September 3



Events

Up to 1900 
 301  San Marino is founded by Saint Marinus. It is the world's oldest republic, and one of the world's smallest nations.
 590  Inauguration of Pope Gregory I.
 863  Byzantine victory at the Battle of Lalakaon against an Arab raid.
 1189  King Richard I of England is crowned.
 1260  The mamluks defeat the Mongols at the Battle of Ain Jalut in Palestine, marking their decisive defeat at the point of maximum expansion of the Mongol Empire.
 1650  Third English Civil War: Battle of Dunbar - English parliamentary forces led by Oliver Cromwell defeat an army loyal to the future King Charles II of England and led by David Leslie, Lord Newark.
 1651  Third English Civil War: Battle of Worcester - The future King Charles II of England is defeated in the last battle of the war.
 1658  Richard Cromwell becomes Lord Protector of England.
 1758  An assassination attempt is made on King Joseph I of Portugal.
 1777  American Revolutionary War: The Flag of the United States is flown in battle for the first time, during the Battle of Cooch's Bridge.
 1783  The Treaty of Paris ends the American Revolutionary War. Great Britain recognises US independence, and also cedes both East and West Florida to Spain.
 1791  The French Constitution of 1791 is passed, changing France from an absolute to a constitutional monarchy.
 1798  Start of a week-long battle at St. George's Caye in Belize, between Spain and Great Britain.
 1803  English scientist John Dalton begins using symbols to represent the atoms of different elements.
 1838  Future abolitionist Frederick Douglass escapes from Slavery.
 1855  American Indian Wars: In Nebraska, 700 US soldiers under General William S. Harney kill 100 men, women and children in a Sioux village.
 1861  American Civil War: Confederate General Leonidas Polk invades Kentucky, prompting the state legislature to ask for Union assistance.
 1870  Franco-Prussian War: The Siege of Metz begins, resulting in Prussian victory on October 23.
 1875  The first official polo game is played in Argentina, following introduction by British ranchers.
 1878  The pleasure boat Princess Alice collides with the Bywell Castle on the River Thames, killing around 640 people.
 1882  The Hugstetten train crash in Germany kills 64 people.
 1900  The United Kingdom annexes the Boer Republic of Transvaal.

1901  2000 
 1914  Because of opposition to his rule, William, Prince of Albania leaves the country after just six months in charge.
 1914  The papacy of Pope Benedict XV begins.
 1917  World War I: German troops enter Riga on the Eastern Front.
 1919  Italy gives women the right to vote.
 1928  Scottish scientist Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin.
 1933  Yevgeniy Abalakov becomes the first person to reach the top of what was then called Pik Stalin (later called Communism Peak and now called Ismoil Somoni Peak), which was the highest peak in the then-existing Soviet Union. It is now the highest peak in Tajikistan, at a height of 7495 metres.
 1935  Malcolm Campbell becomes the first person to drive an automobile at over 300 miles per hour, when he reaches a speed of 304.331 miles per hour at Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah.
 1939  World War II starts, as the United Kingdom and France declare war on Germany, following the Nazis' invasion of Poland on September 1.
 1943  World War II: The allied invasion of Italy begins when two British Army divisions land at Calabria.
 1944  Holocaust: Anne Frank and her family are placed on the last transport train from the Westerbork transit camp to Auschwitz.
 1945  China begins to hold a three-day celebration of the Japanese surrender on September 2, which officially ended hostilities in World War II.
 1950  Giuseppe Farina becomes the first-ever Formula One world drivers' champion.
 1954  German U-boat U-505 begins its move from a specially constructed dock to Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry.
 1964  Through the US Wilderness Act, the John Muir and Ansel Adams wilderness areas are officially created for conservation purposes in California, along with the Bridger Wilderness in Wyoming.
 1967  Sweden changes from left-hand traffic to right-hand traffic on its roads.
 1971  Qatar declares independence.
 1974  PASOK, one of the leading political parties in Greece, is founded.
 1976  Viking Programme: The Viking 2 spacecraft lands at Utopia Planitia on Mars.
 1981  Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women enters into force.
 1987  A military coup occurs in Burundi, as Jean-Baptiste Bogaza is deposed by Major Pierre Buyoya.
 1988  The parliaments of the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland agree on introducing tougher anti-terrorism laws.
 1989  An Ilyushin II-62 aircraft crashes in Havana, Cuba, killing 171 people.
 1994  Sino-Soviet Split: Russia and China agree to de-target their nuclear weapons against each other.
 1995  The Soyuz TM-22 mission launches to the Mir Space Station.
 1997  Vietnam Airlines Flight 815, a Tupolev TU-134, crashes on approach to Phnom Penh Airport in Cambodia, killing 64 people.
 1999  An 87-automobile pile-up occurs on Highway 401 freeway just outside Windsor, Ontario.

