On This Day — May 3

Famous events, births, and deaths from May 3 in history, plus the public holidays, religious observances, sports, and national days happening on this date today.

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49 events · 223 births · 104 deaths recorded for May 3.

🕰️ Notable Events on May 3

2016 — 88,000 people were evacuated from their homes in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada as a wildfire ripped through the community, destroying approximately 2400 homes and buildings. Wikipedia ↗
2015 — Two gunmen launch an attempted attack on an anti-Islam event in Garland, Texas, which was held in response to the Charlie Hebdo shooting. Wikipedia ↗
2007 — The 4 year old British girl Madeleine McCann disappears in Praia da Luz, Portugal, starting "the most heavily reported missing-person case in modern history". Wikipedia ↗
2002 — An Indian Air Force MiG-21 crashes into a bank in Jalandhar, killing eight and injuring 17. Wikipedia ↗
2001 — The United States loses its seat on the U.N. Human Rights Commission for the first time since the commission was formed in 1947. Wikipedia ↗
2000 — The sport of geocaching begins, with the first cache placed and the coordinates from a GPS posted on Usenet. Wikipedia ↗
1999 — The southwestern portion of Oklahoma City is devastated by an F5 tornado, killing forty-five people, injuring 665, and causing $1 billion in damage. The tornado is one of 66 from the 1999 Oklahoma tornado outbreak. This tornado also produces the highest wind speed ever recorded, measured at 301 +/- 20 mph (484 +/- 32 km/h). Wikipedia ↗
1987 — A crash by Bobby Allison at the Talladega Superspeedway, Alabama fencing at the start-finish line would lead NASCAR to develop the restrictor plate for the following season both at Daytona International Speedway and Talladega. Wikipedia ↗
1986 — Twenty-one people are killed and forty-one are injured after a bomb explodes in an airliner (Flight UL512) at Colombo airport in Sri Lanka. Wikipedia ↗
1978 — The first unsolicited bulk commercial email (which would later become known as "spam") is sent by a Digital Equipment Corporation marketing representative to every ARPANET address on the west coast of the United States. Wikipedia ↗
1973 — The 108-story Sears Tower in Chicago is topped out at 1,451 feet as the world's tallest building. Wikipedia ↗
1963 — The police force in Birmingham, Alabama switches tactics and responds with violent force to stop the "Birmingham campaign" protesters. Images of the violent suppression are transmitted worldwide, bringing new-found attention to the Civil Rights Movement. Wikipedia ↗
1960 — The Off-Broadway musical comedy The Fantasticks opens in New York City's Greenwich Village, eventually becoming the longest-running musical of all time. Wikipedia ↗
1960 — The Anne Frank House museum opens in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Wikipedia ↗
1957 — Walter O'Malley, the owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers, agrees to move the team from Brooklyn, to Los Angeles. Wikipedia ↗
1952 — Lieutenant Colonels Joseph O. Fletcher and William P. Benedict of the United States land a plane at the North Pole. Wikipedia ↗
1952 — The Kentucky Derby is televised nationally for the first time, on the CBS network. Wikipedia ↗
1951 — London's Royal Festival Hall opens with the Festival of Britain. Wikipedia ↗
