Did you know
In 2006, The union of Serbia and Montenegro comes to an end with Montenegro's formal declaration of independence. This featured entry focuses on the immediate decision and its direct historical impact.
June 3 in History
2006 — The union of Serbia and Montenegro comes to an end with Montenegro's formal declaration of independence
June 3 spans 50 recorded events across recorded history, from 350 to 2025. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Historical Events
50 events
350 – 2025
Today in history
More major events on June 3
The featured story and these ranked highlights form a quick summary. Every recorded event remains available in the chronology below.
- 1965 The launch of Gemini 4, the first multi-day space mission by a NASA crew. Ed White, a crew member, performs the first American spacewalk. Source
- 1950 Herzog and Lachenal of the French Annapurna expedition become the first climbers to reach the summit of an 8,000-metre peak. Source
- 1839 In Humen, China, Lin Zexu destroys 1.2 million kilograms of opium confiscated from British merchants, providing Britain with a casus belli to open hostilities, resulting in the First Opium War. Source
Did you know
The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, known until 2003 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) and commonly referred to as Yugoslavia, was a country in Southeast Europe that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. This helps explain why the event mattered beyond the initial announcement.
Did you know
The state was established on 27 April 1992 as a federation comprising the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Montenegro. This clarifies the institutional and public response around the event.
Did you know
In February 2003, it was transformed from a federal republic to a political union. This shows how the event shaped policy and public communication in the same period.
Did you know
Montenegro seceded from the union in June 2006, leading Serbia to assert sovereignty as a state of continuity after their independence. This helps explain why the event mattered beyond the initial announcement.
350
The Roman usurper Nepotianus, of the Constantinian dynasty, proclaims himself Roman emperor, entering Rome at the head of a group of gladiators.
713
The Byzantine emperor Philippicus is blinded, deposed and sent into exile by conspirators of the Opsikion army in Thrace.
He is succeeded by Anastasios II, who begins the reorganization of the Byzantine army.
1098
After a five-month siege during the First Crusade, the Crusaders seize Antioch.
1096–1099 Christian re-conquest of the Holy Land
1140
The French scholar Peter Abelard is found guilty of heresy.
French philosopher (c. 1079–1142)
1326
The Treaty of Novgorod delineates borders between Russia and Norway in Finnmark.
Treaty regarding the Kola Peninsula
1539
Hernando de Soto claims Florida for Spain.
Spanish explorer and conquistador (c.1479–1542)
1602
An English naval force defeats a fleet of Spanish galleys, and captures a large Portuguese carrack at the Battle of Sesimbra Bay.
Ship mainly propelled by oars
1608
Samuel de Champlain lands at Tadoussac, Quebec, in the course of his third voyage to New France, and begins erecting fortifications.
French explorer of North America (1574–1635)
1621
The Dutch West India Company receives a charter for New Netherland.
Dutch chartered company (1621–1792)
1658
Pope Alexander VII appoints François de Laval vicar apostolic in New France.
17th-century head of the Catholic Church
1665
James Stuart, Duke of York (later to become King James II of England), defeats the Dutch fleet off the coast of Lowestoft.
King of England, Scotland and Ireland from 1685 to 1688
1700
Foundation of the Academy of the Distrustful in the library room of the Palau Dalmases in Barcelona.
Spanish baroque literary and musical academy (est. 1700)
1781
Jack Jouett begins his midnight ride to warn Thomas Jefferson and the Virginia legislature of an impending British raid.
American farmer, politician, and militiaman (1754–1822)
1839
In Humen, China, Lin Zexu destroys 1.2 million kilograms of opium confiscated from British merchants, providing Britain with a casus belli to open hostilities, resulting in the First Opium War.
Town in Guangdong, People's Republic of China
1844
The last pair of great auks is killed.
Extinct flightless seabird from the North Atlantic
1861
American Civil War: Battle of Philippi (also called the Philippi Races): Union forces rout Confederate troops in Barbour County, Virginia, now West Virginia.
1861–1865 conflict in the United States
1863
American Civil War: Robert E.
Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia begin marching to invade the North for a second time, starting the Gettysburg campaign.
1864
American Civil War: Union forces under Ulysses S.
Grant sustain heavy casualties attacking Confederate troops under Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Cold Harbor in Hanover County, Virginia.
1885
In the last military engagement fought on Canadian soil, the Cree leader, Big Bear, escapes the North-West Mounted Police.
Indigenous people of North America
1889
The first long-distance electric power transmission line in the United States is completed, running 14 miles (23 km) between a generator at Willamette Falls and downtown Portland, Oregon.
Bulk movement of electrical energy
1916
The National Defense Act is signed into law, increasing the size of the United States National Guard by 450,000 men.