From 2001 
 2001  In Belfast, Protestant loyalists begin a picket of Holy Cross Primary School for Girls. For the following 11 weeks, pupils and parents are escorted to school by armed police while being targeted by abuse.
 2004  On its third day, a siege at a school in Beslan, southern Russia ends in a massacre, in which over 300 people are killed.
 2006  Andre Agassi ends his professional tennis career, as he loses in the US Open against Benjamin Becker.
 2007  Adventurer Steve Fossett goes missing in the Sierra Nevada mountains in California. His remains are found in October 2008.
 2014  Flash floods in India and Pakistan kill over 200 people.
 2016  The People's Republic of China and the United States ratify the Paris Climate Change Agreement.
 2017  North Korea performs test for nuclear weapon against international law.

Births

Up to 1900 
 1034  Emperor Go-Sanjo of Japan (d. 1073)
 1499  Diane de Poitiers, mistress of Henri II of France (d. 1566)
 1568  Adriano Banchieri, Italian composer (d. 1634)
 1635  Peder Griffenfeld, Danish statesman (d. 1699)
 1643  Lorenzo Bellini, Italian astronomer (d. 1704)
 1675  Paul Dudley, Attorney-General of Massachusetts (d. 1751)
 1695  Pietro Locatelli, Italian composer (d. 1764)
 1710  Abraham Trembley, Swiss naturalist (d. 1784)
 1724  Guy Charleton, British Governor-General of Canada (d. 1808)
 1757  Karl August, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (d. 1828)
 1781  Eugène de Beauharnais, son of Napoleon's wife, Josephine (d. 1824)
 1810  Paul Kane, Canadian painter (d. 1871)
 1810  Prince Ferdinand Philippe, Duke of Orleans, French nobleman (d. 1842)
 1814  James Joseph Sylvester, British mathematician (d. 1897)
 1820  George Hearst, American businessman and politician (d. 1891)
 1829  Adolf Fick, German physiologist (d. 1901)
 1844  Sophia Tolstaya, Russian writer (d. 1919)
 1849  Sarah Orne Jewett, American writer (d. 1909)
 1851  Olga Konstantinovna of Russia, Queen of Greece (d. 1926)
 1856  Louis Sullivan, American architect (d. 1924)
 1859  Jean Jaurès, French politician and historian (d. 1914)
 1861  James Hartness, American inventor, engineer and politician, 58th Governor of Vermont (d. 1934)
 1869  Fritz Pregl, Austrian chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1930)
 1875  Ferdinand Porsche, German automotive engineer (d. 1951)
 1880  Gwynne Evans, American swimmer and water polo player (d. 1965)
 1882  Johnny Douglas, English cricketer and boxer (d. 1930)
 1887  Frank Christian, jazz musician (d. 1973)
 1893  Andrey Dikiy, Russian-American writer, historian, émigré politician and journalist (d. 1977)
 1899  Frank Macfarlane Burnet, Australian physician and virologist (d. 1985)
 1900  Urho Kekkonen, 8th President of Finland (d. 1986)
 1900  Maurice Dobb, British economist (d. 1976)