1951 — The United States Senate Committee on Armed Services and United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations begin their closed door hearings into the dismissal of General Douglas MacArthur by U.S. President Harry Truman. Wikipedia ↗
1948 — The U.S. Supreme Court rules in Shelley v. Kraemer that covenants prohibiting the sale of real estate to blacks and other minorities are legally unenforceable. Wikipedia ↗
1947 — New post-war Japanese constitution goes into effect. Wikipedia ↗
1945 — World War II: Sinking of the prison ships Cap Arcona, Thielbek and Deutschland by the Royal Air Force in Lübeck Bay. Wikipedia ↗
1942 — World War II: Japanese naval troops invade Tulagi Island in the Solomon Islands during the first part of Operation Mo that results in the Battle of the Coral Sea between Japanese forces and forces from the United States and Australia. Wikipedia ↗
1939 — The All India Forward Bloc is formed by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. Wikipedia ↗
1937 — Gone with the Wind, a novel by Margaret Mitchell, wins the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Wikipedia ↗
1921 — West Virginia becomes the first state to legislate a broad sales tax, but does not implement it until a number of years later due to enforcement issues. Wikipedia ↗
1921 — The Partition of Ireland; The Government of Ireland Act 1920 is passed, dividing Ireland into Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland. Wikipedia ↗
1920 — A Bolshevik coup fails in the Democratic Republic of Georgia. Wikipedia ↗
1913 — Raja Harishchandra the first full-length Indian feature film is released, marking the beginning of the Indian film industry. Wikipedia ↗
1901 — The Great Fire of 1901 begins in Jacksonville, Florida. Wikipedia ↗
1867 — The Hudson's Bay Company gives up all claims to Vancouver Island. Wikipedia ↗
1860 — Charles XV of Sweden-Norway is crowned king of Sweden. Wikipedia ↗
1855 — American adventurer William Walker departs from San Francisco with about 60 men to conquer Nicaragua. Wikipedia ↗
1849 — The May Uprising in Dresden begins - the last of the German revolutions of 1848-49. Wikipedia ↗
1848 — The boar-crested Anglo-Saxon Benty Grange helmet is discovered. Wikipedia ↗
1837 — The University of Athens is founded in Athens, Greece. Wikipedia ↗
1830 — The Canterbury and Whitstable Railway is opened; it is the first steam-hauled passenger railway to issue season tickets and include a tunnel. Wikipedia ↗
1815 — Neapolitan War: Joachim Murat, King of Naples is defeated by the Austrians at the Battle of Tolentino, the decisive engagement of the war. Wikipedia ↗
1808 — Finnish War: Sweden loses the fortress of Sveaborg to Russia. Wikipedia ↗
1808 — Peninsular War: The Madrid rebels who rose up on May 2 are executed near Príncipe Pío hill. Wikipedia ↗
1802 — Washington, D.C. is incorporated as a city. Wikipedia ↗
1791 — The Constitution of May 3 (the first modern constitution in Europe) is proclaimed by the Sejm of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Wikipedia ↗
1715 — A total solar eclipse was visible across northern Europe, and northern Asia, as predicted by Edmond Halley to within 4 minutes accuracy. Wikipedia ↗
1616 — Treaty of Loudun ends French civil war. Wikipedia ↗
1491 — Kongo monarch Nkuwu Nzinga is baptised by Portuguese missionaries, adopting the baptismal name of João I. Wikipedia ↗
1481 — The largest of three earthquakes strikes the island of Rhodes and causes an estimated 30,000 casualties. Wikipedia ↗
1294 — John II becomes Duke of Brabant, Lothier and Limburg. Wikipedia ↗
