March 3 in History

March 3 spans 44 recorded events across recorded history, from 473 to 2013. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.

Holidays and observances on March 3

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The Ottoman Caliphate is abolished, when the Caliph Abdülmecid II of the Ottoman

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.

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Historical Events 44 events 473 – 2013

More major events on March 3

The featured story and these ranked highlights form a quick summary. Every recorded event remains available in the chronology below.

  1. 1913 Thousands of women march in the Woman Suffrage Procession in Washington, D.C. Source
  2. 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. Source

Did you know

In 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. This featured entry focuses on the immediate decision and its direct historical impact.

Did you know

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. This helps explain why the event mattered beyond the initial announcement.

Did you know

In 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 had consequences that extended beyond the first headline. The key context is the institutions involved, the policy shift, and how the public response evolved afterward.

Did you know

In 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 had consequences that extended beyond the first headline. The key context is the institutions involved, the policy shift, and how the public response evolved afterward.

Did you know

In 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 had consequences that extended beyond the first headline. The key context is the institutions involved, the policy shift, and how the public response evolved afterward.


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Showing all 43 events

473 Gundobad

Gundobad (nephew of Ricimer) nominates Glycerius as emperor of the Western Roman Empire.

Gundobad (Latin: Flavius Gundobadus; French: Gondebaud, Gondovald; c. 452 – 516) was King of the Burgundians (473–516), succeeding his father Gundioc of Burgundy. Previous to this, he had been a patrician of the moribund Western Roman Empire in 472–473, three years before its collapse, succeeding his uncle Ricimer. He is perhaps best known today as the probable issuer of the Lex Burgundionum legal codes, which synthesized Roman law with ancient Germanic customs. He was the husband of Caretene.
724 Empress Genshō

Empress Genshō abdicates the throne in favor of her nephew Shōmu who becomes emperor of Japan.

Empress Genshō (元正天皇, Genshō-tennō; 680 – May 22, 748) was the 44th monarch of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Her reign spanned the years 715 through 724. Genshō was the fifth of eight women to take on the role of empress regnant, and the only one in the history of Japan to have inherited her title from another empress regnant rather than from a male predecessor. The four female monarchs before Genshō were Suiko, Kōgyoku, Jitō and Genmei; the three reigning after her were Kōken, Meishō, and Go-Sakuramachi.
880 Basil_I

Emperor Basil I ratifies the decrees of the Fourth Council of Constantinople, confirming the reinstatement of patriarch Photios I of Constantinople.

Basil I, nicknamed "the Macedonian", was Byzantine emperor from 867 to 886. Born to a peasant family in the theme of Macedonia, he rose to prominence in the imperial court after gaining the favour of Emperor Michael III, whose mistress he married on his emperor's orders. In 866, Michael proclaimed him co-emperor. Fearing a loss of influence, Basil orchestrated Michael's assassination the next year and installed himself as sole ruler of the empire. He was the first ruler of the Macedonian dynasty.
1575 Mughal_Empire

Mughal Emperor Akbar defeats Sultan of Bengal Daud Khan Karrani's army at the Battle of Tukaroi.

The Mughal Empire was an early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to the highlands of present-day Assam and Bangladesh in the east, and the uplands of the Deccan Plateau in South India.
1585 Teatro Olimpico

The Olympic Theatre, designed by Andrea Palladio, is inaugurated in Vicenza.

The Teatro Olimpico ("Olympic Theatre") is a theatre in Vicenza, northern Italy, constructed in 1580–1585. It was the final design by the Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio and was not completed until after his death. The trompe-l'œil onstage scenery, designed by Vincenzo Scamozzi to give the appearance of long streets receding to a distant horizon, was installed in 1585 for the first performance held in the theatre, and is the oldest surviving stage set still in existence. The full Roman-style scaenae frons back screen across the stage is made from wood and stucco imitating marble. It was the home of the Accademia Olimpica, which was founded there in 1555. The Teatro Olimpico is, along with the Teatro all'antica in Sabbioneta and the Teatro Farnese in Parma, one of only three Renaissance theatres remaining in existence. Both these theatres were based, in large measure, on the Teatro Olimpico. It is still used several times a year. Since 1994 the Teatro Olimpico, together with other Palladian buildings in and around Vicenza, has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto".
1776 American_Revolutionary_War

American Revolutionary War: The first amphibious landing of the United States Marine Corps begins the Battle of Nassau.

