope John X crowns Berengar I of Italy as Holy Roman Emperor (probable date).
no place on the mapWikipedia: Pope John X - 1283
During the First Mongol invasion of Burma, the fort at Ngasaunggyan was overrun after a two-month siege.
Asia · Yingjiang CountyWikipedia: First Mongol invasion of Burma - 1775
American Revolution: USS Alfred becomes the first vessel to fly the Continental Union Flag (precursor to the "Stars and Stripes"); the flag is hoisted by John Paul Jones.
no place on the mapWikipedia: American Revolution - 1799
War of the Second Coalition: Battle of Wiesloch: Austrian Lieutenant Field Marshal Anton Sztáray defeats the French at Wiesloch.
Europe · Battle of WieslochWikipedia: Battle of Wiesloch - 1800
United States presidential election: The Electoral College casts votes for president and vice president that result in a tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr.
no place on the mapWikipedia: 1800 United States presidential election - 1800
War of the Second Coalition: Battle of Hohenlinden: French General Jean Victor Marie Moreau decisively defeats the Archduke John of Austria near Munich. Coupled with First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte's earlier victory at Marengo, this will force the Austrians to sign an armistice and end the war.
Europe · Battle of HohenlindenWikipedia: Battle of Hohenlinden - 1818
Illinois becomes the 21st U.S. state.
North America · IllinoisWikipedia: Illinois - 1834
The Zollverein (German Customs Union) begins the first regular census in Germany.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Zollverein - 1854
Battle of the Eureka Stockade: More than 20 gold miners at Ballarat, Victoria, are killed by state troopers in an uprising over mining licences.
Oceania · BallaratWikipedia: Battle of the Eureka Stockade - 1859
Nigeria's first newspaper, missionary Henry Townsend's Iwe Irohin, was published.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Henry Townsend - 1881
The first issue of Tamperean daily newspaper Aamulehti ("Morning Paper") is published.
Europe · TampereWikipedia: Tampere - 1898
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.
no place on the mapWikipedia: 1898 Western Pennsylvania All-Star football team - 1901
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.
North America · 1901 State of the Union AddressWikipedia: 1901 State of the Union Address - 1904
The Jovian moon Himalia is discovered by Charles Dillon Perrine at California's Lick Observatory.
North America · Lick ObservatoryWikipedia: Moons of Jupiter - 1910
Freda Du Faur became the first woman to climb Aoraki / Mount Cook, the highest peak in New Zealand.
Oceania · Aoraki / Mount CookWikipedia: Freda Du Faur - 1910
Modern neon lighting is first demonstrated by Georges Claude at the Paris Motor Show.
Europe · Paris Motor ShowWikipedia: Paris Motor Show - 1912
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.)
no place on the mapWikipedia: First Balkan War - 1919
After nearly 20 years of planning and construction, including two collapses causing 89 deaths, the Quebec Bridge opens to traffic.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Quebec Bridge - 1920
Following more than a month of Turkish–Armenian War, the Turkish-dictated Treaty of Alexandropol is concluded.
Asia · Treaty of AlexandropolWikipedia: Treaty of Alexandropol - 1925
Final agreement is signed between the Irish Free State, Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom formalizing the Partition of Ireland.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Partition of Ireland - 1927
Putting Pants on Philip, the first official film featuring the British-American comedy duo Laurel and Hardy, was released.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Putting Pants on Philip - 1929
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.
no place on the mapWikipedia: 1929 State of the Union Address - 1937
Rupert Bruce-Mitford, the spiritus rector of research on the Sutton Hoo ship burial, joined the British Museum.
Britain & Ireland · Sutton HooWikipedia: British Museum - 1938
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.
Europe · Nazi GermanyWikipedia: Nazi Germany - 1944
Greek Civil War: Fighting breaks out in Athens between the ELAS and government forces supported by the British Army.
