September 3Birthdays & History

On this day: September 3 in history

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

1. 36 BCIn the Battle of Naulochus, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, admiral of Octavian, defeats Sextus Pompey, son of Pompey, thus ending Pompeian resistance to the Second Triumvirate.Europe
2. 301San Marino, one of the smallest nations in the world and the world's oldest republic still in existence, is founded by Saint Marinus.Europe
3. 590Consecration of Pope Gregory I (Gregory the Great).Europe
4. 673King Wamba of the Visigoths puts down a revolt by Hilderic, governor of Nîmes (France) and rival for the throne.Europe
5. 863Major Byzantine victory under general Petronas at the Battle of Lalakaon against an Arab raid under emir Umar al-Aqta, who is killed in battle.EuropeMiddle East
6. 1189Richard I of England (a.k.a. Richard "the Lionheart") is crowned at Westminster.Europe
7. 1260The Mamluks defeat the Mongols at the Battle of Ain Jalut in Palestine, marking their first decisive defeat and the point of maximum expansion of the Mongol Empire.AsiaMiddle East
8. 1335At the congress of Visegrád Charles I of Hungary mediates a reconciliation between two neighboring monarchs, John of Bohemia and Casimir III of Poland.Europe
9. 1411The Treaty of Selymbria is concluded between the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Venice.Middle EastEurope
10. 1650Victory over the royalists in the Battle of Dunbar opens the way to Edinburgh for the New Model Army during the English invasion of Scotland.Europe
11. 1651The Battle of Worcester is the last significant action in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.Europe
12. 1658The death of Oliver Cromwell; Richard Cromwell becomes Lord Protector of England.Europe
13. 1666The Royal Exchange burns down in the Great Fire of London.Europe
14. 1777American Revolutionary War: During the Battle of Cooch's Bridge, the Flag of the United States is flown in battle for the first time.North America
15. 1783American Revolutionary War: The war ends with the signing of the Treaty of Paris by the United States and the Kingdom of Great Britain.North AmericaEurope
16. 1798The week long battle of St. George's Caye begins between Spain and Britain off the coast of Belize.EuropeLatin America
17. 1812Twenty-four settlers are killed in the Pigeon Roost Massacre in Indiana.North America
18. 1838Future abolitionist Frederick Douglass escapes from slavery.North America
19. 1843King Otto of Greece is forced to grant a constitution following an uprising in Athens.Europe
20. 1855American Indian Wars: In Nebraska, 700 soldiers under United States General William S. Harney avenge the Grattan massacre by attacking a Sioux village and killing 100 men, women and children.North America
21. 1861American Civil War: Confederate General Leonidas Polk invades neutral Kentucky, prompting the state legislature to ask for Union assistance.North America
22. 1870Franco-Prussian War: The Siege of Metz begins, resulting in a decisive Prussian victory on October 23.Europe
23. 1878Over 640 die when the crowded pleasure boat Princess Alice collides with the Bywell Castle in the River Thames.Europe
24. 1879Siege of the British Residency in Kabul: British envoy Sir Louis Cavagnari and 72 men of the Guides are massacred by Afghan troops while defending the British Residency in Kabul. Their heroism and loyalty became famous and revered throughout the British Empire.EuropeAsia
25. 1895John Brallier becomes the first openly paid professional American football player, when he was paid US$10 by David Berry, to play for the Latrobe Athletic Association in a 12–0 win over the Jeanette Athletic Association.North America
26. 1911A fire that started on Fraser's Million Dollar Pier destroys six to eight square blocks of Ocean Park, California.North America
27. 1914World War I: Start of the Battle of Grand Couronné, a German assault against French positions on high ground near the city of Nancy.Europe
28. 1914French composer Albéric Magnard is killed defending his estate against invading German soldiers.Europe
29. 1914Wilhelm, Prince of Albania leaves the country after just six months due to opposition to his rule.Europe
