May 3

Events
Up to 1900
1481 - The largest of three earthquakes strikes the Greek island of Rhodes, killing an estimated 30,000 people.
1491 - Kongo monarch Nkuwu Nzinga is baptized by Portuguese missionaries.
1494 - Christopher Columbus arrives in Jamaica, naming the island Santiago.
1715 - A total solar eclipse is visible across Northern Europe and Northern Asia, with totality across southern England being predicted by Edmond Halley to within four minutes of accuracy.
1791 - Poland's first constitution is introduced. May 3 is still celebrated as Constitution Day in Poland, as well as in neighboring Lithuania.
1802 - Washington, DC is incorporated as a city.
1808 - Rebels in Madrid, who rose up on the previous day, against French rule, are executed.
1808 - Finnish War: Sweden loses the fortress of Sveaborg to Russia.
1815 - Neapolitan War: Joachim Murat, King of Naples, is defeated by the Austrians at the Battle of Tolentino, the decisive engagement of the war.
1830 - The Canterbury-Whitstable Railway in Southern England is opened. It is the first steam-hauled passenger railway to issue season tickets and include a tunnel.
1837 - The University of Athens, Greece, is founded.
1849 - The May uprising begins in Dresden.
1855 - The adventurer William Walker departs from San Francisco with around 60 men in an attempt to conquer Nicaragua.
1860 - King Charles XV of Sweden-Norway is crowned.
1867 - Hudson's Bay Company gives up all claims to Vancouver Island.
1887 - Canada's worst mining disaster occurs in Nanaimo, on Vancouver Island. 150 people are killed, and 7 survive.
1901 2000
1901 - The Great Fire of 1901 begins in Jacksonville, Florida.
1909 - Germany introduces driver's licences.
1913 - Raja Harishchandra, the first full-length Indian feature movie, is released, marking the start of the Indian movie industry.
1915 - The poem In Flanders Fields is written by John McCrae.
1916 - In Ireland, the leaders of the Easter Uprising are executed.
1920 - A Bolshevik coup fails in Georgia.
1934 - The French navy introduces Surcouf, which was the largest submarine at the time.
1936 - Joe DiMaggio makes his Major League Baseball debut, for the New York Yankees.
1937 - Margaret Mitchell's novel Gone With the Wind wins the Pulitzer Prize for fiction.
1939 - The All India Forward Bloc is founded by Subhas Chandra Bose.
1945 - World War II: Sinking of the prison ships Cap Arcona, Thielbeck and Deutschland by the Royal Air Force in Lubeck Bay.
1947 - Japan's new post-war constitution goes into effect.
1951 - George VI of the United Kingdom opens the Festival of Britain. London's Royal Festival Hall opens on the same day.
1952 - Lieutenant Colonels Joseph O. Fletcher and William P. Benedict of the US land a plane at the North Pole.
1952 - The Kentucky Derby horse race is shown on television throughout the US for the first time.
1956 - The first World Championships in judo take place in Tokyo.
1960 - In Amsterdam, the Netherlands the Anne Frank House is opened to the public.
1960 - Off-Broadway musical comedy The Fantasticks opens in New York City's Greenwich Village.
1973 - The Sears Tower in Chicago is completed.
1978 - The first Spam email is sent by a Digital Equipment Corporation marketing representative to every ARPANET address on the west coast of the United States.
1979 - Margaret Thatcher is elected Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, becoming the first female British Prime Minister.
1986 - A bomb explodes on an airliner at Colombo's airport in Sri Lanka, killing 21 people, and injuring 41.
1999 - The southwestern portion of Oklahoma City is devastated by a Force-5 tornado, killing 45 people and injuring 665.
From 2001
2001 - For the first time, the United States loses its seat on the United Nations Human Rights Commission.
2002 - A military MiG-21 aircraft crashes into the Bank of Rajasthan, in Northwest India, killing 8 people.
2003 - New Hampshire's Old Man of the Mountain rock feature collapses.
2006 - While landing in Sochi, Southern Russia, an Airbus A320-200 of Armenian airline Armavia crashes into the Black Sea, killing all 113 people on board.
2007 - The Scottish National Party, under Alex Salmond, narrowly wins in the election to the Scottish Parliament.
2007 - Madeleine McCann gets abducted from an apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal.
2008 - Cyclone Nargis devastates Burma, killing thousands of people, and causing widespread flooding in the Irrawaddy River Delta.
2014 - The Black Forest National Park is officially opened.
2018 - Dust storms in Rajasthan an Uttar Pradesh, India, kill at least 100 people.
2019 - The number of deaths in the South Kivu Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is estimated at 1,000, making it the second-deadliest outbreak of the disease.
2019 - Cyclone Fani hits the state of Odisha on the east coast of India.