Europe · AthensWikipedia: Greek Civil War - 1954
Väinö Linna's war novel The Unknown Soldier (Tuntematon sotilas) is published.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Väinö Linna - 1959
The current flag of Singapore is adopted, six months after Singapore became self-governing within the British Empire.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Flag of Singapore - 1960
The musical Camelot debuts at the Majestic Theatre on Broadway. It will become associated with the Kennedy administration.
North America · Majestic TheatreWikipedia: Camelot - 1965
Soviet Union, Space probe of the Luna program, called Luna 8, is launched, but crashes on the Moon.
Asia · Soviet UnionWikipedia: Soviet Union - 1967
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).
Africa · Groote Schuur HospitalWikipedia: Groote Schuur Hospital - 1968
American singer Elvis Presley's first television special and first live performance in seven years, Singer Presents ... Elvis, was broadcast by NBC.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Elvis Presley - 1971
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971: Pakistan launches a pre-emptive strike against India and a full-scale war begins.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Operation Chengiz Khan - 1972
Spantax Flight 275 crashes during takeoff from Tenerife North–Ciudad de La Laguna Airport, killing all 155 people on board.
Europe · 1972 Tenerife Spantax Convair CV-990 crashWikipedia: 1972 Tenerife Spantax Convair CV-990 crash - 1973
Pioneer program: Pioneer 10 sends back the first close-up images of Jupiter.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Pioneer program - 1976
Jamaican reggae musician Bob Marley survived an assassination attempt by seven gunmen in Kingston.
Latin America · Attempted assassination of Bob MarleyWikipedia: Attempted assassination of Bob Marley - 1979
Following the result of a two-day referendum, the current Constitution of Iran was adopted.
- 1979
In Cincinnati, 11 fans are suffocated in a crush for seats on the concourse outside Riverfront Coliseum before a Who concert.
North America · The Who concert disasterWikipedia: The Who concert disaster - 1979
Iranian Revolution: Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini becomes the first Supreme Leader of Iran.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Iranian Revolution - 1982
A soil sample is taken from Times Beach, Missouri, that will be found to contain 300 times the safe level of dioxin.
North America · Times Beach, MissouriWikipedia: Times Beach, Missouri - 1984
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.
Asia · Bhopal disasterWikipedia: Bhopal disaster - 1989
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.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Cold War - 1990
Mary Robinson took office as the first female president of Ireland.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Mary Robinson - 1992
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.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Sema Group - 1992
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.
Europe · A CoruñaWikipedia: Oil tanker - 1994
Sony releases the PlayStation game console in Japan.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Sony - 1994
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.
Asia · TaipeiWikipedia: Taiwan - 1995
Cameroon Airlines Flight 3701 crashes on approach to Douala International Airport in Douala, Cameroon, killing 71 of the 76 people on board.
Africa · Cameroon Airlines Flight 3701Wikipedia: Cameroon Airlines Flight 3701 - 1997
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.
North America · OttawaWikipedia: Ottawa Treaty - 1999
In Worcester, Massachusetts, firefighters responded to a fire at the Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse Co. facility, which takes the lives of 6 firefighters.
North America · Worcester, MassachusettsWikipedia: Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse Co. fire - 1999
NASA loses radio contact with the Mars Polar Lander moments before the spacecraft enters the Martian atmosphere.
no place on the mapWikipedia: NASA - 2005
XCOR Aerospace makes the first crewed rocket aircraft delivery of U.S. Mail in Kern County, California.
North America · Kern County, CaliforniaWikipedia: XCOR Aerospace - 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.
North America · Lewis County, WashingtonWikipedia: Great Coastal Gale of 2007 - 2009
A suicide bombing at a hotel in Mogadishu, Somalia, kills 25 people, including three ministers of the Transitional Federal Government.
Africa · 2009 Hotel Shamo bombingWikipedia: 2009 Hotel Shamo bombing - 2012
At least 475 people are killed after Typhoon Bopha makes landfall in the Philippines.
Asia · PhilippinesWikipedia: Typhoon Bopha - 2014
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.
Asia · Tanegashima Space CenterWikipedia: JAXA - 2022
Massive power outage after Moore County substation attack that leaves 45,000 people without power for five days, leading to an FBI probe.