1901  1950 
 1902  Mantan Moreland, actor (d. 1973)
 1905  Carl David Anderson, American physicist (d. 1991)
 1907  Loren Eiseley, anthropologist (d. 1977)
 1908  Lev Semenovich Pontryagin, Soviet mathematician (d. 1988)
 1910  Kitty Carlisle, American actress and television personality (d. 2007)
 1910  Maurice Papon, French Nazi collaborator (d. 2007)
 1913  Alan Ladd, American actor (d. 1964)
 1914  Dixy Lee Ray, American politician, 17th Governor of Washington (d. 1994)
 1915  Memphis Slim, American blues pianist, singer and composer (d. 1988)
 1915  Knut Nystedt, Norwegian organist and composer (d. 2014)
 1916  Eddie Stanky, American baseball player (d. 1999)
 1918  Helen Wagner, American actress (d. 2010)
 1921  Thurston Dart, English harpsichordist and conductor (d. 1971)
 1921  Henry Bellmon, Governor of Oklahoma (d. 2009)
 1923  Kishan Maharaj, Indian tabla player (d. 2008)
 1923  Mort Walker, American cartoonist (d. 2018)
 1923  Fred Hawkins, American golfer (d. 2014)
 1924  Mary Grace Canfield, American actress (d. 2014)
 1925  Bengt Lindström, Swedish painter and sculptor (d. 2008)
 1925  Hank Thompson, American singer (d. 2007)
 1926  Anne Jackson, American actress (d. 2016)
 1926  Joseph P. Kolter, American politician (d. 2019)
 1927  Hugh Sidey, American magazine editor
 1928  Gaston Thorn, Prime Minister of Luxembourg (d. 2007)
 1929  Carlo Clerici, Swiss cyclist (d. 2007)
 1929  Whitey Bulger, American criminal (d. 2018)
 1929  Irene Papas, Greek actress and singer
 1930  Cherry Wilder, New Zealand writer (d. 2002)
 1931  Albert DeSalvo, American serial killer (d. 1973)
 1931  Dick Motta, American basketball player
 1931  Fritz J. Raddatz, German writer (d. 2015)
 1932  Eileen Brennan, American actress (d. 2013)
 1933  Tompall Glaser, American country music singer (d. 2013)
 1934  Freddie King, American blues singer and guitarist (d. 1976)
 1935  Hans Sturm, German footballer (d. 2007)
 1936  Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali, former President of Tunisia (d. 2019)
 1938  Caryl Churchill, English playwright
 1938  Ryoji Noyori, Japanese chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
 1939  Vivi Bach, Danish actress (d. 2013)
 1940  Eduardo Galeano, Uruguayan journalist and writer (d. 2015)
 1942  Al Jardine, American rock and roll musician (The Beach Boys)
 1943  Valerie Perrine, American actress
 1947  Kjell Magne Bondevik, former Prime Minister of Norway
 1947  Eric Bell, Irish guitarist (Thin Lizzy)
 1947  Michael Connarty, Scottish politician
 1947  Gérard Houllier, French football manager
 1947  Mario Draghi, Italian head of the European Central Bank
 1948  Levy Mwanawasa, 3rd President of Zambia (d. 2008)
 1949  Patriarch Peter VII of Alexandria, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria and all Africa (d. 2004)
 1949  José Pekerman, Argentine football manager