The American Revolutionary War, also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence or simply the American Revolution, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which American Patriot forces organized as the Continental Army and, commanded by George Washington, defeated the British Army. The conflict was fought in North America, the Caribbean, and the Atlantic Ocean. The war's outcome seemed uncertain for most of the war, but Washington and the Continental Army's decisive victory in the Siege of Yorktown in 1781 led King George III and the Kingdom of Great Britain to negotiate an end to the war. In 1783, in the Treaty of Paris, the British Crown acknowledged the independence of the Thirteen Colonies, leading to the establishment of the United States as an independent and sovereign nation.
1779 Continental_Army

American Revolutionary War: The Continental Army is routed at the Battle of Brier Creek near Savannah, Georgia.

The Continental Army was an army founded on June 14, 1775, by the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia to coordinate the mutual defense of the United Colonies against the Kingdom of Great Britain during the Revolutionary War. It was periodically supplemented by state troops and volunteer militia. George Washington served as the commander-in-chief.
1795

The Fédon Rebellion breaks out in Grenada, the rebels seizing Grenville and later Gouyave.

Fédon's rebellion (also known as the Brigands' War, or Fédon's Revolution; 2 March 1795 – 19 June 1796) was an uprising against British rule in Grenada. Although a significant number of slaves were involved, they fought on both sides (the majority being on the side of Fédon and his forces). Predominantly led by free mixed-race French-speakers, the stated purpose was to create a black republic as had already occurred in neighbouring Haiti rather than to free slaves, so it is not properly called a slave rebellion, although freedom of the slaves would have been a consequence of its success. Under the leadership of Julien Fédon, owner of a plantation in the mountainous interior of the island, and encouraged by French Revolutionary leaders on Guadeloupe, the rebels seized control of most of the island (St. George's, the capital, was never taken), but were eventually defeated by a military expedition led by General Ralph Abercromby. Planning for the rebellion began in March 1793, when Fédon started converting his Belvidere coffee and cocoa plantation into a fortified headquarters and planting crops for his army. In early June 1795, two of his colleagues travelled to neighbouring Guadeloupe, then under the control of French revolutionary commissioners to receive arms, training and commissions, one of which made Fédon General-in-chief of the Grenadian rebel army. On the night of 2 March, this force simultaneously attacked Gouyave and Grenville; the former was relatively peaceful, but in the latter the white population was killed. Many hostages were taken. The British made a number of unsuccessful attempts at assaulting Belvidere; the estate was near the top of a very steep mountain, and almost inaccessible. After the failure of one such attack, Fédon ordered the deaths of around 40 white hostages. For their part, the rebel army waged a campaign of looting, pillage and arson on the island's plantations, while skirmishing with the British. Both sides attempted to capture and recapture headlands and outposts with varying degrees of success. As the Royal Navy maintained an increasingly effective blockade of the island, Fédon's army was increasingly isolated and suffering from lack of reinforcements and military supplies. His force also paid the price for destroying so many crops the year before, as now a food shortage began. The British, on the other hand, received a number of large augmentations to their strength until, in June 1796, they launched another, successful assault on Belvidere. Fédon's army was routed, and his fate remains a mystery; it was assumed that he drowned trying to escape to Trinidad, but there were also reported sightings of him into the next century. As a result of Fédon's rebellion, French influence in Grenada was eradicated once and for all. Many rebels were executed, some, especially the slaves, without trial. The island's economy was devastated; whereas it had been an economic powerhouse before the rebellion, plantations and distilleries had been destroyed, causing around £2,500,000 of damage. Although there was a dearth in scholarship regarding the rebellion until the 1960s—particularly in comparison to that of Haiti, for example—since then it has been the focus of increased study, particularly regarding the extent to which it was either a slave rebellion or part of the broader French Revolution. Fédon himself has remained an important figure in Grenadian political culture, and his rebellion is considered to have influenced not only the emancipation of slaves in the Caribbean of the next century, but a revolutionary tradition that came to a head in 1979 with the Grenadian Revolution under Maurice Bishop. Fédon is now seen as important not only for leading the rebellion but also as being at the intersection of a multiplicity of historiographical thought, such as race, revolution, Empire and slavery. Fédon's rebellion has also been the subject of a resurgence of interest in popular culture, having been the subject of a number of plays and poems, and being central to Grenada's tourist industry.
1799 Siege of Corfu (1798–1799)

The Russo-Ottoman siege of Corfu ends with the surrender of the French garrison.