North America · Moore CountyWikipedia: Moore County substation attack - 2023
Mount Marapi located in West Sumatra, Indonesia begins a sporadic series of eruptions. 23 people were killed, and 12 were injured.
Asia · 2023 eruption of Mount MarapiWikipedia: 2023 eruption of Mount Marapi - 2024
Martial law is declared in South Korea.
Asia · South KoreaWikipedia: 2024 South Korean martial law crisis
What the other Wikipedias remember
For these years the English list has nothing on this day. The events below come from the same day’s lists on Wikipedia in Spanish and Chinese and were translated for this page.
- 1563
In Trento (northern Italian peninsula), the twenty-fifth and last session of the Council of Trent is held.
- 1907
In his State of the Union address, US President Theodore Roosevelt proposes for the first time using the Boxer Indemnity to assist education in China; once the indemnity was returned to China, Tsinghua University was founded.
- 1977
In Seville (Spain), meetings begin for the creation of the Pre-autonomous Council of Andalusia.
Who was born on 3 December
In order of how many Wikipedia editions have an article about each. The first 60 of 237 are shown.
- 1857
Joseph Conrad, Polish-born British novelist (died 1924)
TerekhoveWikipedia: Joseph Conrad - 1960
Julianne Moore, American actress and author
Fort BraggWikipedia: Julianne Moore - 1948
Ozzy Osbourne, English singer-songwriter (died 2025)
Marston GreenWikipedia: Ozzy Osbourne - 1930
Jean-Luc Godard, French-Swiss director and screenwriter (died 2022)
7th arrondissement of ParisWikipedia: Jean-Luc Godard - 1981
David Villa, Spanish footballer
LangreoWikipedia: David Villa - 1985
Amanda Seyfried, American actress
AllentownWikipedia: Amanda Seyfried - 1800
France Prešeren, Slovenian poet and lawyer (died 1849)
- 1968
Brendan Fraser, American actor and producer
IndianapolisWikipedia: Brendan Fraser - 1884
Rajendra Prasad, Indian lawyer and politician, 1st President of India (died 1963)
Ziradei BlockWikipedia: Rajendra Prasad - 1886
Manne Siegbahn, Swedish physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1978)
Örebro Nikolai parishWikipedia: Manne Siegbahn - 1368
Charles VI of France (died 1422)
- 1447
Bayezid II, Ottoman sultan (died 1512)
DidymoteichoWikipedia: Bayezid II - 1933
Paul J. Crutzen, Dutch chemist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2021)
AmsterdamWikipedia: Paul J. Crutzen - 1982
Michael Essien, Ghanaian footballer
- 1900
Richard Kuhn, Austrian-German biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1967)
ViennaWikipedia: Richard Kuhn - 1960
Daryl Hannah, American actress and producer
ChicagoWikipedia: Daryl Hannah - 1684
Ludvig Holberg, Norwegian historian and writer (died 1754)
- 1883
Anton Webern, Austrian composer and conductor (died 1945)
ViennaWikipedia: Anton Webern - 1895
Anna Freud, Austrian-English psychologist and psychoanalyst (died 1982)
ViennaWikipedia: Anna Freud - 1956
Ewa Kopacz, Polish physician and politician, 15th Prime Minister of Poland
SkaryszewWikipedia: Ewa Kopacz - 1722
Hryhorii Skovoroda, Ukrainian poet, composer, and philosopher (died 1794)
ChornukhyWikipedia: Hryhorii Skovoroda - 1880
Fedor von Bock, German field marshal (died 1945)
Kostrzyn nad OdrąWikipedia: Fedor von Bock - 1924
John Backus, American computer scientist, led the team that developed FORTRAN (died 2007)
PhiladelphiaWikipedia: John Backus - 1616
John Wallis, English mathematician and cryptographer (died 1703)
AshfordWikipedia: John Wallis - 1911
Nino Rota, Italian pianist, composer, conductor, and academic (died 1979)
MilanWikipedia: Nino Rota - 1984
Avraam Papadopoulos, Greek footballer
MelbourneWikipedia: Avraam Papadopoulos - 1970
Christian Karembeu, French footballer
- 1899
