On this day: September 3

Events on September 3

• 36 BC In the Battle of Naulochus, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, admiral of Octavian, defeats Sextus Pompey, son of Pompey, thus ending Pompeian resistance to the Second Triumvirate. Wikipedia
• 301 San Marino, one of the smallest nations in the world and the world's oldest republic still in existence, is founded by Saint Marinus. Wikipedia
• 1411 The Treaty of Selymbria was concluded between the Republic of Venice and the Ottoman prince Musa Çelebi. Wikipedia
• 1411 The Treaty of Selymbria is concluded between the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Venice. Wikipedia
• 1798 The week long battle of St. George's Caye begins between Spain and Britain off the coast of Belize. Wikipedia
• 1812 Twenty-four settlers are killed in the Pigeon Roost Massacre in Indiana. Wikipedia
• 1838 Future abolitionist Frederick Douglass escapes from slavery. Wikipedia
• 1855 American Indian Wars: In Nebraska, 700 soldiers under United States General William S. Harney avenge the Grattan massacre by attacking a Sioux village and killing 100 men, women and children. Wikipedia
• 1879 Siege of the British Residency in Kabul: British envoy Sir Louis Cavagnari and 72 men of the Guides are massacred by Afghan troops while defending the British Residency in Kabul. Their heroism and loyalty became famous and revered throughout the British Empire. Wikipedia
• 1901 At the Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne, the flag of Australia flew for the first time. Wikipedia
• 1914 World War I: Start of the Battle of Grand Couronné, a German assault against French positions on high ground near the city of Nancy. Wikipedia
• 1933 Yevgeniy Abalakov is the first man to reach the highest point in the Soviet Union, Communism Peak (now called Ismoil Somoni Peak and situated in Tajikistan) (7495 m). Wikipedia
• 1935 Sir Malcolm Campbell reaches a speed of 304.331 miles per hour on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, becoming the first person to drive an automobile over 300 mph. Wikipedia
• 1935 On the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, British racing motorist Malcolm Campbell became the first person to drive an automobile over 300 mph (480 km/h). Wikipedia
• 1936 The Guild of Carillonneurs in North America was founded in Parliament Hill, Ottawa, Canada. Wikipedia
• 1939 World War II: France, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia declare war on Germany after the invasion of Poland, forming the Allied nations. The Viceroy of India also declares war, but without consulting the provincial legislatures. Wikipedia
• 1941 The Holocaust: Karl Fritzsch, deputy camp commandant of the Auschwitz concentration camp, experiments with the use of Zyklon B in the gassing of Soviet POWs. Wikipedia
• 1942 World War II: In response to news of its coming liquidation, Dov Lopatyn leads an uprising in the Ghetto of Lakhva (present-day Belarus). Wikipedia
• 1942 The Holocaust: In possibly the first Jewish ghetto uprising, residents of the Łachwa Ghetto in occupied Poland, informed of the upcoming "liquidation" of the ghetto, unsuccessfully fought against their Nazi captors. Wikipedia
• 1954 The People's Liberation Army begins shelling the Republic of China-controlled islands of Quemoy, starting the First Taiwan Strait Crisis. Wikipedia
• 1971 Qatar becomes an independent state. Wikipedia
• 1976 Viking program: The American Viking 2 spacecraft lands at Utopia Planitia on Mars. Wikipedia
• 1981 The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, an international bill of rights for women, is instituted by the United Nations. Wikipedia
• 1989 Cubana de Aviación Flight 9046 crashes into a residential area of Havana shortly after takeoff from José Martí International Airport, killing 150. Wikipedia
• 2016 The U.S. and China, together responsible for 40% of the world's carbon emissions, both formally ratify the Paris global climate agreement. Wikipedia
• 2017 North Korea conducts its sixth and most powerful nuclear test. Wikipedia

