Famous Birthdays on August 3

August 3 has 219 recorded notable births across history, from 1442 to 1999. This focused page highlights 20 people with the strongest available profile context.

James Hetfield

1963 — James Hetfield

American singer-songwriter and guitarist

By · Wikipedia

Famous Birthdays 219 source records 1442 – 1999 Leo

Major events on August 3

See what else happened on this day in history.

  1. 1795 Treaty of Greenville is signed, ending the Northwest Indian War in the Ohio Country. Source
  2. 1975 A privately chartered Boeing 707 strikes a mountain peak and crashes near Agadir, Morocco, killing 188. Source

Did you know about James Hetfield

Metallica has won 10 Grammy Awards and released 11 studio albums, three live albums, four extended plays, and 24 singles.

Did you know about Eric Esch

Esch became a professional boxer in 1994 after a successful stint on the Toughman Contest scene and went on to capture the World Athletic Association (WAA) heavyweight and IBA super heavyweight championships.

Did you know about Dolores del Río

Regarded as the first major female Latin American crossover superstar in Hollywood, she is a quintessential representation of the female face of Mexico in the world.

Did you know about Esther Earl

In 2014, Earl's writings were compiled with her biography This Star Won't Go Out, which appeared on the New York Times bestseller list for young adult books.

Did you know about Ernie Pyle

Pyle won the Pulitzer Prize in 1944 for his newspaper accounts of "dogface" infantry soldiers from a first-person perspective.


More major people born on August 3

Notable people are ranked by substantive profile depth and public notability.

1966 Eric Esch

Eric Esch

American wrestler, boxer, and mixed martial artist
Eric David Scott Esch, better known by his nickname "Butterbean", is an American television personality and retired professional boxer, kickboxer, mixed martial artist, and professional wrestler. A competitor in the heavyweight and super heavyweight divisions, he is an overall four-time world champion across the four sports. Esch became a professional boxer in 1994 after a successful stint on the Toughman Contest scene and went on to capture the World Athletic Association (WAA) heavyweight and IBA super heavyweight championships. From 2003, he regularly fought as a kickboxer and mixed martial artist, notably in K-1 and the Pride Fighting Championships. Esch's combined fight record is 97–24–5 with 65 knockouts and 9 submissions.
1904 Dolores del Río

Dolores del Río

Mexican actress (died 1983)
Dolores del Río was a Mexican actress whose career spanned more than 50 years. Along with a notable movie career in the Golden Age of Hollywood during the 1920s and 1930s, she was considered one of the most important female figures in the Golden Age of Mexican cinema during the 1940s and 1950s, as well as one of the most beautiful actresses of the era. Regarded as the first major female Latin American crossover superstar in Hollywood, she is a quintessential representation of the female face of Mexico in the world. For her contribution to the film industry, she has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
1994 Esther Earl

Esther Earl

American author, vlogger, and online personality (died 2010)
Esther Grace Earl was an American author, internet vlogger, online personality, and Nerdfighter, as well as an activist in the Harry Potter Alliance. Prior to her death from cancer in 2010, Earl befriended author John Green, who credited her for the inspiration to complete his bestselling 2012 novel The Fault in Our Stars. In 2014, Earl's writings were compiled with her biography This Star Won't Go Out, which appeared on the New York Times bestseller list for young adult books. Earl has been cited as an influential activist, with her family and online followers continuing to hold charity and fundraising events in her memory.
1900 Ernie Pyle

Ernie Pyle

American soldier and journalist (died 1945)
Ernest Taylor Pyle was an American journalist and war correspondent who is best known for his stories about ordinary American soldiers during World War II. Pyle is also notable for the columns he wrote as a roving human-interest reporter from 1935 through 1941 for the Scripps-Howard newspaper syndicate that earned him wide acclaim for his simple accounts of ordinary people across North America. When the United States entered World War II, he lent the same distinctive, folksy style of his human-interest stories to his wartime reports from the European theater (1942–44) and Pacific theater (1945). Pyle won the Pulitzer Prize in 1944 for his newspaper accounts of "dogface" infantry soldiers from a first-person perspective. He was killed by enemy fire on Iejima during the Battle of Okinawa.
1940 Lance Alworth

Lance Alworth

American football player
Lance Dwight Alworth, nicknamed "Bambi", is an American former professional football wide receiver who played for the San Diego Chargers of the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL), and the Dallas Cowboys of the NFL. Often considered one of the greatest wide receivers of all time, he played for 11 seasons, from 1962 through 1972, and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1978. He was the first player inducted whose playing career was principally in the AFL. Alworth is also a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. His teammates called him Bambi because he had a baby face and could run like a deer.
1808 Hamilton Fish

