Did you know
In 1959, he became one of the original seven astronauts chosen for Project Mercury, which was the United States' first effort to put humans into space.
Notable Deaths on May 3
2007 — Wally Schirra
American captain, pilot, and astronaut (born 1923)
May 3 has 113 recorded notable deaths across history, from 678 to 2024. This focused page highlights 20 people with the strongest available profile context.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Notable Deaths
113 source records
678 – 2024
Today in history
Major events on May 3
See what else happened on this day in history.
- 1802 Washington, D.C. is incorporated as a city after Congress abolishes the Board of Commissioners, the District's founding government. The "City of Washington" is given a mayor-council form of government. Source
- 1979 The Conservative Party wins the United Kingdom general election. The following day, Margaret Thatcher becomes the first female British Prime Minister. Source
- 1616 Treaty of Loudun ends a French civil war. Source
- 1963 The police force in Birmingham, Alabama switches tactics and responds with violent force to stop the "Birmingham campaign" protesters. Images of the violent suppression are transmitted worldwide, bringing new-found attention to the civil rights movement. Source
Did you know
Regarded as one of the most significant Labour Party politicians, Castle developed a close political partnership with Prime Minister Harold Wilson and held several roles in the Cabinet.
Did you know
As the oldest son of King Andrew II, he was crowned upon the initiative of a group of influential noblemen in his father's lifetime in 1214.
Did you know
Senator from California, the first notable American actor to be elected to statewide office in California, predating Ronald Reagan and Arnold Schwarzenegger, who each served two terms as governor.
Did you know
Lloyd Price's first recording, "Lawdy Miss Clawdy", was a hit for Specialty Records in 1952.
More major people who died on May 3
Notable people are ranked by substantive profile depth and public notability.
2002
Barbara Castle
Baroness Castle of Blackburn, English politician, First Secretary of State (born 1910)
Barbara Anne Castle, Baroness Castle of Blackburn, Baroness Castle was a British Labour Party politician who was a Member of Parliament from 1945 to 1979, making her one of the longest-serving female MPs in British…
1270
Béla IV of Hungary (born 1206)
Béla IV was King of Hungary and Croatia between 1235 and 1270, and Duke of Styria from 1254 to 1258.
1992
George Murphy
American actor, dancer, and politician (born 1902)
George Lloyd Murphy was an American actor and politician. Murphy was a song-and-dance leading man in many big-budget Hollywood musicals from 1930 to 1952.
2021
Lloyd Price
American R&B vocalist (born 1933)
Lloyd Price was an American R&B and rock and roll singer known as "Mr. Personality" after his 1959 million-selling hit, "Personality". His first recording, "Lawdy Miss Clawdy", was a hit for Specialty Records in 1952.
1410
Antipope Alexander V
Peter of Candia, also known as Petros Philarges, denominated Alexander V, was an antipope elected by the Council of Pisa during the Western Schism (1378–1417).
1935
Jessie Willcox Smith
American illustrator (born 1863)
Jessie Willcox Smith was an American illustrator during the Golden Age of American illustration. She was considered "one of the greatest pure illustrators".
2010
Guenter Wendt
German-American engineer (born 1923)
Günter F. Wendt was a German-born American mechanical engineer noted for his work in the U.S. human spaceflight program.
2014
Jim Oberstar
American educator and politician (born 1934)
James Louis Oberstar was an American politician and congressman who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1975 to 2011.
1999
Godfrey Evans
English cricketer (born 1920)
Thomas Godfrey Evans was an English cricketer who played for Kent and England.
1764
Francesco Algarotti
Italian philosopher, poet, and critic (born 1712)
Count Francesco Algarotti was an Italian polymath, active as a philosopher, writer, anglophile, art critic and art collector. He was a man of broad knowledge, an expert in Newtonianism, architecture and opera.
2014
Francisco Icaza
Mexican painter (born 1930)
Francisco Icaza was a Mexican artist best known for his drawings about his travels and his oil paintings. He spent much of his life living in and visiting various countries around the world.
1621
Elizabeth Bacon
English Tudor gentlewoman (born 1541)
Elizabeth Bacon was an English aristocrat. She is presumed to have been the Lady Neville of My Ladye Nevells Booke, an important manuscript of keyboard music by William Byrd, which was compiled in 1591.
2013
Brad Drewett
Australian tennis player and sportscaster (born 1958)
Brad Drewett was an Australian tennis player and ATP official. He was the 1975 and 1977 Australian Open junior champion and the youngest player at age 17 to win the title since Ken Rosewall and John Newcombe.
2011
Jackie Cooper
American actor, television director, producer and executive (born 1922)
John Cooper Jr., known professionally as Jackie Cooper, was an American actor and director. He began his career as a child actor and was a featured member of the Our Gang ensemble 1929–1931.
1534
Juana de la Cruz Vazquez Gutierrez
Spanish Roman Catholic nun and venerable (born 1481)
Juana de la Cruz Vázquez y Gutiérrez, TOR,, was a Spanish abbess of the Franciscan Third Order Regular. Known to be a mystic, she was authorized to preach publicly, an extraordinary permission for a woman.
1943
Harry Miller
American engineer (born 1875)
Harold Arminius Miller, commonly called Harry, was an American race car designer and builder who was most active in the 1920s and 1930s.
1972
Bruce Cabot
American actor (born 1904)
Bruce Cabot was an American film actor, best remembered as Jack Driscoll in King Kong (1933) and for his roles in films such as The Last of the Mohicans (1936), Fritz Lang's Fury (1936), and the Western Dodge City…
1916
Thomas MacDonagh
executed Irish poet and rebel (born 1878)
Thomas Stanislaus MacDonagh was an Irish political activist, poet, playwright, educationalist and revolutionary leader.
1916
Tom Clarke
executed Irish rebel (born 1858)
Thomas James Clarke was an Irish republican and a leader of the Irish Republican Brotherhood. Clarke was arguably the person most responsible for the 1916 Easter Rising.