March 3
is the 62
nd day of the year in the
Gregorian Calendar (63
rd in
leap years). There are 303 days remaining.
*
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.
*
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 -
Minnesota Territory organizes as a
political division of the United States.
* 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 - the Emancipation Manifesto is signed and published in
Russia, 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.
*
1938 -
Glenn Cunningham breaks the world record for the indoor
mile run by completing the distance in 4 minutes, 4.4 seconds.
* 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.
*
1949 - The
Tucker Automobile Corporation folds.
*
1953 - A
Canadian Pacific Airlines De Havilland Comet crashes in
Karachi,
Pakistan killing 11.
*
1955 -
Elvis Presley appears on
television for the first time.
*
1957 - In
Frankfurt.
Germany,
Corry Brokken wins the second
Eurovision Song Contest for the
Netherlands singing "Net als toen" (Like it used to be).
* 1957 - Cypriot liberation fighter Gregoris Afxentiou is killed, while fighting against British troops, burnt alive in a cave near the Machera Monastery, refusing to surrender.
*
1958 -
Nuri as-Said becomes the
prime minister of
Iraq for the 14th time.
*
1959 - The
San Francisco Giants officially name their new stadium
Candlestick Park.
*
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.
* 1969 - In a
Los Angeles, California court,
Sirhan Sirhan admits that he killed presidential candidate
Robert F. Kennedy.
*
1971 - Beginning of
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 and
India's official entry to the
Bangladesh Liberation War in support of
Mukti Bahini*
1972 - The
space probe Pioneer X is launched by
NASA.
*
1973 - Presidents Rule introduced in the
Indian state of
Orissa.
*
1974 - A Turkish
DC-10 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 -
Fleetwood Mac records
Rumours, which will be a blockbuster album in
1977.
*
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.
*
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 -
LaGrand case: The State of
Arizona executes
Walter LaGrand, a
German despite German legal action in the
International Court of Justice.
* 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 refuelling - 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.
*
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)
*
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)
*
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)
*
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)
*
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
* 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
*
1937 -
Bobby Driscoll, American actor (d.
1968)
*
1940 -
Germán Castro Caycedo, Colombian writer and journalist
* 1940 -
Perry Ellis, fashion designer (d.
1986)
*
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
*
1953 -
Robyn Hitchcock, British musician
* 1953 -
Zico, Brazilian footballer
*
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
*
1962 -
Jackie Joyner-Kersee, American athlete
* 1962 -
Herschel Walker, American football player
*
1964 -
Raul Alcala, Mexican cyclist
*
1966 -
Tone-Loc, American musician
*
1968 -
Brian Leetch, American
ice hockey player
*
1970 -
Julie Bowen, American actress
*
1973 -
Victoria Zdrok, Ukrainian model
* 1973 -
Romans Vainsteins, Latvian cyclist
*
1974 -
David Faustino, American actor
*
1977 -
Ronan Keating, Irish singer
*
1978 -
Matt Diaz, American baseball player
*
1981 -
Lil' Flip, American rapper
*
1982 -
Jessica Biel, American actress
*
1985 -
Sam Morrow, Northern Irish footballer
*
1986 -
Stacie Orrico, American singer
*
561 -
Pope Pelagius I*
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 archaeologist (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)
*
1937 -
Amelia Earhart, American pilot (disappeared) (b.
1897)
*
1943 -
George Thompson, English cricketer (b.
1877)
*
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 -
Maxfield Parrish, American artist (b.
1870)
* 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)
*
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)
*
2001 -
Louis Edmonds, American actor (b.
1923)
*
2002 -
Harlan Howard, American musician (b.
1927)
*
2003 -
Horst Buchholz, German actor (b.
1933)
* 2003 -
Peter Smithson, English architect (b.
1923)
* 2003 -
Goffredo Petrassi, Italian composer (b.
1904)
*
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)
*
Hinamatsuri -
Japanese celebration day for girls.
*
Malawi -
Martyr's Day.
*
Bulgaria -
Liberation Day.
*
BBC: On This Day*
The New York Times: On This Day*
On This Day in CanadaMarch 2 -
March 4 -
February 3 -
April 3 --
listing of all days