Born on September 3

• 1814 James Joseph Sylvester, English mathematician and academic (died 1897) Wikipedia
• 1856 Louis Sullivan, American architect and educator, designed the Carson, Pirie, Scott and Company Building (died 1924) Wikipedia
• 1869 Fritz Pregl, Slovenian chemist and physician, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1930) Wikipedia
• 1875 Ferdinand Porsche, Austrian-German engineer and businessman, founded Porsche (died 1951) Wikipedia
• 1899 Frank Macfarlane Burnet, Australian virologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1985) Wikipedia
• 1900 Urho Kekkonen, Finnish journalist, lawyer, and politician, 8th President of Finland (died 1986) Wikipedia
• 1905 Carl David Anderson, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1991) Wikipedia
• 1926 Irene Papas, Greek actress (died 2022) Wikipedia
• 1936 Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Tunisian soldier and politician, 2nd President of Tunisia (died 2019) Wikipedia
• 1938 Ryōji Noyori, Japanese chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate Wikipedia
• 1940 Eduardo Galeano, Uruguayan journalist and author (died 2015) Wikipedia
• 1941 Sergei Dovlatov, Russian-American journalist and author (died 1990) Wikipedia
• 1947 Mario Draghi, Italian banker and economist Wikipedia
• 1948 Levy Mwanawasa, Zambian lawyer and politician, 3rd President of Zambia (died 2008) Wikipedia
• 1953 Jean-Pierre Jeunet, French director, producer, and screenwriter Wikipedia
• 1957 Sadhguru, Indian yogi, mystic Wikipedia
• 1965 Charlie Sheen, American actor and producer Wikipedia
• 1970 Gareth Southgate, English footballer and manager Wikipedia
• 1971 Kiran Desai, Indian-American author Wikipedia
• 1979 Júlio César, Brazilian footballer Wikipedia
• 1988 Jérôme Boateng, Ghanaian-German footballer Wikipedia
• 1995 Niklas Süle, German footballer Wikipedia

Died on September 3

• 1120 Gerard Thom (The Blessed Gerard), founder of the Knights Hospitaller (born c. 1040) Wikipedia
• 1467 Eleanor of Portugal, Holy Roman Empress (born 1434) Wikipedia
• 1658 Oliver Cromwell, English general and politician, Lord Protector of England (born 1599) Wikipedia
• 1877 Adolphe Thiers, French historian and politician, 2nd President of France (born 1797) Wikipedia
• 1883 Ivan Turgenev, Russian author and playwright (born 1818) Wikipedia
• 1941 Rafailo Momčilović, Serbian Orthodox hegumen and painter (born 1875) Wikipedia
• 1948 Edvard Beneš, Czech academic and politician, 2nd President of Czechoslovakia (born 1884) Wikipedia
• 1962 E. E. Cummings, American poet and playwright (born 1894) Wikipedia
• 1989 Gaetano Scirea, Italian footballer (born 1953) Wikipedia
• 1991 Frank Capra, Italian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1897) Wikipedia
• 2005 William Rehnquist, American lawyer and jurist, 16th Chief Justice of the United States (born 1924) Wikipedia
• 2012 Michael Clarke Duncan, American actor (born 1957) Wikipedia
• 2012 Sun Myung Moon, Korean religious leader and businessman, founded the Unification Church (born 1920) Wikipedia
• 2017 John Ashbery, American poet (born 1927) Wikipedia

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day: Blessed Bartholomew Gutierrez Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Blessed Brigida Morello Zancano Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Mansuetus of Toul Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Marinus Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Phoebe Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Pope Gregory I Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Remaclus Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Prudence Crandall (Episcopal Church (USA)) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: September 3 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) Wikipedia
• China's victory over Japan commemoration related observances: Armed Forces Day (Republic of China) Wikipedia
• China's victory over Japan commemoration related observances: V-J Day (People's Republic of China) Wikipedia
• Feast of San Marino and the Republic, celebrates the foundation of the Republic of San Marino in 301. Wikipedia
• Flag Day (Australia) Wikipedia
• Independence Day, celebrates the second independence of Qatar from the United Kingdom in 1971. Wikipedia
• Levy Mwanawasa Day (Zambia) Wikipedia
• Merchant Navy Remembrance Day (Canada) Wikipedia
• Merchant Navy Day (United Kingdom) Wikipedia
• National Welsh Rarebit Day (United States) Wikipedia
• Tokehega Day (Tokelau, New Zealand) Wikipedia

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article “September 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.