May 3
May 3 is the 123rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (124th in leap years). There are 242 days remaining.
Events
- 1494 - Christopher Columbus discovers Jamaica
- 1791 - The May Constitution of Poland (first modern constitution in Europe) is proclaimed by the Polish Diet
- 1808 - The fortress of Sveaborg is lost by Sweden to Russia, during the Finnish War.
- 1810 - Lord Byron swims the Hellespont
- 1860 - Charles XV of Sweden-Norway is crowned king of Sweden
- 1867 - The Hudson's Bay Company gives up all claims to Vancouver Island
- 1912 - The first victims of the RMS Titanic are buried in Halifax, Nova Scotia
- 1942 - World War II: The Battle of the Coral Sea begins
- 1945 - World War II: Sinking of the floating-jails Cap Arcona, Thielbek and Deutschland by the RAF in the Lübeck Bay.
- 1947 - New post-war Japanese constitution goes into effect
- 1951 - London's Royal Festival Hall opens
- 1952 - Lieutenant Colonel Joseph O. Fletcher and Lieutenant Colonel William P. Benedict land a plane at the geographic North Pole
- 1956 - The judo World Championships are first held.
- 1957 - Walter O'Malley, the owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers, agrees to move the team from Brooklyn, New York to Los Angeles, California
- 1963 - Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his "I have a dream" speech
- 1968 - A Braniff International Electra crashes during a storm near Dawson, Texas killing 85
- 1971 - All Things Considered, National Public Radio's flagship news program, broadcasts for the first time.
- 1979 - Margaret Thatcher becomes the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
- 1982- Falklands War: The Type 42 destroyer HMS Sheffield is hit by an Exocet missile and sinks.
- 1991 - The Declaration of Windhoek is signed
- 2000 - Datapoint, the company that commissioned the Intel 8008 microprocessor, declares Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Births
- 612 - Constantine III, Byzantine Emperor
- 1469 - Nicolò Machiavelli, historian and political author (d. 1527)
- 1662 - Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann, master builder (d. 1736)
- 1761 - August von Kotzebue, dramatist (d. 1819)
- 1826 - Charles, Crown Prince of Sweden-Norway (d. 1872)
- 1861 - Emmett Dalton, outlaw (d. 1937)
- 1893 - Konstantine Gamsakhurdia, Georgian writer and public benefactor (d. 1975)
- 1898 - Golda Meir, Prime Minister of Israel
- 1903 - Bing Crosby, singer (d. 1977)
- 1906 - Mary Astor, actress (d. 1987)
- 1913 - William Inge, playwright (d. 1973)
- 1919 - Pete Seeger, singer
- 1919 - Betty Comden, lyricist
- 1921 - Sugar Ray Robinson, boxer (d. 1989)
- 1921 - Joe Ames, singer
- 1933 - James Brown, singer
- 1937 - Frankie Valli, singer
- 1950 - Howard Ashman, lyricist (d. 1991)
- 1955 - David Hookes, cricketer (d. 2004)
- 1959 - Ben Elton, British comedian and author
- 1959 - Uma Bharati, first woman chief minister of Madhya Pradesh
- 1962 - Anders Graneheim, Swedish bodybuilder
- 1969 - Daryl F. Mallett, author and actor
Deaths
- 1679 - Archbishop James Sharp assassinated
- 1758 - Pope Benedict XIV
- 1925 - Clément Ader - french engineer and inventor
- 1942 - Thorvald Stauning, Prime Minister of Denmark
- 1987 - Dalida, French singer
- 1989 - Christine Jorgensen, transsexual
- 1991 - Jerzy Kosinski, writer
Holidays and observances
- World Press Freedom Day
- Roman Catholicism- Feast of the Finding of the Holy Cross (often called the Feast of the Invention of the True Cross)
- Poland – The Constitution Day
External links
- External list of US polititians who were born on May 3.
May 2 - May 4 - April 3 - June 3 -- listing of all days