March 3

Events 
 Up to 1900 
 1284 – The Statute of Rhuddlan incorporates the Principality of Wales into England.
 1575 – Mughal Emperor Akbar the Great defeats a Bengali army at the Battle of Tukaroi.
 1585 – The Olympic Theatre, designed by Andrea Palladio, is inaugurated in Vicenza, Italy.
 1776 – American Revolutionary War: The first amphibious landing of the United States Marine Corps begins in the Battle of Nassau.
 1779 – American Revolutionary War: The Continental Army is routed (heavily beaten) at the Battle of Brier Creek.
 1788 – Europen settlement begins on Norfolk Island.
 1799 – Russo-Ottoman Siege of Corfu ends with the surrender of the French garrison.
 1820 – United States Congress passes the Missouri Compromise.
 1836 – Texas declares independence from Mexico.
 1845 – Florida becomes the 27th state of the United States.
 1849 – The Minnesota Territory is created.
 1857 – Second Opium War: France and the United Kingdom declare war on China.
 1861 – Tsar Alexander II of Russia signs the Emancipation Manifesto, freeing the serfs.
 1875 – Georges Bizet's opera Carmen receives its premiere at the Opéra-Comique in Paris.
 1875 – The first–ever organised indoor ice hockey game is held in Montreal.
 1878 – The Russo-Turkish War ends, as Bulgaria regains its independence from the Ottoman Empire.
 1885 – The American Telephone and Telegraph Company is incorporated in New York.

 1901 – 2000 
 1904 – Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany becomes the first ruler to make a sound recording of a political document, using the phonograph cylinder.
 1905 – Tsar Nicholas II of Russia agrees to create an elected assembly, the Duma.
 1913 – Thousands of women march in a suffrage parade in Washington, DC.
 1915 – NACA, the predecessor of NASA, is founded.
 1918 – World War I: Germany, Austria and Russia sign the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, ending Russia's involvement in the war.
 1923 – TIME magazine is first published.
 1924 – End of the Ottoman caliphate.
 1925 – The Mount Rushmore National Memorial is unveiled, having been created by Gutzon Borglum. Carved into rock are the faces of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt.
 1931 – The United States adopts "The Star-Spangled Banner" as the national anthem.
 1933 – Ching Yun University is established.
 1938 – Oil is discovered in Saudi Arabia.
 1939 – Mahatma Gandhi begins a fast (a period without eating) in protest against autocratic rule in British colonial India.
 1942 – World War II: Ten Japanese war planes raid the town of Broome in Western Australia, killing over 100 people.
 1943 – World War II: In London, 173 people are killed in a crush while trying to enter the air-raid shelter at Bethnal Green tube station.
 1945 – World War II: American and Filipino troops recapture Manila from Japanese forces.
 1945 – A former Armia Krajowa unit massacres at least 150 Ukrainian civilians in Pawlokoma, Poland.
 1945 – World War II: The Royal Air Force accidentally bombs the Bezuidenhout neighbourhood in The Hague, killing 511 people.
 1953 – A Canadian Pacific Airlines Comet aircraft crashes in Karachi, Pakistan, killing 11 people.
 1958 – Nuri as-Said becomes Prime Minister of Iraq for the 14th time.
 1961 – Hassan II becomes King of Morocco.
 1962 – The British Antarctic Territory is created.
 1969 – Apollo program: NASA launches Apollo 9 to test the lunar module.
 1973 – Wasington Convention is signed.
 1974 – Turkish Airlines Flight 981 crashes at Ermenonville, near Paris, killing all 346 people on board.
 1978 – The body of movie actor Charles Chaplin is stolen from his grave in Switzerland.
 1985 – Arthur Scargill announces the decision by the National Mineworkers Union to end the longest–running industrial dispute in the United Kingdom without a peace agreement over pit closures.
 1985 – A magnitude 8.3 earthquake strikes the Valparaiso region of Chile, killing 177 people.
 1991 – Referendum votes in both Estonia and Latvia show overwhelming support for independence from the Soviet Union.
 1991 – United Airlines Flight 585 crashes at Colorado Springs, Colorado, killing 25 people on board.
 1991 – Rodney King is hit and kicked by the Los Angeles police, which leads to big riots.
 1992 – Kyrgyzstan starts to use its current flag.
 1992 – Alija Izetbegovic declares Bosnia and Herzegovina independent.
 1996 – The Partido Popular wins the Spanish parliamentary election, leading to Jose Maria Aznar becoming Prime Minister.
 1997 – The Sky Tower, the southern hemisphere's tallest free–standing structure at a height of 328 metres, opens in Auckland, New Zealand, following more than  years of building work.

