September 3

### 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.

### 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

### 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)