1951  1975 
 1951  Maithripala Sirisena, President of Sri Lanka
 1953  Jean-Pierre Jeunet, French movie director
 1955  Steve Jones, British musician (Sex Pistols)
 1956  Pat McGeown, Northern Irish Provisional IRA member (d. 1996)
 1963  Mubarak Ghanim, Emirati footballer
 1963  Malcolm Gladwell, Canadian journalist, essayist and critic
 1964  Adam Curry, Internet entrepreneur
 1965  Charlie Sheen, American actor
 1965  Todd Lewis, guitarist and singer (Toadies and The Burden Brothers)
 1965  Carlos Simon, Brazilian football referee
 1965  Costas Mandylor, Australian actor
 1969  John Fugelsang, American actor
 1969  Dominic West, English actor
 1970  Maria Bamford, American voice actress and comedienne
 1970  Gareth Southgate, English footballer and coach
 1971  Kiran Desai, Indian writer
 1971  Paolo Montero, Uruguayan footballer
 1973  Jennifer Paige, American singer-songwriter
 1973  Damon Stoudamire, American basketball player
 1974  Clare Kramer, American actress, producer and screenwriter
 1975  Redfoo, American singer-songwriter, producer and dancer (LMFAO)

From 1976 
 1976  Samuel Kuffour, Ghanaian footballer
 1976  Vivek Oberoi, Indian actor
 1977  Stephen Laybutt, Australian footballer
 1977  Olof Mellberg, Swedish footballer
 1979  Julio César Soares Espindola, Brazilian footballer
 1979  Tiffany Chapman, English actress
 1980  Jason McCaslin, Canadian musician (Sum 41)
 1981  Fearne Cotton, English television presenter
 1982  Kaori Natori, Japanese singer and songwriter
 1982  Sarah Burke, American freestyle skier (d. 2012)
 1984  Garrett Hedlund, American actor
 1985  Scott Carson, English footballer
 1986  Shaun White, American snowboarder and skateboarder
 1987  Chris Fountain, English actor
 1987  James Neal, Canadian ice hockey player
 1988  Jerome Boateng, German footballer
 1988  Sinan Bolat, Turkish footballer
 1990  Rita Volk, Uzbek-American actress
 1991  Thomas Delaney, Danish footballer
 1993  Dominic Thiem, Austrian tennis player
 1993  Rina Koike, Japanese model and actress
 1999  Rich Brian, Indonesian rapper

Deaths

Up to 1950 
 264  Sun Xiu, Chinese Emperor (b. 235)
 1354  Joanikije II, Serbian patriarch
 1402  Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Duke of Milan (b. 1351)
 1420  Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany, Regent of Scotland (b. 1340)
 1467  Eleanor of Portugal, Holy Roman Empress (b. 1434)
 1592  Robert Greene, English writer and playwright (b. 1558)
 1634  Edward Coke, English jurist and Member of Parliament (b. 1552)
 1658  Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of England (b. 1599)
 1808  Philip Gidley King, third Governor of New South Wales (b. 1758)
 1857  John McLoughlin, Canadian trapper (b. 1784)
 1860  Aleksey Khomyakov, Russian poet (b. 1804)
 1866  Konstantin Flavitsky, Russian painter (b. 1830)
 1872  Immanuel Nobel, Swedish engineer, architect, inventor and industrialist (b. 1801)
 1883  Ivan Turgenev, Russian writer (b. 1818)
 1893  James Harrison, Scottish-born inventor (b. 1816)
 1903  Joseph Skipsey, British poet (b. 1832)
 1914  Albéric Magnard, composer (b. 1865)
 1918  Fanny Kaplan, Russian anarchist and revolutionary (b. 1890)
 1936  Nikita Balieff, Armenian-Russian puppeteer and director (b. 1876)
 1948  Edvard Benes, President of Czechoslovakia (b. 1884)

