# What happened on March 3 in history?

**Date:** March 3  
**Events recorded:** 44  
**Years spanned:** 473 – 2013  
**Full page:** https://thisday.info/events/march/3/

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## Featured Event

**1986** — The Australia Act 1986 commences, causing Australia to become fully independent from the United Kingdom.

[Read more on Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia_Act_1986)

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## Events on this date

- **473** — Gundobad (nephew of Ricimer) nominates Glycerius as emperor of the Western Roman Empire. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gundobad))
- **724** — Empress Genshō abdicates the throne in favor of her nephew Shōmu who becomes emperor of Japan. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empress_Gensh%C5%8D))
- **880** — Emperor Basil I ratifies the decrees of the Fourth Council of Constantinople, confirming the reinstatement of patriarch Photios I of Constantinople. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basil_I))
- **1575** — Mughal Emperor Akbar defeats Sultan of Bengal Daud Khan Karrani's army at the Battle of Tukaroi. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mughal_Empire))
- **1585** — The Olympic Theatre, designed by Andrea Palladio, is inaugurated in Vicenza. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teatro_Olimpico))
- **1776** — American Revolutionary War: The first amphibious landing of the United States Marine Corps begins the Battle of Nassau. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolutionary_War))
- **1779** — American Revolutionary War: The Continental Army is routed at the Battle of Brier Creek near Savannah, Georgia. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_Army))
- **1795** — The Fédon Rebellion breaks out in Grenada, the rebels seizing Grenville and later Gouyave. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%C3%A9don's_rebellion))
- **1799** — The Russo-Ottoman siege of Corfu ends with the surrender of the French garrison. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Corfu_(1798%E2%80%931799)))
- **1845** — Florida is admitted as the 27th U.S. state. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida))
- **1849** — The Territory of Minnesota is created. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Territory))
- **1857** — Second Opium War: France and the United Kingdom declare war on China. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Opium_War))
- **1859** — The two-day Great Slave Auction, one of the largest such auctions in United States history, concludes. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Slave_Auction))
- **1861** — Alexander II of Russia signs the Emancipation Manifesto, freeing serfs. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_II_of_Russia))
- **1873** — 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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_in_the_United_States))
- **1878** — The Russo-Turkish War ends with Bulgaria regaining its independence from the Ottoman Empire according to the Treaty of San Stefano. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russo-Turkish_War_(1877%E2%80%931878)))
- **1891** — Shoshone National Forest is established as the first national forest in the US and world. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoshone_National_Forest))
- **1913** — Thousands of women march in the Woman Suffrage Procession in Washington, D.C. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woman_Suffrage_Procession))
- **1918** — 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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Soviet_Federative_Socialist_Republic))
- **1923** — US magazine Time publishes its first issue. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_(magazine)))
- **1924** — 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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman_Caliphate))
- **1924** — The Free State of Fiume is annexed by the Kingdom of Italy. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_State_of_Fiume))
- **1938** — Oil is discovered in Saudi Arabia. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum))
- **1939** — In Bombay, Mohandas Gandhi begins a hunger strike in protest at the autocratic rule in British India. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mumbai))
- **1940** — Five people are killed in an arson attack on the offices of the communist newspaper Flamman in Luleå, Sweden. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left_Party_(Sweden)))
- **1942** — World War II: Ten Japanese warplanes raid Broome, Western Australia, killing more than 100 people. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II))
- **1943** — 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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bethnal_Green_tube_station))
- **1944** — The Order of Nakhimov and Order of Ushakov are instituted in USSR as the highest naval awards. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_Nakhimov))
- **1944** — 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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freighthopping))
- **1945** — World War II: In poor visibility, the RAF mistakenly bombs the Bezuidenhout area of The Hague, Netherlands, killing 511 people. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Air_Force))
- **1953** — A De Havilland Comet (Canadian Pacific Air Lines) crashes in Karachi, Pakistan, killing 11 people. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Comet))
- **1958** — Nuri al-Said becomes Prime Minister of Iraq for the eighth time. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuri_al-Said))
- **1969** — Apollo program: NASA launches Apollo 9 to test the lunar module. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_program))
- **1972** — Mohawk Airlines Flight 405 crashes as a result of a control malfunction and insufficient training in emergency procedures. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohawk_Airlines_Flight_405))
- **1974** — Turkish Airlines Flight 981 crashes at Ermenonville near Paris, France killing all 346 aboard. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_Airlines_Flight_981))
- **1980** — The USS Nautilus is decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Nautilus_(SSN-571)))
- **1985** — A magnitude 8.3 earthquake strikes the Valparaíso Region of Chile, killing 177 and leaving nearly a million people homeless. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1985_Algarrobo_earthquake))
- **1986** — The Australia Act 1986 commences, causing Australia to become fully independent from the United Kingdom. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia_Act_1986))
- **1991** — An amateur video captures the beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles police officers. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amateur_film))
- **1991** — United Airlines Flight 585 crashes on its final approach to Colorado Springs killing everyone on board. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Airlines_Flight_585))
- **2005** — 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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayerthorpe_tragedy))
- **2005** — Steve Fossett becomes the first person to fly an airplane non-stop around the world solo without refueling. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Fossett))
- **2005** — 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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Wilson))
- **2013** — A bomb blast in Karachi, Pakistan, kills at least 48 people and injured 200 others in a predominantly Shia Muslim area. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_2013_Karachi_bombing))