Hayato Ikeda, Japanese politician, 58th Prime Minister of Japan (died 1965)
YoshinaWikipedia: Hayato Ikeda - 1927
Andy Williams, American singer (died 2012)
Wall LakeWikipedia: Andy Williams - 1973
Holly Marie Combs, American actress and producer
San DiegoWikipedia: Holly Marie Combs - 1990
Christian Benteke, Belgian footballer
KinshasaWikipedia: Christian Benteke - 1826
George B. McClellan, American general and politician, 24th Governor of New Jersey (died 1885)
PhiladelphiaWikipedia: George B. McClellan - 1977
Adam Małysz, Polish ski jumper and race car driver
- 1942
Pedro Rocha, Uruguayan footballer and manager (died 2013)
- 1965
Katarina Witt, German figure skater and actress
StaakenWikipedia: Katarina Witt - 1965
Andrew Stanton, American voice actor, director, producer, screenwriter
RockportWikipedia: Andrew Stanton - 1887
Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni, Japanese general and politician, 43rd Prime Minister of Japan (died 1990)
- 1922
Sven Nykvist, Swedish director and cinematographer (died 2006)
MohedaWikipedia: Sven Nykvist - 1980
Jenna Dewan, American actress and dancer
HartfordWikipedia: Jenna Dewan - 1995
Angèle, Belgian singer
UccleWikipedia: Angèle - 1842
Ellen Swallow Richards, American chemist, ecologist, and educator (died 1911)
DunstableWikipedia: Ellen Swallow Richards - 1980
Anna Chlumsky, American actress
ChicagoWikipedia: Anna Chlumsky - 1934
Viktor Gorbatko, Russian general, pilot and cosmonaut (died 2017)
- 1934
Abimael Guzmán, Peruvian philosopher and academic (died 2021)
MollendoWikipedia: Abimael Guzmán - 1994
Jake T. Austin, American actor
New York CityWikipedia: Jake T. Austin - 1923
Stjepan Bobek, Croatian-Serbian footballer and manager (died 2010)
ZagrebWikipedia: Stjepan Bobek - 1985
László Cseh, Hungarian swimmer
BudapestWikipedia: László Cseh - 1979
Sean Parker, American entrepreneur and philanthropist
HerndonWikipedia: Sean Parker - 1833
Carlos Finlay, Cuban epidemiologist and physician (died 1915)
CamagüeyWikipedia: Carlos Finlay - 1950
Alberto Juantorena, Cuban runner
Santiago de CubaWikipedia: Alberto Juantorena - 1987
Michael Angarano, American actor, director, and screenwriter
BrooklynWikipedia: Michael Angarano - 1994
Lil Baby, American rapper
AtlantaWikipedia: Lil Baby - 1755
Gilbert Stuart, American painter (died 1828)
North KingstownWikipedia: Gilbert Stuart - 1942
Alice Schwarzer, German journalist and publisher, founded EMMA Magazine
WuppertalWikipedia: Alice Schwarzer - 1838
Princess Louise of Prussia (died 1923)
- 1979
Tiffany Haddish, American comedian and actress
South Los AngelesWikipedia: Tiffany Haddish - 1895
Sheng Shicai, Chinese warlord (died 1970)
KaiyuanWikipedia: Sheng Shicai - 1902
Mitsuo Fuchida, Japanese captain and pilot (died 1976)
KatsuragiWikipedia: Mitsuo Fuchida - 1971
Henk Timmer, Dutch footballer and manager
HierdenWikipedia: Henk Timmer - 1981
Ioannis Amanatidis, Greek footballer
What is celebrated on 3 December
- Christian feast day: Abbo of Auxerre
- Christian feast day: Pope Abraham of Alexandria (Coptic, 6 Koiak))
- Christian feast day: Adrian (Ethernan)
- Christian feast day: Birinus
- Christian feast day: Cassian of Tangier
- Christian feast day: Emma (of Lesum or of Bremen)
- Christian feast day: Francis Xavier
- Christian feast day: Blessed Johann Nepomuk von Tschiderer zu Gleifheim
- Christian feast day: Zephaniah
- Christian feast day: December 3 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Doctors' Day (Cuba)
- International Day of Persons with Disabilities
A greeting link for someone
Type a name and, if you like, the year of birth. The link opens with a greeting, and beside each event it says how old the person turned that day, or how many years before their birth it happened.
