On this day: March 3

Events on March 3

• 724 Empress Genshō abdicates the throne in favor of her nephew Shōmu who becomes emperor of Japan. Wikipedia
• 1284 The Statute of Rhuddlan was enacted, introducing English common law to the Principality of Wales. Wikipedia
• 1776 American Revolutionary War: Samuel Nicholas and the Continental Marines successfully landed on New Providence in the Bahamas and began a raid of Nassau, capturing the port the next day. Wikipedia
• 1820 The U.S. Congress passed the Missouri Compromise, which balanced the admission of Missouri as a slave state with that of Maine as a free state. Wikipedia
• 1857 Second Opium War: France and the United Kingdom declare war on China. Wikipedia
• 1861 Alexander II of Russia signs the Emancipation Manifesto, freeing serfs. Wikipedia
• 1875 Bizet's Carmen premiered at the Opéra-Comique in Paris, with mezzo-soprano Célestine Galli-Marié in the title role. Wikipedia
• 1875 The first indoor game of ice hockey was played at the Victoria Skating Rink in Montreal by James Creighton and students of McGill University. Wikipedia
• 1878 The Russo-Turkish War ends with Bulgaria regaining its independence from the Ottoman Empire according to the Treaty of San Stefano. Wikipedia
• 1891 Shoshone National Forest in Wyoming was established as the first national forest in the United States. Wikipedia
• 1913 Thousands of women marched in Washington, D.C., "in a spirit of protest" against the exclusion of women from American society. Wikipedia
• 1918 Russia 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. Wikipedia
• 1923 US magazine Time publishes its first issue. Wikipedia
• 1924 The 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. Wikipedia
• 1933 The first Nazi concentration camp was opened in Nohra to reduce overcrowding in prisons from the arrest of German Communists. Wikipedia
• 1939 In Bombay, Mohandas Gandhi begins a hunger strike in protest at the autocratic rule in British India. Wikipedia
• 1945 A Polish Home Army unit massacred at least 150 Ukrainian civilians in Pawłokoma, Poland. Wikipedia
• 1958 Nuri al-Said becomes Prime Minister of Iraq for the eighth time. Wikipedia
• 1969 Apollo program: NASA launches Apollo 9 to test the lunar module. Wikipedia
• 1972 The British rock band Jethro Tull released Thick as a Brick, a parody concept album allegedly adapted from an eight-year-old boy's epic poem. Wikipedia
• 1974 Turkish Airlines Flight 981 crashes at Ermenonville near Paris, France killing all 346 aboard. Wikipedia
• 1986 The American heavy metal band Metallica released their third studio album, Master of Puppets, considered one of the greatest in the genre's history. Wikipedia
• 1991 An amateur video captures the beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles police officers. Wikipedia
• 1991 United Airlines Flight 585 crashes on its final approach to Colorado Springs killing everyone on board. Wikipedia
• 2005 Steve Fossett becomes the first person to fly an airplane non-stop around the world solo without refueling. Wikipedia
• 2012 Two passenger trains collided near Szczekociny, Poland, resulting in 16 deaths and 58 injuries. Wikipedia

Born on March 3

• 1455 John II of Portugal (died 1495) Wikipedia
• 1756 William Godwin, English journalist and author (died 1836) Wikipedia
• 1839 Jamsetji Tata, Indian businessman, founded Tata Group (died 1904) Wikipedia
• 1845 Georg Cantor, Russian-German mathematician and philosopher (died 1918) Wikipedia
• 1847 Alexander Graham Bell, Scottish-American engineer and academic, invented the telephone (died 1922) Wikipedia
• 1895 Ragnar Frisch, Norwegian economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1973) Wikipedia
• 1911 Jean Harlow, American actress (died 1937) Wikipedia
• 1918 Arthur Kornberg, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2007) Wikipedia
• 1924 Tomiichi Murayama, Japanese soldier and politician, 52nd Prime Minister of Japan (died 2025) Wikipedia
• 1930 Ion Iliescu, Romanian engineer and politician, 2nd President of Romania (died 2025) Wikipedia
• 1935 Zhelyu Zhelev, Bulgarian philosopher and politician, 2nd President of Bulgaria (died 2015) Wikipedia
• 1945 George Miller, Australian director, producer, and screenwriter Wikipedia
• 1953 Zico, Brazilian footballer and coach Wikipedia
• 1956 Zbigniew Boniek, Polish footballer and manager Wikipedia
• 1958 Miranda Richardson, English actress Wikipedia
• 1962 Jackie Joyner-Kersee, American heptathlete and long jumper Wikipedia
• 1965 Dragan Stojković, Serbian footballer and manager Wikipedia
• 1973 Xavier Bettel, Luxembourger lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of Luxembourg Wikipedia
• 1982 Jessica Biel, American actress, singer, and producer Wikipedia
• 1987 Shraddha Kapoor, Indian actress, singer, and designer Wikipedia
• 1993 Antonio Rüdiger, German footballer Wikipedia
• 1997 Camila Cabello, Cuban-American singer-songwriter and actress Wikipedia