 From 2001 
 2002 – Switzerland votes to join the United Nations, breaking its long history of being neutral.
 2002 – The Hindu Kush in Afghanistan is hit by a magnitude 7.4 earthquake, killing 166 people.
 2005 – Steve Fossett becomes the first person to fly an airplane non–stop around the world without refuelling.
 2009 – An armed attack targets the Sri Lanka national cricket team in Lahore, Pakistan.
 2009 – The Historical Archives building in Cologne, Germany, collapses, killing 2 people. Many documents are either completely destroyed or badly damaged.

 Births 
 Up to 1900 
 1455 – King John II of Portugal (d. 1495)
 1500 – Reginald Pole, Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 1558)
 1520 – Matthias Flacius, Croatian Protestant reformer (d. 1575)
 1589 – Gisbertus Voetius, Dutch theologian (d. 1676)
 1606 – Edmund Waller, English poet (d. 1687)
 1652 – Thomas Ottway, English dramatist (d. 1685)
 1678 – Madeleine de Vercheres, Canadian heroine (d. 1747)
 1756 – William Goodwin, English writer (d. 1836)
 1778 – Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Queen of Hanover (d. 1841)
 1788 – William Carroll, 6th and 9th Governor of Tennessee (d. 1844)
 1793 – Charles Sealsfield, Austrian–American journalist (d. 1864)
 1800 – Heinrich Georg Bronn, German geologist (d. 1862)
 1805 – Jonas Furrer, 1st President of the Swiss Confederation (d. 1861)
 1816 – William James Blacklock, English painter (d. 1858)
 1819 – Gustave de Molinari, Belgian economist (d. 1912)
 1823 – Gyula Andrassy, Hungarian regent (d. 1890)
 1831 – George Pullman, American inventor (d. 1897)
 1838 – George William Hill, American astronomer and mathematician (d. 1914)
 1839 – Jamsetji Tata, Indian industrialist (d. 1904)
 1841 – John Murray, Scottish oceanographer (d. 1914)
 1845 – Georg Cantor, German mathematician (d. 1918)
 1847 – Alexander Graham Bell, Scottish inventor (d. 1922)
 1860 – John Montgomery Ward, American baseball player (d. 1925)
 1861 – Racho Petrov, Bulgarian general and politician (d. 1942)
 1866 – Fred A. Busse, Mayor of Chicago (d. 1914)
 1869 – Henry Wood, English conductor (d. 1944)
 1869 – William M. Calder, United States Senator (d. 1945)
 1871 – Maurice Garin, French cyclist (d. 1957)
 1873 – William Green, American labor union leader (d. 1953)
 1877 – Jon Thorlaksson, Prime Minister of Iceland (d. 1935)
 1878 – Leopold Jessner, German producer and director (d. 1945)
 1879 – Jozsef Klekl, Slovenian writer (d. 1936)
 1880 – Yosuke Matsuoka, Japanese politician (d. 1946)
 1880 – Florence Auer, American actress (d. 1962)
 1882 – Charles Ponzi, Italian criminal, origin of the term Ponzi scheme (d. 1949)
 1886 – Tore Orjasaeter, Norwegian poet (d. 1968)
 1886 – Ezequiel Fernandez, 18th President of Panama (d. 1946)
 1890 – Norman Bethune, Canadian doctor and humanitarian (d. 1939)
 1891 – Damaskinos, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1949)
 1891 – Arthur Drewry, British FIFA President (d. 1961)
 1893 – Beatrice Wood, American artist and ceramicist (d. 1998)
 1895 – Ragnar Frisch, Norwegian economist (d. 1973)

