From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
March 3 is the 62nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (63rd in leap years). There are 303 days remaining.
[edit] Events
- 1431 - Eugene IV becomes Pope.
- 1585 - The Olympic Theatre, designed by Andrea Palladio, is inaugurated in Vicenza
- 1639 - The early settlement of Taunton, Massachusetts is incorporated as a town.
- 1791 - The United States Mint is created by the U.S. Congress.
- 1803 - Colégio Militar is founded in Portugal by Colonel Teixeira Rebello.
- 1817 - The Alabama Territory is created by splitting the Mississippi Territory.
- 1820 - The U.S. Congress passes the Missouri Compromise.
- 1833 - According to Akilattirattu Ammanai, Ayya Vaikundar arises from the sea as avatar of Narayana at Thiruchendur.
- 1845 - Florida is admitted as the 27th U.S. state.
- 1845 - For the first time the U.S. Congress passes legislation overriding a presidential veto.
- 1849 - The United States Department of the Interior is established.
- 1849 - The U.S. Congress passes the Gold Coinage Act allowing the minting of gold coins.
- 1857 - France and the United Kingdom declare war on China.
- 1861 - Alexander II of Russia signs the Emancipation Manifesto, freeing serfs.
- 1863 - Idaho Territory organizes as a political division of the United States.
- 1865 - The U.S. Congress authorizes formation of the Freedmen's Bureau.
- 1865 - Opening of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, the founding member of the HSBC Group.
- 1873 - Censorship: The U.S. Congress enacts the Comstock Law, making it illegal to send any "obscene, lewd, or lascivious" books through the mail.
- 1875 - The first ever organized indoor game of ice hockey is played in Montreal, as recorded in The Montreal Gazette.
- 1877 - Rutherford B. Hayes is privately inaugurated as the 19th President of the United States (his public inauguration coming on March 5).
- 1878 - Bulgaria regains its independence from Ottoman Empire.
- 1879 - The United States Geological Survey is created.
- 1885 - The American Telephone and Telegraph Company is incorporated in New York State.
- 1891 - The Penalty Spot Kick rule in Football is conceived, but does not come into effect until the next season
- 1904 - Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany becomes the first person to make a sound recording of a political document, using Thomas Edison's cylinder.
- 1905 - Tsar Nicholas II of Russia agrees to create an elected assembly (the Duma).
- 1910 - Rockefeller Foundation: J.D. Rockefeller Jr. announces his retirement from managing his businesses so that he could devote full time to being a philanthropist.
- 1913 - Establishment of the first football club in Bulgaria - Ticha, now known as PFC "Cherno More".
- 1915 - NACA, the predecessor of NASA founded.
- 1918 - Germany, Austria and Russia sign the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk ending Russia's involvement in World War I, and leading to the independence of Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.
- 1923 - TIME magazine is published for the first time.
- 1924 - The 1400-year-old Islamic caliphate is abolished when Caliph Abdul Mejid II of the Ottoman Empire is deposed. The last remnant of the old regime gives way to the reformed Turkey of President Kemal Atatürk.
- 1931 - The United States officially adopts "The Star-Spangled Banner" as its national anthem.
- 1933 - Mount Rushmore National Memorial is dedicated.
- 1933 - US President Herbert Hoover signs the Norris-LaGuardia Act into law and opening the doors to increased unionization.
- 1938 - Oil is discovered in Saudi Arabia.
- 1939 - In Mumbai, Mohandas Gandhi begins to fast in protest of the autocratic rule in India.
- 1940 - Five people are killed in an arson attack on the offices of the communist newspaper Norrskensflamman in Luleå, Sweden.
- 1942 - World War II: Ten Japanese warplanes raid the town of Broome, Western Australia killing more than 100 people.
- 1943 - World War II: In London, 173 people are killed in a crush while trying to enter an air-raid shelter at Bethnal Green tube station.
- 1944 - The Order of Nakhimov and Order of Ushakov were instituted in USSR as the highest naval awards.
- 1945 - World War II: Previously neutral Finland declares war on the Axis powers.
- 1953 - A Canadian Pacific Airlines De Havilland Comet crashes in Karachi, Pakistan killing 11.
- 1958 - Nuri as-Said becomes the prime minister of Iraq for the 14th time.
- 1961 - Hassan II becomes King of Morocco.