Births
Up to 1800
612 - Constantine III, Byzantine Emperor (d. 641)
1415 - Cecily Neville, mother of Edward IV and Richard III of England (d. 1495)
1428 - Pedro Gonzalez de Mendoza, Spanish cardinal and statesman (d. 1495)
1446 - Margaret of York (d. 1503)
1455 - King John I of Portugal (d. 1495)
1460 - Raffaele Riario, Italian cardinal and patron of the arts (d. 1521)
1469 - Niccolo Machiavelli, Italian philosopher (d. 1527)
1678 - Amaro Pargo, Spanish pirate (d. 1747)
1695 - Henri Pitot, Italian-born French engineer (d. 1771)
1713 - Alexis Clairaut, French mathematician (d. 1765)
1729 - Florian Leopold Gassmann, German-Bohemian composer (d. 1774)
1761 - August von Kotzebue, German dramatist (d. 1819)
1764 - Princess Elisabeth of France (d. 1794)
1768 - Charles Tennant, Scottish chemist (d. 1838)
1768 - Agustin Eyzaguirre, acting President of Chile (d. 1838)
1773 - Giuseppe Acerbi, Italian naturalist (d. 1846)
1784 - Henry Hubbard, Governor of New Hampshire (d. 1857)
1801 1900
1814 - Adams George Archibald, Canadian lawyer and politician (d. 1892)
1826 - King Charles XV of Sweden (d. 1872)
1841 - Richard D'Oyly Carte, English talent agent, impresario and composer (d. 1901)
1849 - Bertha Benz, German automobile pioneer (d. 1944)
1849 - Bernhard von Buelow, Chancellor of Germany (d. 1929)
1860 - John Scott Haldane, British physiologist (d. 1936)
1860 - Vito Volterra, Italian mathematician and physicist (d. 1940)
1861 - Emmett Dalton, American outlaw (d. 1937)
1870 - Princess Helena Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein (d. 1948)
1872 - Simun av Skardi, Faroese poet and politician (d. 1942)
1873 - Pavlo Skoropadskyi, German-Ukrainian general and politician (d. 1945)
1874 - Francois Coty, French perfume manufacturer (d. 1934)
1877 - Karl Abraham, German psychoanalyst (d. 1925)
1879 - Fergus McMaster, Australian businessman and soldier, co-founder of Qantas (d. 1950)
1879 - Clyde L. Herring, American politician, 26th Governor of Iowa (d. 1945)
1884 - Willie Reid, Scottish footballer (d. 1966)
1886 - Marcel Dupre, French organist and composer (d. 1971)
1891 - Tadeusz Peiper, Polish poet (d. 1969)
1892 - George Paget Thomson, English physicist (d. 1975)
1893 - Konstantine Gamsakhurdia, Georgian writer (d. 1975)
1895 - Cornelius Van Til, Dutch theologian and philosopher (d. 1987)
1895 - Gabriel Chevallier, French journalist and writer (d. 1969)
1895 - Bettina Encke von Arnim, German painter (d. 1971)
1896 - Dodie Smith, English novelist and playwright (d. 1990)
1898 - Golda Meir, Prime Minister of Israel (d. 1978)
1901 1950
1901 - Gino Cervi, Italian actor (d. 1974)
1901 - Ebbe Schwartz, Danish football official, President of UEFA (d. 1964)
1902 - Alfred Kastler, French physicist (d. 1984)
1903 - Bing Crosby, American singer and actor (d. 1977)
1905 - Werner Fenchel, German mathematician (d. 1988)
1906 - Mary Astor, American actress (d. 1987)
1909 - John A. Notte, Jr., American politician, Governor of Rhode Island (d. 1983)
1910 - Norman Corwin, American radio presenter (d. 2011)
1914 - Georges-Emmanuel Clancier, French poet
1917 - Kiro Gligorov, former President of the Republic of Macedonia (d. 2012)
1919 - Pete Seeger, American musician (d. 2014)
1920 - John Lewis, American jazz pianist, composer and arranger (d. 2001)
1921 - Sugar Ray Robinson, American boxer (d. 1989)
1922 - Len Shackleton, English footballer (d. 2000)
1923 - George Hadjinikos, Greek pianist, conductor, teacher and writer
1924 - Ken Tyrrell, English racing driver (d. 2001)
1926 - Ann B. Davis, American actress (d. 2014)
1927 - Clelio Darida, Italian politician, Mayor of Rome (d. 2017)
1928 - Jacques-Louis Lions, French mathematician (d. 2001)
1928 - Carel Visser, Dutch artist (d. 2015)
1930 - Juan Gelman, Argentine writer and poet (d. 2014)
1931 - Aldo Rossi, Italian architect and designer (d. 1997)
1933 - James Brown, American singer (d. 2006)
1933 - Steven Weinberg, American physicist
1934 - Henry Cooper, British boxer (d. 2011)
