On December 3

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (pictured) declares martial law.

A suicide bombing in Mogadishu, Somalia, killed 25 people, including three ministers of the Transitional Federal Government.

NASA lost contact with the Mars Polar Lander moments before it reached the atmosphere of Mars and disappeared.

Sony released the PlayStation, the first computer entertainment platform to ship 100 million units.

Mary Robinson took office as the first female president of Ireland.

Eleven people were crushed in a human stampede at a concert by British rock band the Who in Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.

Following the result of a two-day referendum, the current Constitution of Iran was adopted.

Jamaican reggae musician Bob Marley survived an assassination attempt by seven gunmen in Kingston.

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.

American singer Elvis Presley's first television special and first live performance in seven years, Singer Presents ... Elvis, was broadcast by NBC.

Cardiac surgeon Christiaan Barnard (pictured) performed the first successful human heart transplant on Louis Washkansky at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa.

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, the spiritus rector of research on the Sutton Hoo ship burial, joined the British Museum.

Putting Pants on Philip, the first official film featuring the British-American comedy duo Laurel and Hardy, was released.

Freda Du Faur became the first woman to climb Aoraki / Mount Cook, the highest peak in New Zealand.

Himalia, Jupiter's largest irregular moon, was discovered by Charles Dillon Perrine at the Lick Observatory in California.

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.

During the First Mongol invasion of Burma, the fort at Ngasaunggyan was overrun after a two-month siege.