- 1966 - A British Overseas Airways Boeing 707 flies into a mountain wave after the captain decides to give the passengers a close-up view of Mt. Fuji. All 124 people aboard are killed.
- 1969 - Apollo program: NASA launches Apollo 9 to test the lunar module.
- 1971 - Beginning of Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 and India's official entry to the Bangladesh Liberation War in support of Mukti Bahini
- 1972 - Mohawk Airlines Flight 405 crashes in unexplained circumstances.
- 1974 - Turkish Airlines Flight 981 crashes at Ermenonville near Paris, killing all 346 aboard.
- 1974 - Roman Catholic and Lutheran officials reach an agreement for eventual reconciliation into one communion, marking the first agreement between the two churches since the Reformation.
- 1976 - 5 workers are killed by the police in a demonstration in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain.
- 1980 - USS Nautilus stricken.
- 1985 - Arthur Scargill declares that the National Union of Mineworkers national executive voted to end the longest-running industrial dispute in Britain without any peace deal over pit closures.
- 1985 - Censorship: Women Against Pornography award their "Pig Award" to Huggies Diapers, claiming that the television ads had "crossed the line between eye-catching and porn."
- 1991 - An amateur video captures the beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles police officers.
- 1991 - In two concurring referendums: 74 % of the population of Latvia vote for independence from the the Soviet Union, in Estonia - 83 %.
- 1992 - The nation of Bosnia was established.
- 1995 - In Somalia, the United Nations peacekeeping mission ends.
- 1997 - The tallest free-standing structure in the Southern Hemisphere, Sky Tower in downtown Auckland, New Zealand, opens after two-and-a-half years of construction.
- 1999 - Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones begin their successful attempt to circumnavigate the world in a hot air balloon without stopping.
- 2001 - A U.S. Air Force Materiel Command C-23 Sherpa transport crashes during stormy weather in the U.S. state of Georgia, killing 21.
- 2002 - Citizens of Switzerland narrowly vote in favour of their country becoming a member of the United Nations.
- 2004 - Belgian brewer Interbrew and Brazilian rival AmBev agreed to merge in a $11.2 billion deal that formed InBev, the world's largest brewer.
- 2005 - Mayerthorpe Incident: James Roszko murders four Royal Canadian Mounted Police constables during a drug bust at his property in Rochfort Bridge, Alberta, then commits suicide. It is the deadliest peace-time incident for the RCMP since 1885 and the North-West Rebellion.
- 2005 - Steve Fossett becomes the first person to fly an airplane around the world solo without any stops without refueling - a journey of 40,234 km/25,000 mi completed in 67 hours and 2 minutes.
- 2005 - The freighter M/V Karen Danielsen, crashes into part of the Great Belt Bridge of Denmark, 800 m from Funen. All traffic across the bridge stops, effectively separating Denmark in two.
[edit] Births
- 1455 - King John II of Portugal (d. 1495)
- 1520 - Matthias Flacius, Croatian Protestant reformer (d. 1575)
- 1583 - Edward Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Cherbury, English diplomat, poet, and philosopher (d. 1648)
- 1589 - Gisbertus Voetius, Dutch theologian (d. 1676)
- 1606 - Edmund Waller, British poet (d. 1687)
- 1652 - Thomas Otway, British dramatist (d. 1685)
- 1678 - Madeleine de Verchères, French Canadian heroine (d. 1747)
- 1793 - William Charles Macready, English actor (d. 1873)
- 1800 - Heinrich Georg Bronn, German geologist (d. 1862)
- 1805 - Jonas Furrer, first President of the Swiss Confederation, (d. 1861)
- 1831 - George Pullman, American inventor and industrialist (d. 1897)
