UK, 
US, 
Australia & 
IrelandAt A Glance
3 January 2012 at a glance
- Day of the week
- 3 January 2012 was a Tuesday.
- UK Number One
- The UK Number One single was “Paradise” by Coldplay.
- Top Film of 2012
- The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 2012 was The Avengers.
- Star sign
- The star sign for 3 January is Capricorn.
- Chinese zodiac
- In the Chinese zodiac, 3 January 2012 fell in the Year of the Rabbit.
- Birthstone
- The birthstone for January is Garnet.
- Moon phase
- The moon phase on 3 January 2012 was Waxing Gibbous.
On this day: 3 January
- 2002 Israeli–Palestinian conflict: Israeli forces seize the Palestinian freighter Karine A in the Red Sea, finding 50 tons of weapons.
- 2009 The first block of the blockchain of the decentralized payment system Bitcoin, called the Genesis block, is established by the creator of the system, Satoshi Nakamoto.
- 2018 For the first time in history, all five major storm surge gates in the Netherlands are closed simultaneously in the wake of a storm.
- 2019 Chang'e 4 makes the first soft landing on the far side of the Moon, deploying the Yutu-2 lunar rover.
- 2023 Singapore's Jurong Bird Park permanently closes.
Famous people born on 3 January
- Florence Pugh, English actress (born 1996)
- Mel Gibson, American-Australian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1956)
- Michael Schumacher, German racing driver (born 1969)
- J. R. R. Tolkien, English writer, poet, and philologist (1892–1973)
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Choose your country: the charts, news and leaders change to match.
Events of 2012 in the United Kingdom
A selection from Wikipedia's '2012 in the United Kingdom'. Not a complete list.
- 4 February – The Met Office issues a severe weather warning as heavy snow falls across much of the UK, disrupting road and air travel.
- 6 February – Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her Diamond Jubilee, marking sixty years on the throne; only the second British monarch to do so.
- 29 March – 2012 Bradford West by-election: Respect Party candidate George Galloway wins, taking the seat from the Labour Party with a majority of 10,140 votes.
Life in 2012
Prime Minister
David Cameron
Monarch
Elizabeth II
Pint of Beer
£3.05
Loaf of Bread
£1.35
Average House
£162,637
Weekly Wage
£723.00
Or
Browse by Year
About The Day You Were Born
Ever wondered what was happening in the world when you took your first breath? Our birthday lookup tool reveals the fascinating history of your special day.
About The Birthday Chronicle and where our data comes from →