The Siege of Corfu (November 1798 – March 1799) was a military operation by a joint Russian and Turkish fleet against French troops occupying the fortified island of Corfu; ended in Coalition victory. Corfu fortifications had a strong reputation, but by the siege time they were in a parlous state.
1845 Florida

Florida is admitted as the 27th U.S.

state.
Florida ( FLORR-id-ə; Spanish: [floˈɾiða] ) is a state in the Southeastern and South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the Straits of Florida to the south, and The Bahamas to the southeast. About two-thirds of Florida occupies a peninsula between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. It has the longest coastline in the contiguous United States, spanning approximately 1,350 miles (2,170 km), not including its many barrier islands. It is the only state that borders both the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of over 23 million, it is the third-most populous state in the United States and ranks seventh in population density as of 2020. Florida spans 65,758 square miles (170,310 km2), ranking 22nd in area among the states. The Miami metropolitan area, anchored by the cities of Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach, is the state's largest metropolitan area, with a population of 6.138 million; the most populous city is Jacksonville. Florida's other major population centers include Tampa Bay, Orlando, Cape Coral, and the state capital of Tallahassee. Various Native American groups have inhabited Florida for at least 14,000 years. In 1513, Spanish explorer and conquistador Juan Ponce de León became the first European to make landfall in the region. He called the peninsula La Pascua Florida in recognition of the verdant landscape and because it was the Easter season, which the Spaniards called Pascua Florida (Festival of Flowers). giving the territory its present name. Spain subsequently incorporated Florida into the Spanish Empire in the early 16th century. In 1565, it founded St. Augustine, the oldest continuously inhabited European-established settlement in the United States. The region was frequently coveted and attacked by Great Britain throughout the 18th century. Britain briefly gained control of Florida in 1763, but Spain recovered it in 1783 following the British defeat in the American Revolutionary War. Florida remained under Spanish rule until it was ceded to the United States in 1821, in exchange for U.S. recognition of Spanish sovereignty in Texas and the resolution of the border dispute along the Sabine River. Florida was admitted as the 27th state on March 3, 1845, and was the principal location of the Seminole Wars (1816–1858), the longest and most extensive of the American Indian Wars. The state seceded from the Union on January 10, 1861, becoming one of the seven original Confederate States, and was readmitted to the Union after the Civil War on June 25, 1868. Since the mid-20th century, Florida has experienced rapid demographic and economic growth. Its economy, with a gross state product (GSP) of $1.647 trillion, is the fourth largest of any U.S. state and the fifteenth-largest in the world; the main sectors are tourism, hospitality, agriculture, real estate, and transportation. Florida is world-renowned for its beach resorts, amusement parks, warm and sunny climate, and nautical recreation; attractions such as Walt Disney World, the Kennedy Space Center, and Miami Beach draw tens of millions of visitors annually. Florida is a popular destination for retirees, seasonal vacationers, and both domestic and international migrants. The state's close proximity to the ocean has shaped its culture, identity, and daily life; its colonial history and successive waves of migration are reflected in European, Latino, African, Indigenous, and Asian influences. Florida has attracted or inspired some of the most prominent American writers, including Ernest Hemingway, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, and Tennessee Williams, and continues to attract celebrities and athletes, especially in golf, tennis, auto racing, and water sports. Initially a battleground state in American presidential elections, it has turned increasingly Republican in recent years. Florida's climate varies from subtropical in the north to tropical in the south. It is the only state besides Hawaii to have a tropical climate, and the only continental state with a coral reef. Florida has several unique ecosystems, including Everglades National Park, the largest tropical wilderness in the U.S. and among the largest in the Americas. Unique wildlife includes the American alligator, American crocodile, American flamingo, roseate spoonbill, Florida panther, bottlenose dolphin, and manatee. The Florida Reef is the only living coral barrier reef in the continental United States, and the third-largest coral barrier reef system in the world, after the Great Barrier Reef and the Belize Barrier Reef.
1849 Minnesota Territory

The Territory of Minnesota is created.

The Territory of Minnesota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 3, 1849, until May 11, 1858, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Minnesota and the western portion became unorganized territory and shortly after was reorganized as part of the Dakota Territory.
1857 Second_Opium_War

Second Opium War: France and the United Kingdom declare war on China.