 1901 – 1950 
 1901 – Claude Choules, British World War I veteran and supercentenarian (d. 2011)
 1903 – Vasily Kozlov, Soviet politician (d. 1987)
 1905 – Marie Glory, French actress (d. 2009)
 1906 – Artur Lundqvist, Swedish writer (d. 1991)
 1911 – Jean Harlow, American actress (d. 1937)
 1912 – Klaus Gysi, German politician (d. 1999)
 1914 – Asger Jorn, Danish painter (d. 1973)
 1916 – Paul Halmos, Hungarian–American mathematician (d. 2006)
 1918 – Arthur Kornberg, American biochemist (d. 2007)
 1918 – Peter O'Sullevan, British horse racing commentator (d. 2015)
 1918 – Fritz Thiedemann, German equestrian (d. 2000)
 1919 – Loki Schmidt, German environmentalist and wife of Helmut Schmidt (d. 2010)
 1919 – Peter Abrahams, South African writer (d. 2017)
 1920 – Ronald Searle, British cartoonist (d. 2011)
 1920 – Julius Boros, American golfer (d. 1994)
 1920 – James Doohan, Canadian actor (d. 2005)
 1921 – Diana Barrymore, American actress (d. 1960)
 1921 – Doc Paskowitz, American surfer and physician (d. 2014)
 1922 – Nandor Hidegkuti, Hungarian footballer (d. 2002)
 1923 – Doc Watson, American bluegrass musician (d. 2012)
 1924 – Tomiichi Murayama, Prime Minister of Japan
 1924 – Lys Assia, Swiss singer and actress (d. 2018)
 1928 – Howell Evans, Welsh actor, comedian and singer (d. 2014)
 1929 – Mithat Bayrak, Turkish wrestler (d. 2014)
 1930 – Heiner Geissler, German politician (d. 2017)
 1930 – Ion Iliescu, former President of Romania
 1933 – Lee Radziwill, American fashion executive (d. 2019)
 1933 – Alfredo Landa, Spanish actor (d. 2013)
 1934 – Jimmy Garrison, American jazz musician (d. 1976)
 1934 – Peter Brooke, Baron Brooke of Sutton Mandeville, English politician
 1934 – Yasuo Takamori, Japanese footballer
 1935 – Zhelyu Zhelev, former President of Bulgaria (d. 2015)
 1935 – Michael Walzer, American philosopher
 1935 – Malcolm Anderson, Australian tennis player
 1937 – Tsukasa Hosaka, Japanese footballer (d. 2018)
 1937 – Bobby Driscoll, American actor (d. 1968)
 1938 – Bruno Bozzetti, Italian animator and movie director
 1942 – Mike Pender, English singer and guitarist
 1945 – Ronald Mallett, American theoretical physicist
 1945 – George Miller, Australian director
 1946 – John Virgo, English snooker player
 1946 – James C. Adamson, American astronaut
 1947 – Jennifer Warnes, American singer
 1947 – Oscar Tabarez, Uruguayan football manager
 1948 – Snowy White, British guitarist
 1949 – Bonnie J. Dunbar, American engineer, academic and astronaut