- 1839 - Jamshedji Tata, Indian industrialist (d. 1904)
- 1845 - Georg Cantor, German mathematician (d. 1918)
- 1847 - Alexander Graham Bell, Scottish inventor (d. 1922)
- 1851 - Alexandros Papadiamantis, Greek author (d. 1911)
- 1860 - Monte Ward, Baseball player (d. 1925)
- 1863 - Arthur Machen, Welsh-born author (d. 1947)
- 1871 - Maurice Garin, French cyclist (d. 1957)
- 1873 - William Green, American labor union leader (d. 1952)
- 1880 - Yosuke Matsuoka, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan (d. 1946)
- 1886 - Fred A. Busse, Mayor of Chicago (d. 1914)
- 1886 - Tore Ørjasæter, Norwegian poet (d. 1968)
- 1890 - Norman Bethune, Canadian doctor and humanitarian (d. 1939)
- 1893 - Beatrice Wood, American artist and ceramicist (d. 1998)
- 1895 - Ragnar Anton Kittil Frisch, Norwegian economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1973)
- 1895 - Matthew Ridgway, Supreme Allied Commander of NATO, U.S. Army Chief of Staff (d. 1993)
- 1911 - Jean Harlow, American actress (d. 1937)
- 1911 - Hugues Lapointe, French Canadian politician and Lieutenant governor of Quebec (d. 1982)
- 1918 - Arthur Kornberg, American biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- 1918 - Fritz Thiedemann, German equestrian (d. 2000)
- 1920 - Julius Boros, American golfer (d. 1994)
- 1920 - James Doohan, Canadian-born actor (d. 2005)
- 1920 - Ronald Searle, British illustrator
- 1922 - Nándor Hidegkuti, Hungarian footballer
- 1923 - Barney Martin, American actor (d. 2005)
- 1923 - Doc Watson, American musician
- 1926 - Lys Assia, Swiss singer
- 1926 - Joseph Anthony Ferrario, American Catholic prelate
- 1926 - James Merrill, American poet (d. 1995)
- 1927 - Pierre Aubert, member of the Swiss Federal Council
- 1930 - Heiner Geißler, German politician
- 1930 - Ion Iliescu, President of Romania
- 1933 - Lee Radziwill, American fashion executive
- 1933 - Marco Antonio Muñiz, Mexican singer (Los Tres Aces)
- 1937 - Bobby Driscoll, American actor (d. 1968)
- 1940 - Germán Castro Caycedo, Colombian writer and journalist
- 1940 - Perry Ellis, fashion designer (d. 1986)
- 1942 - Mike Pender, English singer and guitarist (The Searchers)
- 1945 - George Miller, Australian film director
- 1946 - John Virgo, English snooker player
- 1947 - Jennifer Warnes, American singer and songwriter
- 1948 - Snowy White, British guitarist (Thin Lizzy, Pink Floyd)
- 1949 - Jüri Allik, Estonian psychologist
- 1949 - Gloria Hendry, American actress
- 1949 - Jesse Jefferson, American baseball player
- 1950 - Tim Kazurinsky, American actor and comedian
- 1952 - Dermot Morgan, Irish actor and comedian (d. 1998)
- 1953 - Robyn Hitchcock, British musician
- 1953 - Zico, Brazilian footballer
- 1954 - Édouard Lock, Canadian dance choregrapher (La La La Human Steps)
- 1955 - Andy Breckman, American comedian and radio personality
- 1956 - Zbigniew Boniek, Polish soccer player
- 1958 - Marc Silvestri, American comic book artist and publisher (Top Cow Productions)
- 1958 - Miranda Richardson, British actress
- 1959 - Ira Glass, American radio host
- 1960 - Neal Heaton, American baseball pitcher
- 1961 - Fatima Whitbread, British field athlete
- 1961 - Perry McCarthy, British racing driver
- 1962 - Jackie Joyner-Kersee, American athlete
- 1962 - Herschel Walker, American football player
- 1964 - Laura Harring, Mexican American actress
- 1964 - Duncan Phillips, Australian drummer (Newsboys)
- 1964 - Raul Alcala, Mexican cyclist
- 1966 - Tone-Loc, American musician
- 1966 - Fernando Colunga, Mexican actor
- 1968 - Brian Leetch, American ice hockey player
- 1970 - Julie Bowen, American actress
- 1971 - Tyler Florence, Chef, Food Network personality, cookbook author
- 1973 - Victoria Zdrok, Ukrainian model
- 1973 - Romans Vainsteins, Latvian cyclist
- 1974 - David Faustino, American actor
