At A Glance

3 December 1972 at a glance

Day of the week
3 December 1972 was a Sunday.
Billboard Hot 100 No. 1
The Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 was “Papa Was a Rollin' Stone” by The Temptations.
Top Film of 1972
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1972 was The Godfather.
Bestselling Novel of 1972
“Jonathan Livingston Seagull” by Richard Bach was No. 1 on Publishers Weekly's US fiction list for 1972.
Top-Rated TV Show
“All in the Family” (CBS) was No. 1 in the Nielsen ratings for the 1972–73 season.
Star sign
The star sign for 3 December is Sagittarius.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 3 December 1972 fell in the Year of the Rat.
Birthstone
The birthstone for December is Turquoise.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 3 December 1972 was Waning Crescent.

On this day: 3 December

  • 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).
  • 1971 Indo-Pakistani War of 1971: Pakistan launches a pre-emptive strike against India and a full-scale war begins.
  • 1973 Pioneer program: Pioneer 10 sends back the first close-up images of Jupiter.
  • 1979 In Cincinnati, 11 fans are suffocated in a crush for seats on the concourse outside Riverfront Coliseum before a Who concert.
  • 1979 Iranian Revolution: Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini becomes the first Supreme Leader of Iran.

Famous people born on December 3

  • Jenna Dewan, American actress and dancer (born 1980)
  • Amanda Seyfried, American actress (born 1985)
  • Ozzy Osbourne, English singer-songwriter (1948–2025)
  • Brendan Fraser, American actor and producer (born 1968)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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Events of 1972 in the United States

A selection from Wikipedia's '1972 in the United States'. Not a complete list.

  • March 15 – The Godfather has its premiere at the Loew's State Theatre in New York City.
  • April 10 – The 44th Annual Academy Awards, hosted by Helen Hayes, Alan King, Sammy Davis Jr. and Jack Lemmon, is held at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles. William Friedkin's The French Connection wins five awards, including Best Picture and Best Director for Friedkin.
  • April 12 – The X-rated animated movie Fritz the Cat is released.

Life in the US in 1972

President

Richard Nixon

Gas (per gallon)

$0.36

Loaf of Bread

$0.25

Average House

$19,400

Weekly Wage

$154

Or

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Famous Faces Born in the 1970s

Well-known people born in the same decade as you, not on your birthday.

Sources: Wikidata and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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