752 — Mayan king Bird Jaguar IV of Yaxchilan in modern-day Chiapas, Mexico assumes the throne. Wikipedia ↗
The Macedonian army of Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of the Granicus. Wikipedia ↗

🎂 Notable Births on May 3

1997 — Ivana Jorović, Serbian tennis player Wikipedia ↗
1996 — Mary Cain, American runner Wikipedia ↗
1996 — Alex Iwobi, Nigerian football player Wikipedia ↗
1996 — Domantas Sabonis, Lithuanian basketball player Wikipedia ↗
1995 — Ivan Bukavshin, Russian chess player (d. 2016) Wikipedia ↗
1992 — Aaron Whitchurch, Australian rugby league player Wikipedia ↗
1991 — Samuel Seo, South Korean musician Wikipedia ↗
1990 — Brooks Koepka, American golfer Wikipedia ↗
1989 — Jesse Bromwich, New Zealand rugby league player Wikipedia ↗
1989 — Katinka Hosszú, Hungarian swimmer Wikipedia ↗
1988 — Ben Revere, American baseball player Wikipedia ↗
1988 — Paddy Holohan, Irish mixed martial artist Wikipedia ↗
1987 — Lina Grinčikaitė, Lithuanian sprinter Wikipedia ↗
1986 — Moon Byung-woo, South Korean footballer Wikipedia ↗
1985 — Ezequiel Lavezzi, Argentinian footballer Wikipedia ↗
1985 — Kadri Lehtla, Estonian biathlete Wikipedia ↗
1985 — Miko Mälberg, Estonian swimmer Wikipedia ↗
1983 — Joseph Addai, American football player Wikipedia ↗
1983 — Romeo Castelen, Dutch footballer Wikipedia ↗
1983 — Jérôme Clavier, French pole vaulter Wikipedia ↗
1983 — Márton Fülöp, Hungarian footballer (d. 2015) Wikipedia ↗
1982 — Igor Olshansky, Ukrainian-American football player Wikipedia ↗
1982 — Nick Stavinoha, American baseball player Wikipedia ↗
1980 — Zuzana Ondrášková, Czech tennis player Wikipedia ↗
1980 — Marcel Vigneron, American chef Wikipedia ↗
1979 — Steve Mack, American wrestler Wikipedia ↗
1979 — Anastasiya Shvedova, Belarusian pole vaulter Wikipedia ↗
1978 — Christian Annan, Ghanaian-Hong Kong footballer Wikipedia ↗
1978 — Paul Banks, English-American singer-songwriter and guitarist Wikipedia ↗
1978 — Dai Tamesue, Japanese hurdler Wikipedia ↗
1978 — Lawrence Tynes, American football player Wikipedia ↗
1977 — Ben Olsen, American soccer player and coach Wikipedia ↗
1977 — Ryan Dempster, Canadian baseball player and sportscaster Wikipedia ↗
1977 — Tyronn Lue, American basketball player and coach Wikipedia ↗
1977 — Hiro Mashima, Japanese illustrator Wikipedia ↗
1977 — Maryam Mirzakhani, Iranian mathematiker (d. 2017) Wikipedia ↗
1976 — Jeff Halpern, American ice hockey player Wikipedia ↗
1976 — Brad Scott, Australian footballer and coach Wikipedia ↗
1976 — Chris Scott, Australian footballer and coach Wikipedia ↗
1975 — Willie Geist, American television journalist and host Wikipedia ↗
1975 — Christina Hendricks, American actress Wikipedia ↗
1975 — Dulé Hill, American actor, dancer, and producer Wikipedia ↗
1973 — Jamie Baulch, English sprinter and television host Wikipedia ↗
1972 — Stephen Barclay, English lawyer and politician Wikipedia ↗
1972 — Wally Bayola, Filipino actor, singer, comedian and television personality Wikipedia ↗
1971 — Douglas Carswell, English politician Wikipedia ↗
1971 — Josey Scott, American singer-songwriter and guitarist Wikipedia ↗
1970 — Bobby Cannavale, American actor Wikipedia ↗
1970 — Jeffrey Sebelia, American fashion designer Wikipedia ↗
1969 — Daryl F. Mallett, American author and actor Wikipedia ↗
1969 — Bruce Reyes-Chow, American minister and author Wikipedia ↗
1969 — Amy Ryan, American actress Wikipedia ↗
1968 — Viliami Ofahengaue, Tongan-Australian rugby player Wikipedia ↗