Died on March 3

• 1703 Robert Hooke, English architect and philosopher (born 1635) Wikipedia
• 1792 Robert Adam, Scottish-English architect and politician, designed the Culzean Castle (born 1728) Wikipedia
• 1982 Georges Perec, French author and screenwriter (born 1936) Wikipedia
• 1983 Hergé, Belgian author and illustrator (born 1907) Wikipedia
• 1987 Danny Kaye, American actor, singer, and dancer (born 1911) Wikipedia
• 1993 Albert Sabin, Polish-American physician and virologist (born 1906) Wikipedia
• 1996 Marguerite Duras, French author and director (born 1914) Wikipedia
• 1999 Gerhard Herzberg, German-Canadian chemist and astronomer, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1904) Wikipedia
• 2016 Berta Cáceres, Honduran environmentalist (born 1973) Wikipedia
• 2017 René Préval, Haitian politician (born 1943) Wikipedia
• 2018 David Ogden Stiers, American actor, voice actor and musician (born 1942) Wikipedia
• 2018 Roger Bannister, English middle-distance athlete, first man to run a four-minute mile (born 1929) Wikipedia
• 2023 Kenzaburō Ōe, Japanese novelist, 1994 Nobel Prize laureate in Literature (born 1935) Wikipedia
• 2023 Tom Sizemore, American actor (born 1961) Wikipedia

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day: Anselm, Duke of Friuli Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Arthelais Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Cunigunde of Luxembourg Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Katharine Drexel Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: John and Charles Wesley (Episcopal Church (USA)) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Marinus and Asterius of Caesarea Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Winwaloe Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: March 3 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) Wikipedia
• Hinamatsuri or "Girl's Day" (Japan) Wikipedia
• Liberation and Freedom Day (Charlottesville, Virginia, USA) Wikipedia
• Liberation Day (Bulgaria) Wikipedia
• Martyrs' Day (Malawi) Wikipedia
• Mother's Day (Georgia) Wikipedia
• Sportsmen's Day (Egypt) Wikipedia
• World Hearing Day Wikipedia
• World Wildlife Day Wikipedia

Sources

• Wikipedia — “March 3” — events, births, deaths and observances (text under CC BY-SA 4.0) (checked 2026-10-15)
• Wikipedia — “Selected anniversaries/March 3” — the anniversaries editors chose for the date and the article each one is about (checked 2026-10-15)
• Wikidata — in how many language editions each entry's own article exists, used to fill the lists (CC0) (checked 2026-10-15)
• vacanza/holidays (open-source holiday rules, MIT licence) — holiday rules used to build the lists (checked 2026-10-15)

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article “March 3” and the articles it links to (authors and history), retrieved 2026-10-15 through the Wikimedia “On this day” feed. They are licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; this selection is shared under the same licence. Every anniversary that Wikipedia's editors selected for March 3 stays on the list; the remaining places, up to 26 events, 22 births and 14 deaths, go to the entries whose own article — about the event itself, or else the person or thing it is about — appears in the most language editions (counted from Wikidata); an article about a person or thing, which covers far more than one day, counts half. An entry with no article of its own counts, also at half, by the least covered article it links, and one that links only places counts for nothing. Each list runs by year, and the wording is unchanged apart from removing references to pictures, audio and video.