The name and the year go only into the link you send.
All 366 days
How the globe is made
Where the events come from
Each edition of this page uses the day’s list from Wikipedia in its own language: Romanian, English, Spanish, Chinese. The lists are written by volunteers and differ from one edition to the next; the text of each event is Wikipedia’s, with a link to the article. A row that appears twice in a list is shown once. The lists have not been checked event by event: they are Wikipedia’s, mistakes included.
For events before 1582, and for countries that moved to the Gregorian calendar later (Britain in 1752, Russia in 1918), the same day may be counted Old Style in one list and New Style in another.
The chapter “What the other Wikipedias remember” adds up to five events a day from the lists of the other three editions, only for years in which the English list has nothing on that day. They were translated for this page, passed the same filters as the tour, and are not counted among the events of the English list.
How an event gets onto the map
The place comes from Wikidata. If the sentence links to the article about the event itself (a battle, an opening, an earthquake), dated to the same year, the ray stands on its coordinates or on those of its location. Otherwise it stands on the first place the sentence links to: a town, a building, a mountain, an island. This second step can be wrong: sometimes the sentence only mentions the place. That is why the page says, under each event, which place the ray stands on.
When the sentence links to a single state or province, or to a single sea, lake or desert larger than 5,000 km², the globe shows a dashed circle, not a ray. The circle has the area Wikidata gives, with its radius kept between 1.2° and 16°, or a radius of 4.5° when Wikidata gives no area; it says only that the sentence links to that place. Organisations, ships, spacecraft, museum objects, rivers, mountain ranges, languages and continents are never used as places. When a sentence names several states and no exact place, the event stays in the list only.
What the height means
The height of a ray shows how many years have passed, on a logarithmic scale: 10 years, 100 years and 1,000 years are equal steps apart; anything older than about 2,600 years has the tallest ray. The colour runs from pale yellow for recent years to violet for antiquity.
Where the tour stops
In each region the tour stops at up to three events (five in Britain and Ireland), chosen mainly by three things: whether Wikipedia’s editors put the event in the “On this day” box of their main page (the English, Spanish and Chinese editions), how many Wikipedia editions have an article about it, and how many of the four lists include it. Events whose sentence or article is about a war, an attack, a crime or a disaster are left out of the tour; they stay in the whole list, in Wikipedia’s wording. The filter is a list of words and a list of Wikidata types, so it can miss some.
The tour of births names the people with articles in the most editions and leaves aside those whom the list or Wikidata describes as rulers, politicians, commanders, leaders of movements or criminals; they stay in the list.
The Earth and the Sun
The daytime images are NASA’s Blue Marble Next Generation mosaics, one for each month of 2004; the night side is Black Marble 2016. The tilt of the line between day and night is computed for the day; the hour is chosen so that the place being read is in daylight. The latitude where the Sun stands overhead is the average of the four years of the leap cycle; in a given year it can differ by up to 0.4°.
The day you were born
The number ones come from the weekly lists on Wikipedia: Billboard for the United States (from 1940; the Hot 100 from August 1958), the UK Singles Chart (from November 1952), Los 40 Principales for Spain (from July 1966) and, for Romania, the Romanian Top 100 and Airplay 100 (2001–2021, with missing weeks). The page shows the chart of the week in which the day of birth falls, with its date; Billboard and the UK chart are dated at the end of their week. For Romania before 2001 and for China these sources have no weekly chart.