1967 — Daniel Anderson Australian rugby league coach and manager Wikipedia ↗
1967 — Kenneth Joel Hotz Canadian producer, writer, director, actor, and comedian Wikipedia ↗
1967 — André Olbrich, German guitarist and songwriter Wikipedia ↗
1966 — Giorgos Agorogiannis, Greek footballer Wikipedia ↗
1966 — Frank Dietrich, German politician (d. 2011) Wikipedia ↗
1965 — Ignatius Aphrem II, Syrian patriarch Wikipedia ↗
1965 — Mark Cousins, Northern Irish director, writer, cinematographer Wikipedia ↗
1965 — John Jensen, Danish footballer and coach Wikipedia ↗
1965 — Mikhail Prokhorov, Russian businessman Wikipedia ↗
1964 — Sterling Campbell, American drummer and songwriter Wikipedia ↗
1964 — Ron Hextall, Canadian-American ice hockey player and manager Wikipedia ↗
1963 — Jeff Hornacek, American basketball player and coach Wikipedia ↗
1963 — Marco Mendoza, American guitarist Wikipedia ↗
1963 — Mona Siddiqui, Pakistani-Scottish journalist and academic Wikipedia ↗
1962 — Anders Graneheim, Swedish bodybuilder Wikipedia ↗
1961 — Steve McClaren, English footballer and manager Wikipedia ↗
1961 — Joe Murray, American animator, producer, and screenwriter Wikipedia ↗
1961 — David Vitter, American lawyer and politician Wikipedia ↗
1961 — Leyla Zana, Kurdish activist and politician Wikipedia ↗
1960 — Geraint Davies, Welsh businessman and politician Wikipedia ↗
1960 — Kathy Smallwood-Cook, English sprinter and educator Wikipedia ↗
1959 — David Ball, English keyboard player and producer Wikipedia ↗
1959 — Uma Bharti, Indian activist and politician, 16th Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Wikipedia ↗
1959 — Ben Elton, English actor, director, and screenwriter Wikipedia ↗
1958 — Bill Sienkiewicz, American author and illustrator Wikipedia ↗
1958 — Sandi Toksvig, Danish-English comedian, author, and radio host Wikipedia ↗
1957 — Alain Côté, Canadian ice hockey player Wikipedia ↗
1957 — Rod Langway, Taiwanese-American ice hockey player and coach Wikipedia ↗
1956 — Marc Bellemare, Canadian lawyer and politician Wikipedia ↗
1955 — Stephen D. M. Brown, British geneticist Wikipedia ↗
1955 — Colin Deans, Scottish rugby player Wikipedia ↗
1955 — David Hookes, Australian cricketer, coach, and sportscaster (d. 2004) Wikipedia ↗
1955 — Seishirō Nishida, Japanese actor Wikipedia ↗
1954 — Angela Bofill, American singer-songwriter Wikipedia ↗
1954 — Jean-Marc Roberts, French author and screenwriter (d. 2013) Wikipedia ↗
1953 — Bruce Hall, American singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer Wikipedia ↗
1953 — Jake Hooker, Israeli-American guitarist and songwriter (d. 2014) Wikipedia ↗
1952 — Chuck Baldwin, American pastor and politician Wikipedia ↗
1952 — Caitlin Clarke, American actress (d. 2004) Wikipedia ↗
1952 — Joseph W. Tobin, American cardinal Wikipedia ↗
1951 — Alan Clayson, English singer-songwriter and journalist Wikipedia ↗
1951 — Christopher Cross, American singer-songwriter and producer Wikipedia ↗
1951 — Ashok Gehlot, Indian politician, 21st Chief Minister of Rajasthan Wikipedia ↗
1951 — Tatyana Tolstaya, Russian author and publicist Wikipedia ↗
1950 — Mary Hopkin, Welsh singer-songwriter Wikipedia ↗
1950 — Dag Arnesen, Norwegian pianist and composer Wikipedia ↗
1949 — Liam Donaldson, English physician and academic Wikipedia ↗
1949 — Ruth Lister, Baroness Lister of Burtersett, English academic and politician Wikipedia ↗
1949 — Ron Wyden, American academic and politician Wikipedia ↗
1948 — Denis Cosgrove, British-American academic and geographer (d. 2008) Wikipedia ↗