The Second Opium War, also known as the Second Anglo-Chinese War or Arrow War, was fought between the United Kingdom and France against the Qing dynasty of China between 1856 and 1860. It was the second major conflict in the Opium Wars, which were fought over the right to import opium to China, and resulted in a second defeat for the Qing and the forced legalisation of the opium trade. It caused many Chinese officials to believe that conflicts with the Western powers were no longer traditional wars, but part of a looming national crisis.
1859 Great Slave Auction

The two-day Great Slave Auction, one of the largest such auctions in United States history, concludes.

The Great Slave Auction (also called the Weeping Time) was an auction of enslaved Americans of African descent held at Ten Broeck Race Course, near Savannah, Georgia, United States, on March 2 and 3, 1859. Slaveholder and absentee plantation owner Pierce Mease Butler authorized the sale of approximately 436 men, women, children, and infants to be sold over the course of two days. The sale's proceeds went to satisfy Butler's significant debt, much from gambling. The auction was considered the largest single sale of slaves in U.S. history until the 2022 discovery of an even larger auction of over 600 slaves in Charleston, South Carolina.
1861 Alexander II of Russia

Alexander II of Russia signs the Emancipation Manifesto, freeing serfs.

Alexander II (29 April 1818 – 13 March 1881) was Emperor of Russia, King of Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 2 March 1855 until his assassination on 13 March 1881. He is also known as Alexander the Liberator because of his historic Edict of Emancipation, which officially abolished Russian serfdom in 1861. Crowned on 7 September 1856, he succeeded his father Nicholas I and was succeeded by his son Alexander III. In addition to emancipating serfs across the Russian Empire, Alexander's reign brought several other liberal reforms, such as improving the judicial system, relaxing media censorship, eliminating some legal restrictions on Jews, abolishing corporal punishment, promoting local self-government, strengthening the Imperial Russian Army and the Imperial Russian Navy, modernizing and expanding schools and universities, and diversifying the Russian economy. However, many of these reforms were met with intense backlash and cut back or reversed entirely, and Alexander eventually shifted towards a considerably more conservative political stance following an assassination attempt against him in 1866. The foreign policy of Alexander was relatively pacifist, especially in comparison to his father's, although he did continue the Russian Empire's expansionist campaigns into the Far East, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. As a consequence of the Great Game and the Crimean War, Alexander was particularly opposed to and wary of the United Kingdom. He was also notably supportive of the United States; Alexander backed the Union during the American Civil War and even sent Russian warships to New York Harbor and San Francisco Bay to deter attacks by the Confederate Navy. In 1867, he sold Alaska to the United States, owing partly to his concern that it would be nearly impossible to prevent the Russian Empire's North American colonies, which bordered British Columbia and the North-Western Territory, from falling into British hands in the event of another war. Seeking peace and stability in the European continent, he moved away from bellicose France upon the fall of Napoleon III in 1870 and subsequently joined Germany and Austria-Hungary in the League of the Three Emperors in 1873. Under Alexander's leadership, the Russian Empire engaged in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878, resulting in the independence of Bulgaria, Montenegro, Romania, and Serbia from the Ottoman Empire. His expansionism on the Far Eastern front led to the Amur Annexation, and he also approved Russian military plans on the Caucasian front that culminated in the Circassian genocide. While he was disappointed by the results of the Congress of Berlin in 1878, he abided by that agreement. Among his greatest domestic challenges was a Polish uprising in January 1863, to which he responded by stripping Poland of its separate constitution and directly incorporating the kingdom into the Russian Empire. In the period preceding his assassination in 1881, Alexander had been proposing additional parliamentary reforms to counter the rise of nascent revolutionary and anarchistic movements in the region.
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.
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 Constitution. Interpretation of this fundamental freedom has varied since its enshrinement. Traditionally, the First Amendment was regarded as applying only to the Federal government, leaving the U.S. states and the local communities free to censor or not. As the applicability of states' rights in lawmaking vis-a-vis citizens' national rights began to wane in the wake of the Civil War, censorship by any level of government eventually came under scrutiny, but not without resistance. For example, in recent decades, censorial restraints increased during the 1950s period of widespread anti-communist sentiment, as exemplified by the hearings of the House Committee on Un-American Activities. In Miller v. California (1973), the U.S. Supreme Court found that the First Amendment's freedom of speech does not apply to obscenity, which can, therefore, be censored. While certain forms of hate speech are legal so long as they do not turn to action or incite others to commit illegal acts, more severe forms have led to people or groups being denied marching permits or the Westboro Baptist Church being sued, although the initial adverse ruling against the latter was later overturned on appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court case Snyder v. Phelps.
1878 Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878)