- 1977 - Ronan Keating, Irish singer
- 1977 - Stéphane Robidas, professional ice hockey player
- 1978 - Matt Diaz, American baseball player
- 1978 - Seomoon Tak, Korean singer
- 1979 - Patrick Renna, American actor
- 1980 - Mason Unck, American football player
- 1981 - Kim Yoo-Jin (Eugene), South Korean singer and actress
- 1981 - Sung Yu Ri, South Korean singer and actress
- 1981 - Lil' Flip, American rapper
- 1981 - Emmanuel Pappoe, Ghanaian footballer
- 1981 - Dusty Dvoracek, American football player
- 1982 - Jessica Biel, American actress
- 1985 - Sam Morrow, Northern Irish footballer
- 1992 - Madison Cross, American singer and actress
- 1997 - Maria Francisca Isabel de Bragança, Infanta, daughter of Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza
[edit] Deaths
- 1111 - Bohemund I, Prince of Antioch
- 1239 - Vladimir III Rurikovich, Grand Prince of Kiev (b. 1187)
- 1459 - Ausiàs March, Catalan poet (b. 1397)
- 1554 - John Frederick, Elector of Saxony (b. 1503)
- 1703 - Robert Hooke, English scientist (b. 1635)
- 1706 - Johann Pachelbel, German composer (b. 1653)
- 1707 - Aurangzeb, Mughal Emperor of India (b. 1618)
- 1717 - Pierre Allix, French Protestant pastor (b. 1641)
- 1744 - Jean Barbeyrac, French jurist
- 1765 - William Stukeley, English arhaeologist (b. 1687)
- 1768 - Nicola Porpora, Italian composer (b. 1686)
- 1792 - Robert Adam, Scottish architect (b. 1728)
- 1850 - Oliver Cowdery, American religious leader (b. 1806)
- 1894 - Ned Williamson, American baseball player (b. 1857)
- 1927 - Mikhail Artsybashev, Russian writer (b. 1878)
- 1927 - J.G. Parry-Thomas, Welsh motor-racing driver (b. 1884)
- 1932 - Eugen d'Albert, German composer (b. 1864)
- 1943 - George Thompson, English cricketer (b. 1877)
- 1953 - James J. Jeffries, American heavyweight boxer (b. 1875)
- 1959 - Lou Costello, American actor and comedian (b. 1906)
- 1961 - Paul Wittgenstein, Austrian-born pianist (b. 1887)
- 1966 - William Frawley, American actor (b. 1887)
- 1966 - Alice Pearce, American actress (b. 1917)
- 1982 - Georges Perec, French writer (b. 1936)
- 1983 - Hergé, Belgian comics creator (b. 1907)
- 1983 - Arthur Koestler, Austrian writer (b. 1905)
- 1987 - Danny Kaye, American actor, singer, and comedian (b. 1913)
- 1988 - Sewall Wright, American biologist (b. 1889)
- 1990 - Gérard Blitz, Belgian waterpoloist and entrepreneur (b. 1912)
- 1991 - Arthur Murray, American dancer and dance instructor (b. 1895)
- 1993 - Carlos Marcello, Tunisian-born gangster (b. 1910)
- 1993 - Albert Sabin, Polish-born medical researcher (b. 1906)
- 1993 - Carlos Montoya, flamenco guitarist (b. 1903)
- 1995 - Howard W. Hunter, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1907)
- 1996 - Marguerite Duras, French writer (b. 1914)
- 1996 - John Cardinal Krol, American Catholic clergyman (b. 1910)
- 1998 - Fred Friendly, American broadcast executive (b. 1915)
- 1999 - Gerhard Herzberg, German-born chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1904)
- 2000 - Toni Ortelli, Italian composer and alpinist (b. 1904)
- 2000 - Sandra Schmirler, Canadian curler (b. 1963)
- 2001 - Louis Edmonds, American actor (b. 1923)
- 2002 - Harlan Howard, American musician (b. 1927)
- 2003 - Horst Buchholz, German actor (b. 1933)
- 2003 - Luis Marden, American photojournalist (b. 1913)
- 2003 - Peter Smithson, English architect (b. 1923)
- 2003 - Goffredo Petrassi, Italian composer (b. 1904)
- 2004 - Cecily Adams, American actress and casting director (b. 1958)
- 2005 - Max M. Fisher, American philanthropist (b. 1928)
- 2005 - Rinus Michels, Dutch football coach (b. 1928)
- 2006 - Ivor Cutler, Scottish poet (b. 1923)
- 2006 - William Herskovic, Holocaust hero and philanthropist (b. 1914)
- 2007 - Benito Lorenzi, Italian footballer (b. 1925)
[edit] Holidays and observances
[edit] External links