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## Notable births on March 3

- **2001** — **Jvke** — American singer-songwriter ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jvke))
- **2000** — **Jevon Holland** — Canadian-American football player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jevon_Holland))
- **1999** — **Corey Kispert** — American basketball player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corey_Kispert))
- **1998** — **Jayson Tatum** — American basketball player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jayson_Tatum))
- **1997** — **Camila Cabello** — Cuban-American singer-songwriter and actress ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camila_Cabello))
- **1997** — **David Neres** — Brazilian footballer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Neres))
- **1996** — **Cameron Johnson** — American basketball player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cameron_Johnson))
- **1996** — **Andile Phehlukwayo** — South African cricketer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andile_Phehlukwayo))
- **1995** — **Bryan Cristante** — Italian footballer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bryan_Cristante))
- **1995** — **Maine Mendoza** — Filipina actress ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maine_Mendoza))

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## Notable deaths on March 3

- **2023** — **Kenzaburō Ōe** — Japanese novelist, 1994 Nobel Prize laureate in Literature (born 1935) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenzabur%C5%8D_%C5%8Ce))
- **2023** — **Tom Sizemore** — American actor (born 1961) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Sizemore))
- **2020** — **Charles J. Urstadt** — American real estate executive and investor (born 1928) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_J._Urstadt))
- **2019** — **Peter Hurford OBE** — British organist and composer (born 1930) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Hurford))
- **2018** — **Roger Bannister** — English middle-distance athlete, first man to run a four-minute mile (born 1929) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Bannister))
- **2018** — **Mal Bryce** — Australian politician (born 1943) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mal_Bryce))
- **2018** — **Vanessa Goodwin** — Australian politician (born 1969) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanessa_Goodwin))
- **2018** — **David Ogden Stiers** — American actor, voice actor and musician  (born 1942) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Ogden_Stiers))
- **2017** — **René Préval** — Haitian politician (born 1943) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ren%C3%A9_Pr%C3%A9val))
- **2016** — **Hayabusa** — Japanese wrestler (born 1968) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayabusa_(wrestler)))

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## About this page

This is a machine-readable Markdown summary of [thisday.info/events/march/3/](https://thisday.info/events/march/3/).  
Historical data is sourced from [Wikipedia/Wikimedia](https://www.wikipedia.org) under [CC BY-SA](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/).  
Editorial framing and site content © thisday.info.