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 the Russian goals of recovering territorial losses endured during the Crimean War of 1853–1856, re-establishing itself in the Black Sea and supporting the political movement attempting to free Balkan nations from the Ottoman Empire. The Russian-led coalition won the war, pushing the Ottomans back all the way to the gates of Constantinople, leading to the intervention of the Western European great powers. As a result, Russia succeeded in claiming provinces in the Caucasus, namely Kars and Batum, and also annexed the Budjak region. The principalities of Romania, Serbia, and Montenegro, each of which had had de facto sovereignty for some years, formally proclaimed independence from the Ottoman Empire. After almost five centuries of Ottoman domination (1396–1878), Bulgaria emerged as an autonomous state with support and military intervention from Russia. Moreover, Greece annexed parts of Thessaly and Arta.
1891 Shoshone National Forest

Shoshone National Forest is established as the first national forest in the US and world.

Shoshone National Forest ( shoh-SHOH-nee) 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 Yellowstone Timberland Reserve, the forest is managed by the United States Forest Service and was created by an act of Congress and signed into law by U.S. president Benjamin Harrison in 1891. Shoshone National Forest is one of the first nationally protected land areas anywhere. Native Americans have lived in the region for at least 10,000 years, and when the region was first explored by European adventurers, forestlands were occupied by several different tribes. Never heavily settled or exploited, the forest has retained most of its wildness. Shoshone National Forest is a part of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, a nearly unbroken expanse of federally protected lands encompassing an estimated 20,000,000 acres (81,000 km2). The Absaroka and Beartooth Mountains are partly in the northern section of the forest. The Wind River Range is in the southern portion and contains Gannett Peak, the tallest mountain in Wyoming. Yellowstone National Park forms part of the boundary to the west; south of Yellowstone, the Continental Divide separates the forest from its neighbor Bridger-Teton National Forest to the west. The eastern boundary includes privately owned property, lands managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and the Wind River Indian Reservation, which belongs to the Shoshone and Arapahoe Indians. Custer National Forest along the Montana border is on the northern frontier. The Oregon Trail, the 19th century covered wagon route, passes just south of the forest, where broad and gentle South Pass allowed the migrants to bypass the rugged mountains to the north. Shoshone National Forest is home to all of the original plant and animal species that were present when explorers first visited the region. The forest is notably inhabited by nearly all animal species found in North America, such as Grizzly bear, American black bear, gray wolf, bobcat, cougar, moose, and elk. Throughout the forest is more than 1,300 miles (2,100 km) of hiking trails and 32 campgrounds. Within the forest there are five wilderness areas, these areas protect more than half of the total area of managed land from development.
1913 Woman Suffrage Procession

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 capital. The procession was organized by the suffragists Alice Paul and Lucy Burns for the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). Planning for the event began in Washington in December 1912. As stated in its official program, the parade's purpose was to "march in a spirit of protest against the present political organization of society, from which women are excluded." Participation numbers vary between 5,000 and 10,000 marchers. Suffragists and supporters marched down Pennsylvania Avenue on Monday, March 3, 1913, the day before President Woodrow Wilson's inauguration. Paul had selected the venue and date to maximize publicity but met resistance from the D.C. police department. The demonstration consisted of a procession with floats, bands, and various groups representing women at home, in school, and the workplace. At the Treasury Building, a pageant of allegorical tableaux was acted out during the parade. The final act was a rally at the Memorial Continental Hall with prominent speakers, including Anna Howard Shaw and Helen Keller. Before the event, Black participation in the march threatened to cause a rift with delegations from Southern states. Some Black people did march with state delegations. A group from Howard University participated in the parade. Some sources allege that Black women were segregated at the back of the parade; however, contemporary sources suggest that they marched with their respective state delegations or professional groups. During the procession, district police failed to keep the enormous crowd off the street, impeding the marchers' progress. Many participants were subjected to heckling from spectators, though many supporters were present. The marchers were finally assisted by citizens' groups and eventually the cavalry. The police were subjected to a congressional inquiry due to security failures. The event premiered Paul's campaign to refocus the suffrage movement on obtaining a national constitutional amendment for woman's suffrage. This was intended to pressure President Wilson to support an amendment, but he resisted their demands for years afterward. The procession was featured in the film Iron Jawed Angels in 2004. A new U.S. ten-dollar bill with parade imagery is planned for circulation in 2026.
1918 Russian_Soviet_Federative_Socialist_Republic

