On this day: November 3

Events on November 3

• 1333 The River Arno floods causing massive damage in Florence as recorded by the Florentine chronicler Giovanni Villani. Wikipedia
• 1493 Christopher Columbus first sights the island of Dominica in the Caribbean Sea. Wikipedia
• 1534 The Parliament of England passed the first Act of Supremacy, making King Henry VIII head of the Church of England, supplanting the pope and the Catholic Church. Wikipedia
• 1534 English Parliament passes the first Act of Supremacy, making King Henry VIII head of the Anglican Church, supplanting the pope and the Roman Catholic Church. Wikipedia
• 1793 French playwright, journalist and feminist Olympe de Gouges is guillotined. Wikipedia
• 1812 French invasion of Russia: As Napoleon's Grande Armée began its retreat, its rear guard was defeated at the Battle of Vyazma. Wikipedia
• 1812 Napoleon's armies are defeated at the Battle of Vyazma. Wikipedia
• 1838 The Times of India, the world's largest circulated English language daily broadsheet newspaper is founded as The Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce. Wikipedia
• 1903 With the encouragement of the United States, Panama separates from Colombia. Wikipedia
• 1930 Getúlio Vargas becomes Head of the Provisional Government in Brazil after a bloodless coup on October 24. Wikipedia
• 1936 Franklin D. Roosevelt is reelected as President of the United States. Wikipedia
• 1942 World War II: U.S. Marines and U.S. Army forces began an attempt to encircle and destroy a regiment of Imperial Japanese Army troops on Guadalcanal. Wikipedia
• 1942 World War II: The Koli Point action begins during the Guadalcanal campaign and ends on November 12. Wikipedia
• 1943 The Holocaust: The largest massacre of Jews by German forces began at Majdanek concentration camp. Wikipedia
• 1957 Sputnik program: The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 2. On board is the first animal to enter orbit, a dog named Laika. Wikipedia
• 1973 Mariner program: NASA launches the Mariner 10 toward Mercury. On March 29, 1974, it becomes the first space probe to reach that planet. Wikipedia
• 1976 Carrie, an American supernatural horror film directed by Brian De Palma, is premiered in 17 theaters in the Washington, D.C.-Baltimore area. Wikipedia
• 1978 Dominica gains its independence from the United Kingdom. Wikipedia
• 1982 The Salang Tunnel fire in Afghanistan kills 150–2000 people. Wikipedia
• 1986 Iran–Contra affair: The Lebanese magazine Ash-Shiraa reports that the United States has been secretly selling weapons to Iran in order to secure the release of seven American hostages held by pro-Iranian groups in Lebanon. Wikipedia
• 1986 The Compact of Free Association becomes law, granting the Federated States of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands independence from the United States. Wikipedia
• 1988 Sri Lankan Tamil mercenaries attempt to overthrow the Maldivian government. At President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom's request, the Indian military suppresses the rebellion within 24 hours. Wikipedia
• 1992 Democratic Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton defeats Republican President George H. W. Bush and Independent candidate Ross Perot in the 1992 United States presidential election. Wikipedia
• 1997 The United States imposes economic sanctions against Sudan in response to its human rights abuses of its own citizens and its material and political assistance to Islamic extremist groups across the Middle East and East Africa. Wikipedia
• 2014 One World Trade Center officially opens in New York City, replacing the Twin Towers after they were destroyed during the September 11 attacks. Wikipedia
• 2020 The 2020 United States presidential election takes place between Democratic Joe Biden and Republican incumbent President Donald Trump. On November 7, Biden was declared the winner. Wikipedia

