What Happened on March 3rd in History
30 historical events on this date
Censorship in the United States: The U.S. Congress enacts the Comstock Law, making it illegal to send any "obscene literature and articles of immoral use" through the mail.
In the United States, censorship involves the suppression of speech or public communication and raises issues of freedom of speech, which is protected by the First Amendment to the United States...
The Russo-Turkish War ends with Bulgaria regaining its independence from the Ottoman Empire according to the Treaty of San Stefano.
The Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) was a conflict between the Ottoman Empire and a coalition led by the Russian Empire which included Romania, Serbia, and Montenegro. Precipitating factors included...
Shoshone National Forest is established as the first national forest in the US and world.
Shoshone National Forest is the first federally protected National Forest in the United States and covers nearly 2,500,000 acres (10,000 km2) in the state of Wyoming. Originally a part of the...
Thousands of women march in the Woman Suffrage Procession in Washington, D.C.
The Woman Suffrage Procession on March 3, 1913, was the first suffragist parade in Washington, D.C. It was also the first large scale civil rights demonstration to take place in the nation's...
Russia signs the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, agreeing to withdraw from World War I, and conceding German control of the Baltic States, Belarus and Ukraine. It also conceded Turkish control of Ardahan, Kars and Batumi.
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic was a communist state from 1917 to 1922, and afterwards the largest and most populous constituent republic of the Soviet Union (USSR) from 1922 to...
US magazine Time publishes its first issue.
Time is an American news magazine based in New York City. It was published weekly for nearly a century. Starting in March 2020, it was published every other week. It was first published in New York...
The Ottoman Caliphate is abolished, when the Caliph Abdülmecid II of the Ottoman dynasty is deposed. The last remnant of the old monarchy gives way to the reformed Turkey of Kemal Atatürk.
The Ottoman Caliphate was the claim of the heads of the Turkish Ottoman dynasty, rulers of the Ottoman Empire, to be the caliphs of Islam during the late medieval and early modern era.
The Free State of Fiume is annexed by the Kingdom of Italy.
The Free State of Fiume was an independent free state that existed from 1920 to 1924. Its territory of 28 km2 comprised the city of Fiume and rural areas to its north, with a corridor to its west...
Oil is discovered in Saudi Arabia.
Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a natural resource that appears as a yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting primarily of...
In Bombay, Mohandas Gandhi begins a hunger strike in protest at the autocratic rule in British India.
Mumbai, also known as Bombay, is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India, with an estimated population of 12.5...
Five people are killed in an arson attack on the offices of the communist newspaper Flamman in Luleå, Sweden.
The Left Party is a socialist political party in Sweden. On economic issues, the party opposes privatisations and advocates for increased public expenditures. In foreign policy, the party is...
World War II: Ten Japanese warplanes raid Broome, Western Australia, killing more than 100 people.
World War II, or the Second World War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated. Tanks and aircraft played major...
World War II: In London, 173 people are killed in a crush while trying to enter an air-raid shelter at Bethnal Green tube station.
Bethnal Green is a London Underground station in Bethnal Green, London, England. It is on the Central line between Liverpool Street and Mile End stations, and is in London fare zone 2. It is open 24...
The Order of Nakhimov and Order of Ushakov are instituted in USSR as the highest naval awards.
The Order of Nakhimov is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named in honour of Russian admiral Pavel Nakhimov (1802–1855) and bestowed to naval officers for outstanding military...
A freight train carrying stowaway passengers stalls in a tunnel shortly after departing from Balvano, Basilicata, Italy just after midnight, with 517 dying from carbon monoxide poisoning.
Freighthopping or trainhopping is the act of boarding and riding a freightcar without permission. This activity itself is often considered to be illegal, although this varies by jurisdiction. It may...
World War II: In poor visibility, the RAF mistakenly bombs the Bezuidenhout area of The Hague, Netherlands, killing 511 people.
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918...
A De Havilland Comet (Canadian Pacific Air Lines) crashes in Karachi, Pakistan, killing 11 people.