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 revolutionary, and later, communist state from 1917 to 1922, and afterwards the largest and most populous constituent republic of the Soviet Union (USSR) from 1922 to 1991, until becoming a sovereign part of the Soviet Union with priority of Russian laws over Union-level legislation in 1990 and 1991, the last two years of the existence of the USSR. The Russian SFSR was composed of sixteen smaller constituent units of autonomous republics, five autonomous oblasts, ten autonomous okrugs, six krais and forty oblasts. Russians formed the largest ethnic group. The capital of the Russian SFSR and the USSR as a whole was Moscow and the other major urban centers included Leningrad, Stalingrad, Novosibirsk, Sverdlovsk, Gorky and Kuybyshev.
1923 Time (magazine)

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 City on March 3, 1923, and for many years it was run by its co-founder, Henry Luce. A European edition, Time Europe, is published in London and also covers the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. An Asian edition, Time Asia, is based in Hong Kong. The South Pacific edition, which covers Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands, is based in Sydney. Time France began publication in 2025. Since 2018, Time has been owned by Salesforce founder Marc Benioff, who acquired it from Meredith Corporation. Benioff currently publishes the magazine through the company Time USA, LLC.
1924 Free State of Fiume

The Free State of Fiume is annexed by the Kingdom of Italy.

The Free State of Fiume (pronounced [ˈfjuːme]), also called the Free State of Rijeka [rijěːka], was an independent free state that existed from 1920 to 1924. Its territory of 28 km2 (6,900 acres) comprised the city of Fiume (today Rijeka, Croatia) and rural areas to its north, with a corridor to its west connecting it to the Kingdom of Italy. Fiume gained autonomy for the first time in 1719, when it was proclaimed a free port of the Holy Roman Empire in a decree issued by the Emperor Charles VI. In 1776, during the reign of Empress Maria Theresa, the city was transferred to the Kingdom of Hungary and in 1779 gained the status of corpus separatum within that kingdom. The city briefly lost its autonomy in 1848 after being occupied by Croatian ban (viceroy) Josip Jelačić but regained it in 1868, when it rejoined the Kingdom of Hungary, again as a corpus separatum. Fiume's status as an exclave of Hungary meant that despite being landlocked, the kingdom had a port. Until 1924, Fiume existed for practical purposes as an autonomous entity with elements of statehood. In the 19th century, the city was populated mostly by Italians and as minorities by Croats and Hungarians and other ethnicities. National affiliations changed from census to census, as at that time "nationality" was defined mostly by the language a person spoke. The special status of the city, being placed between different states, created a local identity among the majority of the population. The official languages in use were Italian, Hungarian, and German; most of the business correspondence was carried out in Italian, and most families spoke a local dialect, a blend of Venetian with a few words of Croatian. In the countryside outside the city, a particular kind of Croatian Chakavian dialect with many Italian and Venetian words was spoken.
1938 Petroleum

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 hydrocarbons. The term petroleum refers to both naturally occurring unprocessed crude oil, as well as to petroleum products that consist of refined crude oil.
1939 Mumbai

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 and the financial capital of India. Located on the Konkan coast along the west coast of India, it has a deep natural harbour. As per the 2011 Census of India, it is the most populous city proper in India, with a population of almost 12.5 million, while the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, which is among the most populous metropolitan areas in the world, has a population of over 20 million. The city forms part of the Mumbai City and Mumbai Suburban districts and is administered by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, which was established in 1888.
1940 Left_Party_(Sweden)

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 privatisation and advocates for increased public expenditures. In foreign policy, the party is Eurosceptic, being critical of the European Union, NATO, and opposing Sweden's entry into the eurozone. It attempted to get Sweden to join the Non-Aligned Movement in 1980, but did not succeed. The party is eco-socialist and supports republicanism. It stands on the left wing of the political spectrum.
1942 World_War_II

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, with many engaging in total war on an unprecedented scale. World War II was the deadliest conflict in history, causing the deaths of 60 to 75 million people, a majority of whom were civilians. Millions died as a result of massacres, starvation, disease, and genocides, including the Holocaust. After the Allied victory, Germany, Austria, Japan, and Korea were occupied, and German and Japanese leaders were tried for war crimes.
1943 Crowd_collapses_and_crushes

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.