1948 — Chris Mulkey, American actor Wikipedia ↗
1947 — Doug Henning, Canadian magician (d. 2000) Wikipedia ↗
1946 — Norm Chow, American football player and coach Wikipedia ↗
1946 — Silvino Francisco, South African snooker player Wikipedia ↗
1946 — Greg Gumbel, American sportscaster Wikipedia ↗
1945 — Jörg Drehmel, German triple jumper and coach Wikipedia ↗
1945 — Davey Lopes, American baseball player, coach, and manager Wikipedia ↗
1944 — Peter Doyle, English bishop Wikipedia ↗
1944 — Pete Staples, English bass player Wikipedia ↗
1943 — Yukio Hashi, Japanese singer and actor Wikipedia ↗
1943 — Jim Risch, American lawyer and politician, 31st Governor of Idaho Wikipedia ↗
1943 — Vicente Saldivar, Mexican boxer (d. 1985) Wikipedia ↗
1942 — Věra Čáslavská, Czech gymnast and coach (d. 2016) Wikipedia ↗
1942 — Dave Marash, American journalist and sportscaster Wikipedia ↗
1942 — Butch Otter, American soldier and politician, 32nd Governor of Idaho Wikipedia ↗
1941 — Alexander Harley, English general Wikipedia ↗
1941 — Edward Malloy, American priest and academic Wikipedia ↗
1940 — David Koch, American engineer, businessman, and philanthropist Wikipedia ↗
1940 — Clemens Westerhof, Dutch footballer and manager Wikipedia ↗
1939 — Jonathan Harvey, English composer and educator (d. 2012) Wikipedia ↗
1938 — Omar Abdel-Rahman, Egyptian terrorist Wikipedia ↗
1938 — Chris Cannizzaro, American baseball player Wikipedia ↗
1938 — Napoleon XIV, American singer, songwriter and record producer Wikipedia ↗
1937 — Nélida Piñon, Brazilian author and academic Wikipedia ↗
1935 — Ron Popeil, American businessman, founded the Ronco Company Wikipedia ↗
1934 — Henry Cooper, English boxer and sportscaster (d. 2011) Wikipedia ↗
1934 — Georges Moustaki, Egyptian-French singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2013) Wikipedia ↗
1934 — Frankie Valli, American singer and actor Wikipedia ↗
1933 — James Brown, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (The Famous Flames and The J.B.'s) (d. 2006) Wikipedia ↗
1933 — Steven Weinberg, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate Wikipedia ↗
1932 — Robert Osborne, American actor and historian (d. 2017) Wikipedia ↗
1931 — Vasily Rudenkov, Belarusian hammer thrower (d. 1982) Wikipedia ↗
1931 — Sait Maden, Turkish translator, poet, painter and graphic designer (d. 2013) Wikipedia ↗
1930 — Juan Gelman, Argentinian poet and author (d. 2014) Wikipedia ↗
1930 — David Harrison, English chemist and academic Wikipedia ↗
1929 — Denise Lor, American singer and actress (d. 2015) Wikipedia ↗
1928 — Dave Dudley, American singer-songwriter (d. 2003) Wikipedia ↗
1928 — Jacques-Louis Lions, French mathematician (d. 2001) Wikipedia ↗
1926 — Matt Baldwin, Canadian curler and engineer Wikipedia ↗
1926 — Herbert Blau, American engineer and academic (d. 2013) Wikipedia ↗
1925 — Jean Séguy, French sociologist and author (d. 2007) Wikipedia ↗
1924 — Yehuda Amichai, German-Israeli author and poet (d. 2000) Wikipedia ↗
1924 — Ken Tyrrell, English race car driver, founded Tyrrell Racing (d. 2001) Wikipedia ↗
1923 — George Hadjinikos, Greek pianist, conductor, and educator (d. 2015) Wikipedia ↗
1923 — Ralph Hall, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician Wikipedia ↗
1922 — Len Shackleton, English footballer and journalist (d. 2000) Wikipedia ↗
1921 — Sugar Ray Robinson, American boxer (d. 1989) Wikipedia ↗
1920 — John Lewis, American pianist and composer (d. 2001) Wikipedia ↗