The films are those that reached cinemas in the United States up to ten days before or three days after that day (some of them in a few cinemas at first), from the English Wikipedia’s yearly lists (from 1968), in order of how many editions have an article about them. The events “in those days” are the ones on the neighbouring days’ lists that carry the year of birth, passed through the same filter as the tour.
The day of birth, year included
The Moon, the star sign and the constellation are worked out by the page itself, for noon Universal Time on the day. The lit part of the Moon is rounded and can differ by a few per cent from that at the hour of birth. The sign follows the usual zodiac of twelve equal parts starting at the March equinox; the constellation is the one the Sun actually stood in front of, by the borders set by the International Astronomical Union, and within a day of a border the page does not name it. When the Sun changes sign while it is that day anywhere on Earth, the page gives the moment of crossing, rounded to ten minutes and accurate to within about a quarter of an hour, and the clock time in a few cities, with the time zone and summer time of that year.
The year in the Chinese calendar is the one your device’s own calendar gives for the date, checked against the Hong Kong Observatory’s tables. “All your birthdays” uses the same sources as the rest of the chapter for the same day in every year since the birth: the temperature, well-known launches that took place on that very day, matches of the teams the edition follows, snow deeper than 10 cm and strong geomagnetic storms. The three things at the top and the four on the picture are chosen in a fixed order (the song, the animal, a full Moon, a well-known launch before an ordinary earthquake); on the picture you can change them.
When the link carries a year of birth, the page adds a few things about that exact day. The weather is the Met Office’s Central England temperature record and the readings from New York’s Central Park; the “usual high” is the average of the daily highs of 1961–1990 for that date, with two days either side. The carbon dioxide figure is the monthly mean at the Mauna Loa observatory, where measurements begin in March 1958.
The earthquake is the one with the largest magnitude in the USGS catalogue for that day, counted in Universal Time. Before the 1960s the catalogue has gaps even above magnitude 5.5, so in the older years many days have no earthquake. The page gives only the magnitude and the place: the country the epicentre falls in or, when the epicentre is at sea within 300 km of a coast, the nearest country; farther out, only the ocean.
The launches are those that reached orbit or left for the Moon and the planets, from Jonathan McDowell’s GCAT catalogue. If nothing left that day, the page shows the nearest launch within three days before or after, and says how many days away it was. The geomagnetic storm appears only when the Kp index reached at least 5 in one of the day’s eight three-hour intervals.
The animal comes from GBIF: an observation made by a person (the animal seen or heard, or its tracks), dated to that exact day, with coordinates and a CC0 or CC BY licence. Only a few hundred well-known species are searched (mammals, birds, turtles, butterflies); of those noted that day, mammals and species with articles in many Wikipedia editions come first; birds noted almost every day, and species used recently, wait their turn. Observations dated 1 January are left out, because records without a day are often filed there. An observation shows that the animal was recorded there, not how many animals there were.
The matches are those between national teams. Only matches of England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, Canada and Australia are shown, along with those at the big final tournaments. The picture to send is drawn in the page from the day’s globe and the facts above, and stays on your device until you send it.
Sources
- Events, births and holidays: the day’s page on Wikipedia, text under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Coordinates, places of birth and the number of editions: Wikidata (CC0).
- The Earth by day: NASA Blue Marble Next Generation. The Earth by night: NASA Black Marble 2016.
- Borders and regions: Natural Earth.
- World population and births per year: UN World Population Prospects 2024.
- Charts and films: Wikipedia’s lists for Billboard, the UK Singles Chart, Los 40 Principales, Romanian Top 100, Airplay 100 and American films by year (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Weather: Met Office Hadley Centre, HadCET (Open Government Licence) and NOAA GHCN-Daily, New York Central Park. Carbon dioxide: NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory, Mauna Loa.
- Earthquakes: the USGS catalogue. Launches: Jonathan McDowell, GCAT (CC BY). Kp index: GFZ Potsdam (CC BY 4.0). Matches: International football results, Mart Jürisoo (CC0).
- Animal observations: GBIF, with a link to each record; species names come from Wikidata.