1934 - Frankie Valli, American singer
1934 - Georges Moustaki, French singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
1937 - Hans Cieslarczyk, German footballer
1938 - Lindsay Kemp, English actor, dancer and choreographer (d. 2018)
1941 - Nona Gaprindashvili, Georgian chess player
1941 - Edward Malloy, American educator
1942 - Butch Otter, American politician, 32nd Governor of Idaho
1943 - Jim Risch, American lawyer and politician, 31st Governor of Idaho
1945 - Jeffrey C. Hall, American geneticist, 2017 joint-Nobel laureate
1946 - Rabah Saadane, Algerian footballer and coach
1947 - Doug Henning, Canadian magician (d. 2000)
1948 - Peter Oosterhius, English golfer
1949 - Ken Hom, Chinese-American chef
1951 1975
1951 - Jan Bielecki, Polish politician
1951 - Tatyana Tolstaya, Russian writer
1951 - Christopher Cross, American singer-songwriter, musician and producer
1951 - Ashok Gehlot, Indian politician, 21st Chief Minister of Rajasthan
1952 - Chuck Baldwin, American politician, pastor and radio host
1952 - Allan Wells, Scottish runner
1956 - Marc Bellemare, French-Canadian lawyer and politician
1958 - Sandi Toksvig, Danish writer and broadcaster
1959 - Ben Elton, English comedian and writer
1959 - David Ball, English keyboardist and producer (Soft Cell)
1960 - Kathy Smallwood-Cook, English athlete
1961 - Steve McClaren, English football manager
1963 - Mona Siddiqui, Pakistani-born British academic and journalist
1964 - Ron Hextall, Canadian ice hockey player
1964 - Sterling Campbell, American drummer and songwriter
1965 - Rob Brydon, Welsh comedian, actor and presenter
1965 - Ignatius Aphrem I, Syrian patriarch
1965 - Mikhail Prokhorov, Russian multibillionaire and politician
1966 - Darren Morgan, Welsh snooker player
1970 - Bobby Cannavale, American actor
1970 - Suzi Perry, English model, columnist and motor racing presenter
1971 - Douglas Carswell, English politician, first UKIP MP
1972 - Stephen Barclay, English politician
1973 - Rea Garvey, Irish-German singer
1974 - Jukka Hentunen, Finnish ice hockey player
1975 - Christina Hendricks, American actress
From 1976
1976 - Beto, Portuguese footballer
1976 - Alexander Gerst, German geophysicist, volcanologist and astronaut
1977 - Mashima Hiro, Japanese manga artist
1977 - Ben Olsen, American soccer player
1977 - Maryam Mirzakhani, Iranian mathematician (d. 2017)
1978 - Dule Hill, American actor and tap dancer
1978 - Autumn Phillips, Canadian-born member of the extended British Royal Family
1978 - Paul Banks, English-born musician
1978 - Lawrence Tynes, Scottish American football player
1979 - Simone Hauswald, German biathlete
1979 - Genevieve Nnaji, Nigerian actress and singer
1980 - Jaycee Lee Dugard, American kidnap victim
1981 - Farrah Franklin, American actress and singer
1981 - U-Nee, South Korean singer, dancer and actress (d. 2007)
1981 - Benoit Cheyrou, French footballer
1983 - Marton Fulop, Hungarian footballer (d. 2014)
1983 - Laava, Brazilian singer
1983 - Joseph Addai, American Football player
1983 - Myriam Fares, Lebanese singer and entertainer
1984 - Cheryl Burke, American dancer
1985 - Ezequiel Lavezzi, Argentine footballer
1985 - Meagan Tandy, American model and actress
1987 - Lina Grincikaite, Lithuanian sprinter
1987 - Joey Montana, Panamanian singer
1989 - Selah Sue, Belgian singer
1990 - Miranda Chartrand, Canadian-English singer
1990 - Brooks Koepka, American golfer
1996 - Alex Iwobi, Nigerian footballer
1996 - Noah Munck, American actor and musician
1996 - Domantas Sabonis, Lithuanian basketball player
Deaths
Up to 1900
1152 - Matilda of Boulogne (b. 1105)
1160 - Peter Lombard, Italian scholar and bishop (b. 1100)
1270 - Bela IV of Hungary (b. 1206)
1294 - John I, Duke of Brabant (b. 1252)
1481 - Mehmed II, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1432)
1598 - Anna Guarini, Italian singer (b. 1563)
1616 - William Shakespeare, English writer and playwright (b. 1564), April 23 in Julian calendar