Former American law
1935
One thousand unemployed Canadian workers board freight cars in Vancouver, beginning a protest trek to Ottawa.
1935 protest movement by unemployed workers against the Canadian government
1937
The Duke of Windsor (the former King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom) marries Wallis Simpson.
King of the United Kingdom in 1936
1940
World War II: During the Battle of France, the Luftwaffe bombs Paris.
Global conflict (1939–1945)
1940
Franz Rademacher proposes plans to make Madagascar the "Jewish homeland", an idea that had first been considered by 19th century journalist Theodor Herzl.
German lawyer and diplomat (1906–1973)
1941
World War II: The Wehrmacht razes the Greek village of Kandanos to the ground and murders 180 of its inhabitants.
Unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945
1942
World War II: Japan begins the Aleutian Islands Campaign by bombing Unalaska Island.
Japanese nation state from 1868 to 1947
1943
In Los Angeles, California, white U.S.
Navy sailors and Marines attack Latino youths in the five-day Zoot Suit Riots.
1950
Herzog and Lachenal of the French Annapurna expedition become the first climbers to reach the summit of an 8,000-metre peak.
French mountaineer and politician
1962
At Paris Orly Airport, Air France Flight 007 overruns the runway and explodes when the crew attempts to abort takeoff, killing 130.
Secondary airport serving Paris, France
1963
Soldiers of the South Vietnamese Army attack protesting Buddhists in Huế with liquid chemicals from tear-gas grenades, causing 67 people to be hospitalized for blistering of the skin and respiratory ailments.
1963 tear gas attack in Vietnam
1965
The launch of Gemini 4, the first multi-day space mission by a NASA crew.
Ed White, a crew member, performs the first American spacewalk.
1969
Melbourne-Evans collision: Off the coast of South Vietnam, the Australian aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne cuts the U.S.
Navy destroyer USS Frank E. Evans in half, resulting in 74 deaths.
1973
A Soviet supersonic Tupolev Tu-144 crashes near Goussainville, France, killing 14, the first crash of a supersonic passenger aircraft.
Country in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991
1979
A blowout at the Ixtoc I oil well in the southern Gulf of Mexico causes at least 3,000,000 barrels (480,000 m3) of oil to be spilled into the waters, the second-worst accidental oil spill ever recorded.
Oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico
1980
The 1980 Grand Island tornado outbreak hits Nebraska, United States, causing five deaths and $300 million (equivalent to $1172 million in 2025) worth of damage.
1980 windstorm in Grand Island, Nebraska, USA
1982
The Israeli ambassador to the United Kingdom, Shlomo Argov, is shot on a London street; he survives but is left paralysed.
Israeli diplomat (1929–2003)
1984
Operation Blue Star, a military offensive, is launched by the Indian government at Harmandir Sahib, also known as the Golden Temple, the holiest shrine for Sikhs, in Amritsar.
The operation continues until June 6, with casualties, most of them civilians, in excess of 5,000.
1989
The government of China sends troops to force protesters out of Tiananmen Square after seven weeks of occupation.
Public square in Beijing, China
1991
Mount Unzen erupts in Kyūshū, Japan, killing 43 people, all of them either researchers or journalists.
Group of volcanoes in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan
1992
Australian Aboriginal land rights are recognised in Mabo v Queensland (No 2), a case brought by Torres Strait Islander Eddie Mabo which led to the Native Title Act 1993 overturning the long-held colonial assumption of terra nullius.
1992 High Court of Australia decision which recognised native title
1998
After suffering a mechanical failure, a high speed train derails at Eschede, Germany, killing 101 people.
1998 high-speed train crash near Eschede, Germany
2012
A plane carrying 153 people crashes in a residential neighborhood in Lagos, Nigeria, killing everyone on board plus six people on the ground.
2012 passenger plane crash in Lagos, Nigeria
2012
The pageant for the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II takes place on the River Thames.
2012 Royal Jubilee celebrations in London
2013
The trial of United States Army private Chelsea Manning for leaking classified material to WikiLeaks begins in Fort Meade, Maryland.
2013 court-martial case
2013
At least 119 people are killed in a fire at a poultry farm in Jilin Province in northeastern China.
2013 poultry plant fire in Dehui, Jilin Province, China
2019
Khartoum massacre: In Sudan, over 100 people are killed when security forces accompanied by Janjaweed militiamen storm and open fire on a sit-in protest.
2019 mass-killing in Sudan
2025
Reconstitution of the Academy of the Distrustful in the Sala Dalmases of the Historical Archive of the City of Barcelona in Barcelona.
Spanish baroque literary and musical academy (est. 1700)