March 3Birthdays & History

On this day: March 3 in history

Oldest first. Tap a year to see it on the World Chronicle timeline.

1. 473Gundobad (nephew of Ricimer) nominates Glycerius as emperor of the Western Roman Empire.Europe
2. 724Empress Genshō abdicates the throne in favor of her nephew Shōmu who becomes emperor of Japan.Asia
3. 880Emperor Basil I ratifies the decrees of the Fourth Council of Constantinople, confirming the reinstatement of patriarch Photios I of Constantinople.Middle East
4. 1575Mughal Emperor Akbar defeats Sultan of Bengal Daud Khan Karrani's army at the Battle of Tukaroi.Asia
5. 1585The Olympic Theatre, designed by Andrea Palladio, is inaugurated in Vicenza.Europe
6. 1776American Revolutionary War: The first amphibious landing of the United States Marine Corps begins the Battle of Nassau.North America
7. 1779American Revolutionary War: The Continental Army is routed at the Battle of Brier Creek near Savannah, Georgia.North America
8. 1795The Fédon Rebellion breaks out in Grenada, the rebels seizing Grenville and later Gouyave.Latin America
9. 1799The Russo-Ottoman siege of Corfu ends with the surrender of the French garrison.Middle EastEurope
10. 1845Florida is admitted as the 27th U.S. state.North America
11. 1849The Territory of Minnesota is created.North America
12. 1857Second Opium War: France and the United Kingdom declare war on China.EuropeAsia
13. 1859The two-day Great Slave Auction, one of the largest such auctions in United States history, concludes.North America
14. 1861Alexander II of Russia signs the Emancipation Manifesto, freeing serfs.Europe
15. 1873Censorship in the United States: The U.S. Congress enacts the Comstock Law, making it illegal to send any "obscene literature and articles of immoral use" through the mail.North America
16. 1878The Russo-Turkish War ends with Bulgaria regaining its independence from the Ottoman Empire according to the Treaty of San Stefano.Middle EastEurope
17. 1891Shoshone National Forest is established as the first national forest in the US and world.North America
18. 1913Thousands of women march in the Woman Suffrage Procession in Washington, D.C.North America
19. 1918Russia signs the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, agreeing to withdraw from World War I, and conceding German control of the Baltic States, Belarus and Ukraine. It also conceded Turkish control of Ardahan, Kars and Batumi.EuropeMiddle East
20. 1923US magazine Time publishes its first issue.North America
21. 1924The Ottoman Caliphate is abolished, when the Caliph Abdülmecid II of the Ottoman dynasty is deposed. The last remnant of the old monarchy gives way to the reformed Turkey of Kemal Atatürk.Middle East
22. 1924The Free State of Fiume is annexed by the Kingdom of Italy.Europe
23. 1938Oil is discovered in Saudi Arabia.Middle East
24. 1939In Bombay, Mohandas Gandhi begins a hunger strike in protest at the autocratic rule in British India.AsiaEurope
25. 1940Five people are killed in an arson attack on the offices of the communist newspaper Flamman in Luleå, Sweden.Europe
26. 1942World War II: Ten Japanese warplanes raid Broome, Western Australia, killing more than 100 people.AsiaOceania
27. 1943World War II: In London, 173 people are killed in a crush while trying to enter an air-raid shelter at Bethnal Green tube station.Europe
28. 1944A freight train carrying stowaway passengers stalls in a tunnel shortly after departing from Balvano, Basilicata, Italy just after midnight, with 517 dying from carbon monoxide poisoning.Europe
29. 1944The Order of Nakhimov and Order of Ushakov are instituted in USSR as the highest naval awards.Europe
30. 1945World War II: In poor visibility, the RAF mistakenly bombs the Bezuidenhout area of The Hague, Netherlands, killing 511 people.Europe
31. 1953A De Havilland Comet (Canadian Pacific Air Lines) crashes in Karachi, Pakistan, killing 11 people.North AmericaAsia
32. 1958Nuri al-Said becomes Prime Minister of Iraq for the eighth time.Middle East
33. 1969Apollo program: NASA launches Apollo 9 to test the lunar module.North America
34. 1972Mohawk Airlines Flight 405 crashes as a result of a control malfunction and insufficient training in emergency procedures.North America
35. 1974Turkish Airlines Flight 981 crashes at Ermenonville near Paris, France killing all 346 aboard.Middle EastEurope
36. 1980The USS Nautilus is decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register.North America
37. 1985A magnitude 8.3 earthquake strikes the Valparaíso Region of Chile, killing 177 and leaving nearly a million people homeless.Latin America
38. 1986The Australia Act 1986 commences, causing Australia to become fully independent from the United Kingdom.OceaniaEurope
39. 1991United Airlines Flight 585 crashes on its final approach to Colorado Springs killing everyone on board.North America
40. 1991An amateur video captures the beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles police officers.North America
41. 2005Margaret Wilson is elected as Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives, beginning a period lasting until August 23, 2006, where all the highest political offices (including Elizabeth II as Head of State), were occupied by women, making New Zealand the first country for this to occur.Oceania
42. 2005James Roszko murders four Royal Canadian Mounted Police constables during a drug bust at his property in Rochfort Bridge, Alberta, then commits suicide. This is the deadliest peace-time incident for the RCMP since 1885 and the North-West Rebellion.North America
43. 2005Steve Fossett becomes the first person to fly an airplane non-stop around the world solo without refueling.North America
44. 2013A bomb blast in Karachi, Pakistan, kills at least 48 people and injured 200 others in a predominantly Shia Muslim area.Asia

Source: Wikipedia "March 3" / CC BY-SA 4.0