1704 - Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber, Bohemian composer (b. 1644)
1724 - John Leverett the Younger, American lawyer, politician and educator (b. 1662)
1752 - Samuel Ogle, English-American politician (b. 1692)
1758 - Pope Benedict XIV (b. 1675)
1764 - Francesco Algarotti, Italian philosopher (b. 1712)
1779 - John Winthrop, American mathematician, physicist and astronomer (b. 1714)
1839 - Ferdinando Paer, Italian composer (b. 1771)
1856 - Adolphe Adam, French composer and critic (b. 1803)
1886 - Alexander Karadordevic, Prince of Serbia (b. 1806)
1901 2000
1910 - John Lourie Beveridge, 17th Governor of Illinois (b. 1824)
1916 - Tom Clarke, Irish nationalist (b. 1858)
1916 - Thomas MacDonagh, Irish nationalist (b. 1878)
1916 - Patrick Pearse, Irish nationalist and poet (b. 1879)
1932 - Charles Fort, American author (b. 1874)
1938 - Percy Funivall, English cyclist (b. 1867)
1939 - Madeleine Desroseaux, French poet and novelist (b. 1873)
1942 - Thorvald Stauning, Prime Minister of Denmark (b. 1873)
1943 - Harry Miller, American engineer (b. 1875)
1948 - Ernst Tandefelt, Finnish nobleman (b. 1876)
1961 - Maurice Merleau-Ponty, French philosopher (b. 1908)
1969 - Zakir Hussain, 3rd President of India (b. 1897)
1970 - Cemil Gurgen Erlerturk, Turkish footballer (b. 1918)
1972 - Emil Breitkreuz, American middle-distance runner (b. 1883)
1972 - Bruce Cabot, American actor (b. 1904)
1976 - Ernie Nevers, American football player (b. 1903)
1987 - Dalida, French singer (b. 1933)
1988 - Lev Semenovich Pontryagin, Russian mathematician (b. 1908)
1989 - Christine Jorgensen, American trans woman (b. 1926)
1991 - Jerzy Kosinski, Polish writer (b. 1933)
1996 - Jack Weston, American actor (b. 1924)
1997 - Narciso Yepes, Spanish guitarist (b. 1927)
From 2001
2002 - Barbara Castle, British politician (b. 1910)
2006 - Karel Appel, Dutch painter (b. 1925)
2006 - Earl Woods, father of Tiger Woods (b. 1932)
2007 - Wally Schirra, American astronaut (b. 1923)
2008 - Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo, Prime Minister of Spain (b. 1926)
2010 - Florencio Campomanes, Filipino chess player and official (b. 1927)
2010 - Guenter Wendt, German-American NASA engineer (b. 1923)
2011 - Jackie Cooper, American actor (b. 1922)
2011 - Robert Brout, Belgian physicist (b. 1928)
2012 - Jorge Illueca, former President of Panama (b. 1918)
2012 - Lloyd Brevett, Jamaican musician (b. 1931)
2013 - Cedric Brooks, Jamaican-American saxophonist (b. 1943)
2014 - Gary Becker, American economist (b. 1930)
2014 - Jim Oberstar, American politician (b. 1934)
2015 - Abdul Wahid Aresar, Pakistani politician (b. 1949)
2015 - Danny Jones, Welsh rugby league player (b. 1986)
2015 - Revaz Chkheidze, Georgian film director (b. 1926)
2015 - Abdul Basit Usman, Filipino fugitive (b. 1974)
2015 - Harry Martin, American judge (b. 1920)
2015 - John Elders, English rugby union player (b. 1930)
2016 - Ian Deans, Scottish-Canadian politician (b. 1937)
2016 - Abel Fernandez, American actor (b. 1930)
2016 - Marianne Gaba, American model and actress (b. 1939)
2016 - Kaname Harada, Japanese World War II flying ace and anti-war activist (b. 1916)
2016 - Karol Machata, Slovakian actor (b. 1928)
2016 - Nicolas Noxon, American filmmaker (b. 1936)
2016 - Janusz Tazbir, Polish historian (b. 1927)
2017 - Mishaal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi prince and politician (b. 1926)
2017 - Lukas Ammann, Swiss actor (b. 1912)
2017 - Daliah Lavi, Israeli actress, singer and politician (b. 1942)
2017 - Abbas Abdullahi Sheikh Siraji, Somali politician (b. 1985)
2017 - Yumeji Tsukioka, Japanese actress (b. 1921)
2018 - Doina Cornea, Romanian activist (b. 1929)
2018 - Afonso Dhlakama, Mozambican politician (b. 1953)
2019 - Frits Soetekouw, Dutch footballer (b. 1938)
2019 - Goro Shimura, Japanese mathematician (b. 1930)
Observances
Constitution Day in Poland and Lithuania
Constitution Memorial Day in Japan
World Press Freedom Day
May 03