Born on November 3

• 39 Lucan, Roman poet (died 65) Wikipedia
• 1500 Benvenuto Cellini, Italian sculptor and painter (died 1571) Wikipedia
• 1604 Osman II, Ottoman sultan (died 1622) Wikipedia
• 1618 Aurangzeb, Mughal emperor of India (died 1707) Wikipedia
• 1757 Robert Smith, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 6th United States Secretary of State (died 1842) Wikipedia
• 1801 Vincenzo Bellini, Italian composer (died 1835) Wikipedia
• 1852 Emperor Meiji of Japan (died 1912) Wikipedia
• 1882 Yakub Kolas, Belarusian writer (died 1956) Wikipedia
• 1900 Adolf Dassler, German businessman, founded Adidas (died 1978) Wikipedia
• 1901 André Malraux, French historian, theorist, and author (died 1976) Wikipedia
• 1901 Leopold III of Belgium (died 1983) Wikipedia
• 1908 Giovanni Leone, Italian lawyer and politician, 6th President of Italy (died 2001) Wikipedia
• 1912 Alfredo Stroessner, Paraguayan general and politician, 46th President of Paraguay (died 2006) Wikipedia
• 1926 Valdas Adamkus, Lithuanian engineer and politician, 3rd President of Lithuania Wikipedia
• 1928 Osamu Tezuka, Japanese animator and producer (died 1989) Wikipedia
• 1931 Monica Vitti, Italian actress, singer, and screenwriter (died 2022) Wikipedia
• 1932 Albert Reynolds, Irish businessman and politician, 9th Taoiseach of Ireland (died 2014) Wikipedia
• 1933 Amartya Sen, Indian economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate Wikipedia
• 1945 Gerd Müller, German footballer and manager (died 2021) Wikipedia
• 1962 Gabe Newell, American businessman, co-founded Valve Wikipedia
• 1969 Petteri Orpo, Finnish politician Wikipedia
• 1971 Unai Emery, Spanish football manager and former player Wikipedia

Died on November 3

• 361 Constantius II, Roman emperor (born 317) Wikipedia
• 1456 Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond, father of King Henry VII of England (born 1431) Wikipedia
• 1793 Olympe de Gouges, French playwright and activist (born 1748) Wikipedia
• 1900 Carrie Steele Logan, American philanthropist, founder of the oldest black orphanage in the United States (born ~1829) Wikipedia
• 1914 Georg Trakl, Austrian-Polish pharmacist and poet (born 1887) Wikipedia
• 1949 Solomon R. Guggenheim, American art collector and philanthropist, founded the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (born 1861) Wikipedia
• 1954 Henri Matisse, French painter and sculptor (born 1869) Wikipedia
• 1957 Wilhelm Reich, Ukrainian-Austrian psychotherapist and author (born 1897) Wikipedia
• 1996 Jean-Bédel Bokassa, Central African general and politician, 2nd President of the Central African Republic (born 1921) Wikipedia
• 1998 Bob Kane, American author and illustrator, co-created Batman (born 1915) Wikipedia
• 2003 Rasul Gamzatov, Russian poet and educator (born 1923) Wikipedia
• 2010 Viktor Chernomyrdin, Russian politician and diplomat, 30th Prime Minister of Russia (born 1938) Wikipedia
• 2024 Quincy Jones, American producer (born 1933) Wikipedia
• 2025 Dick Cheney, American businessman and politician, 46th Vice President of the United States (born 1941) Wikipedia

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day: Acepsimas of Hnaita and companions (Greek Orthodox Church) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Alpaïs of Cudot Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Elias I of Antioch (Syriac Orthodox Church) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Ermengol (Hermengaudius) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Gaudiosus of Tarazona Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Gwenhael Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Hubertus Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Libertine Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Malachy O' More Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Blessed Manuel Lozano Garrido Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Martin de Porres Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Papulus Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Pirmin Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Richard Hooker (Anglican Communion) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Blessed Rupert Mayer Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Silvia Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Winifred Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: November 3 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) Wikipedia
• Culture Day (Japan) Wikipedia
• Flag Day (United Arab Emirates) Wikipedia
• Independence Day / Separation Day, celebrates the separation and independence of Panama from Colombia in 1903. Wikipedia
• Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Dominica from the United Kingdom in 1978. Wikipedia
• Independence Day, celebrates the independence of the Federated States of Micronesia from the United States in 1986. Wikipedia
• Independence Day of Cuenca (Ecuador) Wikipedia

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article “November 3” and the articles it links to (authors and history), retrieved 2026-10-09 through the Wikimedia “On this day” feed. They are licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; this selection is shared under the same licence. We picked the 26 events, 22 births and 14 deaths with the widest coverage across Wikipedia's language editions (counted from Wikidata) and sorted them by year; the wording is unchanged apart from removing references to pictures.