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 Eugene 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 Jaures, 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, emigre 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 Lindstrom, 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 Gerard 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 Jose 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 Cesar 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 author 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 Alberic 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 Nordenskjold, Swedish actress (b. 1975)
2015 Leon Gorman, American businessman (b. 1934)
2015 Jean Luc Preel, 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 Jose de Jesus Pimiento Rodriguez, Colombian footballer (b. 1919)
Observances
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