 1951 – 1975 
 1951 – Tony Hall, British broadcasting executive, Director–General of the BBC
 1953 – Zico, Brazilian footballer
 1955 – Jorge Vergara, Mexican businessman
 1955 – Darnell Williams, English–American actor
 1956 – Zbigniew Boniek, Polish footballer
 1958 – Miranda Richardson, British actress
 1958 – Bob Bradley, American soccer coach
 1958 – Marc Silvestri, American comic book artist
 1960 – Neal Heaton, American baseball player and coach
 1961 – Fatima Whitbread, British javelin thrower
 1962 – Jackie Joyner-Kersee, American athlete
 1965 – Dragen Skojtovic, Serbian Footballer
 1966 – Fernando Colunga, Mexican actor
 1966 – Timo Tolkki, Finnish musician
 1967 – Alexander Volkov, Russian tennis player
 1968 – Brian Cox, British physicist, television presenter and former musician
 1968 – Brian Leetch, American ice hockey player
 1970 – Inzamam ul-Haq, Pakistani cricketer
 1970 – James Purnell, British politician
 1970 – John Carter Cash, American country musician
 1971 – Charlie Brooker, British comedian, writer and broadcaster
 1971 – Christian Eigner, Austrian drummer and songwriter (Depeche Mode)
 1972 – Darren Anderton, English footballer
 1973 – Xavier Bettel, Prime Minister of Luxembourg
 1973 – Olafur Darri Olafsson, Icelandic actor
 1974 – David Faustino, American actor
 1975 – Aleksandr Abdulkhalikov, Russian footballer
 1975 – Aleksei Abdulkhalikov, Russian footballer

 From 1976 
 1976 – Keit Pentus-Rosimannus, Estonian politician
 1977 – Ronan Keating, Irish singer
 1978 – Seo Moon-tak, South Korean singer
 1979 – Albert Jorquera, Spanish footballer
 1979 – Alex Zane, British comedian
 1981 – Eugene, South Korean singer and actress
 1981 – Lil' Flip, American rapper
 1981 – Julius Malema, South African politician and leader of Economic Freedom Fighters
 1981 – Emmanuel Pappoe, Ghanaian footballer
 1982 – Jessica Biel, American actress
 1983 – Ashley Hansen, Australian footballer
 1984 – Alexander Semin, Russian ice hockey player
 1985 – David Davies, Welsh swimmer
 1986 – Mehmet Topal, Turkish footballer
 1986 – Stacie Orrico, American singer
 1987 – Jesus Padilla, Mexican footballer
 1988 – Riccardo Bocchino, Italian rugby player
 1988 – Bella Heathcote, Australian actress
 1988 – Michael Morrison, English footballer
 1989 – Erwin Mulder, Dutch footballer
 1989 – Hayley Marie Norman, American actress, producer and screenwriter
 1989 – Shuichi Gonda, Japanese footballer
 1991 – Park Cho-rong, South Korean singer
 1992 – Jordy Lucas, Australian actress
 1994 – Umika Kawashima, Japanese actress
 1995 – Maine Mendoza, Filipina internet and television personality
 1997 – Camila Cabello, American singer

 Deaths 
 Up to 1900 
 1033 – Cunigunde of Luxembourg, Holy Roman Empress (b. 960)
 1111 – Bohemund I, Prince of Antioch
 1239 – Vladimir III Rurikovich, Grand Prince of Kiev (b. 1187)
 1554 – John Frederick, Elector of Saxony (b. 1503)
 1605 – Pope Clement VIII (b. 1536)
 1606 – Nyaungyan Min, King of Burma (b. 1557)
 1703 – Robert Hooke, English scientist (b. 1635)
 1706 – Johann Pachelbel, German composer (b. 1653)
 1707 – Aurangzeb, Mughal Emperor (b. 1618)
 1792 – Robert Adam, Scottish architect (b. 1728)
 1824 – Giovanni Battista Viotti, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1755)
 1869 – William Lanney (King Billy), the last full blood aborigine in Tasmania.
 1899 – William P. Sprague, American politician (b. 1887)