Hamilton Fish

American lawyer and politician, 26th United States Secretary of State (died 1893)
Hamilton Fish was an American statesman who served as the sixteenth governor of New York from 1849 to 1850, a United States senator from New York from 1851 to 1857, and the 26th U.S. secretary of state from 1869 to 1877. Fish was the most trusted advisor to President Ulysses S. Grant and recognized as the pillar of Grant's presidency. He is considered one of the nation's most effective U.S. secretaries of state by scholars, known for his judiciousness and efforts towards reform and diplomatic moderation. He settled the controversial Alabama Claims with the United Kingdom, developing the concept of international arbitration and avoided war with Spain over Cuban independence by coolly handling the volatile Virginius incident. He also organized a peace conference and treaty between South American countries and Spain. In 1875, Fish negotiated a reciprocal trade treaty for sugar production with the Kingdom of Hawai'i, initiating the process which ended in the 1893 overthrow of the House of Kalākaua and statehood. Fish worked with James Milton Turner to settle the Liberia-Grebo War in 1876.
1964 Nate McMillan

Nate McMillan

American basketball player and coach
Nathaniel McMillan is an American basketball coach and former player who serves as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He coached the Seattle SuperSonics from 2000 to 2005, the Portland Trail Blazers from 2005 to 2012, and the Indiana Pacers from 2016 to 2020. McMillan served as an assistant coach for the Atlanta Hawks in 2021, before becoming the head coach from 2021 to 2023. He spent his entire 12-year NBA playing career with the SuperSonics, then served as an assistant coach for one-and-a-half years and as head coach for almost five years. His long tenure as a player and coach in Seattle earned him the nickname "Mr. Sonic".
1990 Kang Min-kyung

Kang Min-kyung

South Korean singer
Kang Min-kyung is a South Korean singer and actress. She is one half of the duo Davichi, who rose to fame upon the release of their debut album Amaranth in 2008. Davichi has since released 3 studio albums, 6 extended plays and several hit songs such as "Don't Say Goodbye", "Turtle", "Missing You Today" and "8282". Kang has also pursued acting, appearing in television dramas such as Smile, Mom (2010), Vampire Idol (2011), Haeundae Lovers (2012) and family drama The Dearest Lady (2015). On February 27, 2019, she debuted as a solo artist with her first extended play Kang Min Kyung Vol. 1.
1987 Kim Hyung-jun

Kim Hyung-jun

South Korean singer and dancer
Kim Hyung-jun is a South Korean entertainer, lead rapper and youngest member of boyband SS501 and SS301. In 2010, Kim left DSP Media, who managed him as part of SS501, and joined S-Plus Entertainment as a solo artist. He made his debut as a soloist in March 2011 with mini album My Girl, and musical debut in Caffeine. In 2012, Kim starred on his first main lead role as Kang-min in KBS Drama's My Shining Girl, followed by SBS Plus's Late Blossom as Jung Min-chae in the same year. At the end of the year, Kim received the Rising Star Award for his role in Late Blossom by the K-Drama Star Awards.
1871 Vernon Louis Parrington

Vernon Louis Parrington

American historian and scholar (died 1929)
Vernon Louis Parrington was an American literary historian, scholar, and college football coach. The first two volumes of his is three-volume history of American letters, Main Currents in American Thought, won the Pulitzer Prize for History in 1928 and was one of the most influential books for American historians of its time. The third volume approximately half completed was completed by his associates and students after his sudden death in 1929. Parrington taught at the College of Emporia, the University of Oklahoma, and the University of Washington. He was also the head football coach at the College of Emporia from 1893 to 1896 and Oklahoma from 1897 to 1900. Parrington founded the American studies movement in 1927.
1442 Galeotto I Pico

Galeotto I Pico

Duke of Mirandola (died 1499)
Galeotto I Pico della Mirandola was an Italian condottiero and nobleman, Signore of Mirandola and Concordia. He was noted by contemporaries for his tyranny. The son of Gianfrancesco I Pico, Galeotto initially allied himself to the Duchy of Ferrara, first fighting for Duke Borso d'Este and then Ercole I d'Este, with whom he formed a strong bond. In 1486, he switched allegiance to Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan. He fought his brother Antonio for the Signoria of Mirandola. He was ultimately successful in the last battle, taking his brother's place in 1491, which was reaffirmed two years later. He died in 1499 and was succeeded by his son Giovanni Francesco.
1941 Juanita Helms