The de Havilland DH.106 Comet is a four-engine narrow body aircraft developed and manufactured by de Havilland in the United Kingdom. The world's first commercial jet airliner, the Comet 1 prototype...
Nuri al-Said becomes Prime Minister of Iraq for the eighth time.
Nuri al-Said Al-Qaraghuli Al-Zubaidi was an Iraqi politician and statesman who served eight terms as Prime Minister of Iraq. He served in various key cabinet and governmental positions in Iraq...
Apollo program: NASA launches Apollo 9 to test the lunar module.
The Apollo program, also known as Project Apollo, was the United States human spaceflight program led by NASA, which landed the first humans on the Moon in 1969. Apollo was conceived in 1960 in the...
Mohawk Airlines Flight 405 crashes as a result of a control malfunction and insufficient training in emergency procedures.
Mohawk Airlines Flight 405, a Fairchild Hiller FH-227 twin-engine turboprop airliner registered N7818M, was a domestic scheduled passenger flight operated by Mohawk Airlines that crashed into a...
Turkish Airlines Flight 981 crashes at Ermenonville near Paris, France killing all 346 aboard.
Turkish Airlines Flight 981 was a scheduled flight from Istanbul Yeşilköy Airport to London Heathrow Airport, with an intermediate stop at Orly Airport in Paris. On 3 March 1974, the McDonnell...
The USS Nautilus is decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register.
USS Nautilus (SSN-571) was the world's first nuclear-powered boat, nuclear-powered submarine, and the first submarine to complete a submerged transit of the North Pole on 3 August 1958. Her initial...
A magnitude 8.3 earthquake strikes the Valparaíso Region of Chile, killing 177 and leaving nearly a million people homeless.
A megathrust earthquake measuring 8.0 Mw struck just offshore the Greater Valparaíso area of Central Chile on 3 March 1985. The event followed a ten-day period of moderate and non-destructive...
The Australia Act 1986 commences, causing Australia to become fully independent from the United Kingdom.
The Australia Act 1986 is the short title of each of a pair of separate but related pieces of legislation: one an act of the Parliament of Australia, the other an act of the Parliament of the United...
An amateur video captures the beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles police officers.
Amateur film is a genre of filmmaking done primarily for personal enjoyment, passion, or hobby, without commercial intent or substantial funding. It encompasses a wide range of activities, from...
United Airlines Flight 585 crashes on its final approach to Colorado Springs killing everyone on board.
United Airlines Flight 585 was a scheduled passenger flight on March 3, 1991, from Denver to Colorado Springs, Colorado, carrying 20 passengers and 5 crew members. The Boeing 737 experienced a...
James Roszko murders four Royal Canadian Mounted Police constables during a drug bust at his property in Rochfort Bridge, Alberta, then commits suicide. This is the deadliest peace-time incident for the RCMP since 1885 and the North-West Rebellion.
The Mayerthorpe tragedy was a fatal shooting that occurred on March 3, 2005, on the farm of James Roszko, approximately 11 km (6.8 mi) north of Rochfort Bridge near the town of Mayerthorpe in the...
Steve Fossett becomes the first person to fly an airplane non-stop around the world solo without refueling.
James Stephen Fossett was an American businessman and a record-setting aviator, sailor, and adventurer. He was the first person to fly solo nonstop around the world in a balloon and in a fixed-wing...
Margaret Wilson is elected as Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives, beginning a period lasting until August 23, 2006, where all the highest political offices (including Elizabeth II as Head of State), were occupied by women, making New Zealand the first country for this to occur.
Margaret Anne Wilson is a New Zealand lawyer, academic and former Labour Party politician. She served as Attorney-General from 1999 to 2005 and Speaker of the House of Representatives from 2005 to...
A bomb blast in Karachi, Pakistan, kills at least 48 people and injured 200 others in a predominantly Shia Muslim area.
The March 2013 Karachi bombing was a terrorist attack that struck a predominantly Shia area inside Abbas Town, Gulshan-e-Iqbal Town in Karachi, Pakistan on 3 March 2013. At least 48+ people were...