On this day: November 3

Events on November 3

• 1468 Liège is sacked by the troops of Duke Charles the Bold of Burgundy. 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
• 1793 French Revolution: Playwright, journalist and outspoken feminist Olympe de Gouges was guillotined. Wikipedia
• 1805 War of the Third Coalition: The Treaty of Potsdam was signed compelling Prussia to join the coalition if it failed to negotiate peace between Russia and France. 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
• 1848 A new constitution drafted by Johan Rudolph Thorbecke was proclaimed, limiting the powers of the Dutch monarchy. Wikipedia
• 1880 The current melody of Kimigayo, the national anthem of Japan, was adopted. Wikipedia
• 1881 Indigenous Mapuche began an uprising against the occupation of Araucanía by Chile. Wikipedia
• 1898 The Fashoda Incident ended with French forces withdrawing after several months of military stalemate with the British in Fashoda (now in South Sudan). Wikipedia
• 1911 Chevrolet officially enters the automobile market in competition with the Ford Model T. Wikipedia
• 1930 Getúlio Vargas becomes Head of the Provisional Government in Brazil after a bloodless coup on October 24. Wikipedia
• 1935 In a widely criticised referendum, almost 98 percent of Greek voters supported the restoration of George II as King of the Hellenes. 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
• 1943 The Holocaust: The largest massacre of Jews by German forces began at Majdanek concentration camp. Wikipedia
• 1948 The Chicago Daily Tribune published the erroneous headline "Dewey Defeats Truman" in its early morning edition shortly after incumbent U.S. president Harry S. Truman officially upset the heavily favored governor of New York Thomas Dewey in the presidential election. Wikipedia
• 1954 The first film featuring the giant monster known as Godzilla was released nationwide in Japan. Wikipedia
• 1956 Suez Crisis: During an invasion of the Gaza Strip, Israeli soldiers shot and killed hundreds of Palestinian refugees and local inhabitants in Khan Yunis. Wikipedia
• 1957 The Soviet Union launched Sputnik 2, carrying the space dog Laika as the first living creature to enter orbit around Earth. Wikipedia
• 1961 U Thant is unanimously appointed as the 3rd Secretary-General of the United Nations, becoming the first non-European individual to occupy the post. Wikipedia
• 1969 U.S. president Richard Nixon made a plea for support from the "silent majority", referring to those Americans who did not join in the large demonstrations against the Vietnam War at the time. 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
• 1996 Abdullah Çatlı, a leader of the ultra-nationalist Grey Wolves, was killed in a car crash near Susurluk, Turkey, sparking a scandal that exposed the depth of the state's complicity in organized crime. Wikipedia
• 2002 A CIA drone strike kills six militants in Yemen, constituting the first targeted killing of the war on terror. 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
• 1801 Vincenzo Bellini, Italian composer (died 1835) Wikipedia
• 1852 Emperor Meiji of Japan (died 1912) Wikipedia
• 1882 Yakub Kolas, Belarusian writer (died 1956) 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
• 1933 Amartya Sen, Indian economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate Wikipedia
• 1945 Gerd Müller, German footballer and manager (died 2021) Wikipedia
• 1948 Lulu, Scottish singer-songwriter and actress 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
• 1971 Dwight Yorke, Tobagonian footballer and coach Wikipedia
• 1979 Pablo Aimar, Argentinian footballer Wikipedia

Died on November 3

• 361 Constantius II, Roman emperor (born 317) Wikipedia
• 1254 John III Doukas Vatatzes, Byzantine emperor (born 1193) Wikipedia
• 1584 Charles Borromeo, Italian cardinal and saint (born 1538) Wikipedia
• 1793 Olympe de Gouges, French playwright and activist (born 1748) Wikipedia
• 1914 Georg Trakl, Austrian-Polish pharmacist and poet (born 1887) 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
• 2003 Rasul Gamzatov, Russian poet and educator (born 1923) Wikipedia
• 2007 Aleksandr Dedyushko, Belarusian-Russian actor (born 1962) 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
• 2025 Kim Yong-nam, North Korean politician (born 1928) 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

Sources

• Wikipedia — “November 3” — events, births, deaths and observances (text under CC BY-SA 4.0) (checked 2026-10-15)
• Wikipedia — “Selected anniversaries/November 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 “November 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 November 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.