Juanita Helms

American politician (died 2009)
Juanita Lou Helms was an American politician who served as a member of the Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly for five years, and then as the first female borough mayor of Fairbanks from 1985 to 1991. During Helms's first term as mayor, she and her administration were criticized for violating borough finance laws with an investment, but was re-elected. Helms worked to establish Fairbanks' ties with the international community through sister city agreements both during and after her tenure as mayor. She was inducted into the Alaska Women's Hall of Fame, and the Juanita Helms Administrative Center in Fairbanks is named after her.
1964 Abhisit Vejjajiva

Abhisit Vejjajiva

English-Thai economist and politician, 27th Prime Minister of Thailand
Abhisit Vejjajiva is a Thai politician who was the 27th prime minister of Thailand from 2008 to 2011. He was the leader of the Democrat Party from 2005 until he resigned following the party's weak performance in the 2019 election. He returned as leader of the party once again in October 2025, following party elections. As leader of the second largest party in the House of Representatives, he was also leader of the opposition – a position he held from 2005 to 2008 and again after his premiership until his party's en masse resignation from the House on 8 December 2013.
1972 Sandis Ozoliņš

Sandis Ozoliņš

Latvian ice hockey player and politician
Sandis Ozoliņš, commonly spelled Sandis Ozolinsh in North America, is a Latvian former professional ice hockey player and coach. During his career in North America, Ozoliņš was a seven-time NHL All-Star, Stanley Cup champion, and James Norris Memorial Trophy finalist. He is also the all-time leader for goals, assists, points, and games played by a Latvian in the NHL and holds several Colorado Avalanche and San Jose Sharks franchise records. Ozoliņš was also the highest-paid sportsman in Latvian history, before NBA basketball player Andris Biedriņš succeeded him in 2008. He briefly became the head coach of Dinamo Riga in 2017.
1909 Walter Van Tilburg Clark

Walter Van Tilburg Clark

American author and educator (died 1971)
Walter Van Tilburg Clark was an American novelist, short story writer, poet, and educator. He ranks as one of Nevada's most distinguished literary figures of the 20th century, and was the first inductee into the 'Nevada Writers Hall of Fame' in 1988, together with Robert Laxalt, Clark's mentee and Nevada's other heralded twentieth century author. Two of Clark's novels, The Ox-Bow Incident and The Track of the Cat, were made into films. As a writer, Clark taught himself to use the familiar materials of the western saga to explore the human psyche and to raise deep philosophical issues.
1959 Martin Atkins

Martin Atkins

English drummer and producer
Martin Clive Atkins is an English drummer, best known for his work in post-punk and industrial groups including Public Image Ltd, Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, Pigface, and Killing Joke. He also works as a consultant, has written multiple books on the music industry, and is the music industry studies coordinator at Millikin University in Decatur, IL. Atkins is the owner and operator of the Museum of Post Punk and Industrial Music in Chicago, is an honorary board member of the Chicago-based nonprofit organization Rock For Kids, and is a fellow of In Place of War.
1934 Jonas Savimbi

Jonas Savimbi

Angolan general, founded UNITA (died 2002)
Jonas Malheiro Sidónio Sakaita Savimbi was an Angolan revolutionary, politician, and rebel military leader who founded and led the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola, also known as UNITA. UNITA was one of several groups which waged a guerrilla war against Portuguese colonial rule from 1966 to 1974. Once independence was achieved, it then became an anti-communist group, which confronted the ruling People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola, also known as the MPLA, during the Angolan Civil War. Savimbi was killed in a clash with government troops in 2002.
1926 Tony Bennett

Tony Bennett

American singer and actor (died 2023)
Anthony Dominick Benedetto, known professionally as Tony Bennett, was an American jazz and traditional pop singer. He received many accolades, including 20 Grammy Awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award, and two Primetime Emmy Awards. Bennett was named a National Endowments for the Arts Jazz Master and a Kennedy Center Honoree. He founded the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in Astoria, Queens, New York, along with Exploring the Arts, a non-profit arts education program. He sold more than 50 million records worldwide and earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
1922 John Eisenhower

John Eisenhower

American historian, general, and diplomat, 45th United States Ambassador to Belgium (died 2013)
John Sheldon Doud Eisenhower was a United States Army officer, diplomat, and military historian. He was the second son of President Dwight D. Eisenhower and First Lady Mamie Eisenhower. His military career spanned from before, during, and after his father's presidency, and he left active duty in 1963 and then retired in 1974. From 1969 to 1971, Eisenhower served as United States Ambassador to Belgium during the administration of President Richard Nixon, who was previously his father's vice president and also father-in-law to Eisenhower's son David.

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