 1901 – 2000 
 1901 – George Gilman, American businessman (b. 1826)
 1920 – Theodor Philipsen, Danish painter (b. 1840)
 1927 – Mikhail Artsybashev, Ukrainian writer and playwright (b. 1878)
 1932 – Eugen d'Albert, German composer (b. 1864)
 1932 – Joseph Mackey Brown, Governor of Georgia (b. 1851)
 1942 – Prince Amedeo, Duke of Aosta, Italian governor and viceroy (b. 1898)
 1945 – William M. Calder, United States Senator (b. 1869)
 1953 – James J. Jeffries, American heavyweight boxer (b. 1875)
 1959 – Lou Costello, American actor and comedian (d. 1906)
 1961 – Paul Wittgenstein, Austrian–born pianist (b. 1887)
 1966 – Joseph Fields, American playwright, director and producer (b. 1895)
 1975 – Edward H. Griffith, American director (d. 1888)
 1979 – Mustafa Barzani, Kurdish politician (b. 1903)
 1983 – Hergé, Belgian comics creator (b. 1907)
 1987 – Danny Kaye, American actor, singer and comedian (b. 1911)
 1991 – William Penney, English mathematician (b. 1909)
 1993 – Carlos Montoya, Spanish flamenco guitarist (b. 1903)
 1993 – Albert Sabin, Polish–born medical researcher (b. 1906)
 1995 – Howard Hunter, American religious leader (b. 1907)
 1996 – Marguerite Durand, French writer (b. 1914)
 1996 – John Krol, American cardinal (b. 1910)
 1998 – Fred Friendly, American broadcast executive (b. 1915)
 1999 – Gerhard Herzberg, German–born Canadian chemist (b. 1904)

 From 2001 
 2002 – G. M. C. Balayogi, Indian lawyer and politician (b. 1951)
 2003 – Horst Buchholz, German actor (b. 1933)
 2005 – Rinus Michels, Dutch footballer and coach (b. 1928)
 2008 – Giuseppe Di Stefano, Italian operatic tenor (b. 1921)
 2010 – Keith Alexander, British footballer and coach (b. 1956)
 2010 – Michael Foot, British politician (b. 1913)
 2011 – Allan Louisy, Prime Minister of Saint Lucia (b. 1914)
 2012 – Ralph McQuarrie, American conceptual designer and illustrator (b. 1929)
 2013 – Luis Cubilla, Uruguayan footballer (b. 1940)
 2014 – William R. Pogue, American astronaut (b. 1930)
 2015 – M. Stanton Evans, American journalist, writer and educator (b. 1934)
 2015 – Lynn Borden, American actress (b. 1937)
 2015 – Ernest Braun, Austrian–British academic and writer (b. 1925)
 2016 – Martin Crowe, New Zealand cricketer (b. 1962)
 2016 – Ashok Ghosh, Indian politician (b. 1921)
 2016 – Thanat Khoman, Thai politician (b. 1914)
 2016 – Natalia Krachkovskaya, Russian actress (b. 1938)
 2016 – Sophie Dessus, French politician (b. 1955)
 2016 – Hayabusa, Japanese professional wrestler (b. 1968)
 2017 – Raymond Kopa, French footballer (b. 1931)
 2017 – Misha Mengelberg, Dutch jazz pianist and composer (b. 1935)
 2017 – Tommy Page, American singer-songwriter (b. 1970)
 2017 – René Préval, President of Haiti (b. 1943)
 2017 – Anne Kristin Sydnes, Norwegian politician (b. 1956)
 2018 – Vanessa Goodwin, Australian politician (b. 1969)
 2018 – Roger Bannister, English athlete and neurologist (b. 1929)
 2018 – David Ogden Stiers, American actor (b. 1942)
 2018 – Lin Hu, Chinese air force general (b. 1927)
 2018 – Yvon Taillandier, French artist (b. 1926)
 2018 – Derek Saunders, English footballer (b. 1928)
 2018 – Billy Herrington, American pornographic actor (b. 1969)
 2018 – Jorge Wagensberg Lubinski, Spanish physicist, academic and writer (b. 1948)
 2018 – Franz Pacher, Austrian engineer (b. 1919)
 2019 – Peter Hurford, British organist and composer (b. 1930)
 2023 – Kenzaburō Ōe, Japanese writer (b. 1935)

 Observances 
 Hinamatsuri (Girls' Day) in Japan
 Liberation Day (Bulgaria)
 Mother's Day (Georgia)
 Sportsmen's Day (Egypt)
 Martyrs' Day (Malawi)
 World Wildlife Day

March 03