From 1951 
 1962  E. E. Cummings, American poet (b. 1894)
 1964  Stewart Holbrook, American writer (b. 1893)
 1967  Francis Ouimet, American golfer and businessman (b. 1893)
 1968  Isabel Withers, American actress (b. 1896)
 1969  John Lester, American cricketer (b. 1871)
 1970  Vince Lombardi, American football coach (b. 1913)
 1970  Alan Wilson, American singer and guitarist (b. 1943)
 1973  Rufino Santos, Filipino cardinal (b. 1908)
 1974  Harry Partch, composer (b. 1901)
 1980  Duncan Renaldo, actor (b. 1904)
 1985  Johnny Marks, American singer (b. 1909)
 1986  Beryl Markham, British horse trainer, adventurer and writer (b. 1902)
 1987  Morton Feldman, American composer (b. 1926)
 1989  Gaetano Scirea, Italian footballer (b. 1953)
 1991  Frank Capra, American movie director (b. 1897)
 1994  James T. Aubrey, American television executive (b. 1918)
 2001  Pauline Kael, American movie critic (b. 1919)
 2001  Thuy Trang, Vietnamese-American actress (b. 1973)
 2003  Paul Hill, American anti-abortion murderer (b. 1954)
 2005  William Rehnquist, Chief Justice of the United States (b. 1924)
 2007  Jane Tomlinson, British charity fundraiser (b. 1964)
 2007  Steve Fossett, American businessman, aviator, sailor and adventurer (b. 1944) (date of disappearance)
 2011  Sandor Kepiro, Hungarian military officer (b. 1914)
 2012  Sun Myung Moon, Korean religious leader (b. 1920)
 2012  Mahmoud El-Gohary, Egyptian footballer and coach (b. 1938)
 2012  Michael Clarke Duncan, American actor (b. 1957)
 2013  Ariel Castro, American criminal (b. 1960)
 2014  Go Eun-bi, South Korean singer (b. 1992)
 2014  Andrew Madoff, American investment broker (b. 1966)
 2014  Mark Otway, New Zealand tennis player (b. 1931)
 2014  Aarno Raninen, Finnish actor, composer and musician (b. 1944)
 2014  Roy Heather, English actor (b. 1935)
 2014  Niki Nordenskjöld, Swedish actress (b. 1975)
 2015  Leon Gorman, American businessman (b. 1934)
 2015  Jean Luc Préel, French politician (b. 1940)
 2015  Zhang Zhen, Chinese general (b. 1914)
 2015  Chandra Bahadur Dangi, Nepalese smallest-man-ever titleholder (b. 1939)
 2015  Adrian Cadbury, British businessman and rower (b. 1929)
 2015  Judy Carne, British actress (b. 1939)
 2016  Mir Quasem Ali, Bangladeshi businessman and politician (b. 1952)
 2016  Carlos Bulgheroni, Argentine entrepreneur (b. 1945)
 2017  John Ashbery, American poet (b. 1927)
 2017  Walter Becker, American musician, songwriter and producer (b. 1950)
 2017  Joan Colom, Spanish photographer (b. 1921)
 2017  Dave Hlubek, American musician and songwriter (b. 1951)
 2017  Victor Krasin, Ukrainian-born Russian human rights activist and politician (b. 1929)
 2017  Piet Ouderland, Dutch footballer and basketball player (b. 1933)
 2017  John P. White, American politician (b. 1937)
 2018  Lydia Clarke, American actress (b. 1923)
 2018  Jalaluddin Haqqani, Afghan militant (b. 1939)
 2018  Paul Koech, Kenyan long-distance runner (b. 1969)
 2018  Jacqueline Pearce, British actress (b. 1943)
 2018  Gordon Phillips, English footballer (b. 1946)
 2018  Katyna Ranieri, Italian actress and singer (b. 1925)
 2018  Ina Isings, Dutch classical archaeologist (b. 1919)
 2019  Edgardo Andrada, Argentine footballer (b. 1939)
 2019  LaShawn Daniels, American songwriter (b. 1977)
 2019  Halvard Hanevold, Norwegian biathlete (b. 1969)
 2019  Peter Lindbergh, German fashion photographer (b. 1944)
 2019  José de Jesús Pimiento Rodríguez, Colombian footballer (b. 1919)

Observances 
 Saint Gregory the Great
 National Day of San Marino
 Independence Day (Qatar)
 Flag Day (Australia)
 Levy Mwanawasa Day (Zambia)
 Merchant Navy Day (United Kingdom)
 Dagen-H (Sweden)

September 03