30. 1916World War I: Leefe Robinson destroys the German airship Schütte-Lanz SL 11 over Cuffley, north of London; this is the first German airship to be shot down on British soil.Europe
31. 1925USS Shenandoah, the United States' first American-built rigid airship, is destroyed in a squall line over Noble County, Ohio. Fourteen of her 42-man crew perished, including her commander, Zachary Lansdowne.North America
32. 1933Yevgeniy Abalakov is the first man to reach the highest point in the Soviet Union, Communism Peak (now called Ismoil Somoni Peak and situated in Tajikistan) (7495 m).EuropeAsia
33. 1935Sir Malcolm Campbell reaches a speed of 304.331 miles per hour on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, becoming the first person to drive an automobile over 300 mph.North America
34. 1939World War II: France, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia declare war on Germany after the invasion of Poland, forming the Allied nations. The Viceroy of India also declares war, but without consulting the provincial legislatures.EuropeOceaniaAsia
35. 1939World War II: The United Kingdom and France begin a naval blockade of Germany that lasts until the end of the war. This also marks the beginning of the Battle of the Atlantic.Europe
36. 1941The Holocaust: Karl Fritzsch, deputy camp commandant of the Auschwitz concentration camp, experiments with the use of Zyklon B in the gassing of Soviet POWs.Europe
37. 1942World War II: In response to news of its coming liquidation, Dov Lopatyn leads an uprising in the Ghetto of Lakhva (present-day Belarus).Europe
38. 1943World War II: British and Canadian troops land on the Italian mainland. On the same day, Walter Bedell Smith and Giuseppe Castellano sign the Armistice of Cassibile, although it is not announced for another five days.EuropeNorth America
39. 1944Holocaust: Diarist Anne Frank and her family are placed on the last transport train from the Westerbork transit camp to the Auschwitz concentration camp, arriving three days later.Europe
40. 1945A three-day celebration begins in China, following the Victory over Japan Day on September 2.AsiaAsia
41. 1950"Nino" Farina becomes the first Formula One Drivers' champion after winning the 1950 Italian Grand Prix.Europe
42. 1954The People's Liberation Army begins shelling the Republic of China-controlled islands of Quemoy, starting the First Taiwan Strait Crisis.Asia
43. 1967Dagen H in Sweden: Traffic changes from driving on the left to driving on the right overnight.Europe
44. 1971Qatar becomes an independent state.Middle East
45. 1976Viking program: The American Viking 2 spacecraft lands at Utopia Planitia on Mars.EuropeNorth America
46. 1978During the Rhodesian Bush War a group of ZIPRA guerrillas shot down civilian Vickers Viscount aircraft (Air Rhodesia Flight 825) with a Soviet-made SAM Strela-2; of 56 passengers and crew 38 people died in crash, 10 were massacred by the guerrillas at the site.AfricaEurope
47. 1981The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, an international bill of rights for women, is instituted by the United Nations.World
48. 1987In a coup d'état in Burundi, President Jean-Baptiste Bagaza is deposed by Major Pierre Buyoya.Africa
49. 1989Varig Flight 254 crashes in the Amazon rainforest near São José do Xingu in Brazil, killing 12.Latin America
50. 1989Cubana de Aviación Flight 9046 crashes into a residential area of Havana shortly after takeoff from José Martí International Airport, killing 150.Latin America
51. 1997Vietnam Airlines Flight 815 (Tupolev Tu-134) crashes on approach into Phnom Penh airport, killing 64.Asia
52. 2001In Belfast, Protestant loyalists begin a picket of Holy Cross, a Catholic primary school for girls.Europe
53. 2004Beslan school siege ends, resulting in over 330 fatalities, including 186 children.Europe
54. 2010After taking off from Dubai International Airport, UPS Airlines Flight 6 develops an in-flight fire in the cargo hold and crashes near Nad Al Sheba, killing both crew members on board.Middle East
55. 2016The U.S. and China, together responsible for 40% of the world's carbon emissions, both formally ratify the Paris global climate agreement.North AmericaAsiaEurope
56. 2017North Korea conducts its sixth and most powerful nuclear test.Asia

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