Crowd collapses and crowd crushes are catastrophic incidents that occur when a body of people becomes dangerously overcrowded. When numbers are up to about five people per square meter, the environment may feel cramped but manageable; when numbers reach between eight and ten people per square meter, individuals become pressed against each other and may be swept along against their will by the motion of the crowd. Under these conditions, the crowd may undergo a progressive collapse where the pressure pushes people off their feet, resulting in people being trampled or crushed by the weight of other people falling on top of them. At even higher densities, the pressure on each individual can cause them to be crushed or asphyxiated while still upright.
1944 Order of Nakhimov

The Order of Nakhimov and Order of Ushakov are instituted in USSR as the highest naval awards.

The Order of Nakhimov (Russian: орден Нахимова) 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 leadership. The order was established during World War II by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of March 3, 1944. Following the 1991 dissolution of the USSR, the Order of Nakhimov was retained unchanged by decision of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Federation No. 2424-1 of March 2, 1992 but it was not awarded in this form. The all encompassing Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 1099 of September 7, 2010 that modernised and reorganised the entire Russian awards system away from its Soviet past amended the Order of Nakhimov to its present form, a ribbon mounted single class Order.
1944 Freighthopping

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 be associated with other illegal activities such as theft, vagrancy, or trespassing.
1945 Royal_Air_Force

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 through the merger of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). Following the Allied victory over the Central Powers in 1918, they emerged as the largest air force in the world. Since its formation, they have played a significant role in British military history. In particular, during the Second World War, they defeated the German Luftwaffe's efforts to establish air superiority over Great Britain during the Battle of Britain, and played a key role in the Combined Bomber Offensive alongside the USAAF.
1953 De_Havilland_Comet

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 first flew in 1949. It features an aerodynamically clean design with four de Havilland Ghost turbojet engines located in the wing roots, a pressurised cabin, and large windows. For the era, it offered a relatively quiet, comfortable passenger cabin and was commercially promising at its debut in 1952.
1958 Nuri_al-Said

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 during its British Mandate and post-independence Hashemite period.
1969 Apollo_program

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. The Apollo program was conceived in 1960 in the Dwight D. Eisenhower presidency during Project Mercury and executed after Project Gemini. The Apollo program was later dedicated to President John F. Kennedy's national goal, "before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth" in his address to the U.S. Congress on May 25, 1961.
1972 Mohawk_Airlines_Flight_405

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 house within the city limits of Albany, New York, on March 3, 1972, on final approach to Albany County Airport, New York, killing 17 people. The intended destination airport lies in the suburban Town of Colonie, about 4 miles north of the crash site.
1974 Turkish_Airlines_Flight_981

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 Douglas DC-10 operating the flight crashed into the Ermenonville Forest, about 40 kilometres outside Paris, killing all 335 passengers and 11 crew. The crash was also known as the Ermenonville air disaster.
1980 USS_Nautilus_(SSN-571)

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 commanding officer was Eugene "Dennis" Wilkinson, a widely respected naval officer who set the stage for many of the protocols of today's Nuclear Navy in the US and who had a storied career during military service and afterwards.
1985 1985_Algarrobo_earthquake

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 foreshocks and left at least 177 people dead and about 2,500 injured. According to several reports, a small sector of damage in Llolleo corresponded to a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), though the vast majority of damage was considered to align with intensity VIII (Severe) effects or less. The damage was significant and widespread, and was similar to numerous previous events that had severely impacted the Valparaíso and Santiago metropolitan areas. Great earthquakes related to the subduction zone have occurred directly under populated areas or very close offshore since records began with the arrival of Europeans in the sixteenth century.
1986 Australia_Act_1986

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 Kingdom. The Acts eliminated the ability for the United Kingdom to legislate with effect in Australia, for the UK to be involved in any Australian government, and for an appeal from any Australian court to a British court. This act formally severed all legal ties between Australia and the United Kingdom.
1991 Amateur_film

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 recording family events and local news to creating experimental works or dramatic productions.
1991 United_Airlines_Flight_585

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 737-200 experienced a rudder hardover while on final approach to runway 35 at Colorado Springs Municipal Airport, causing the plane to roll over and enter an uncontrolled dive. All on board died on impact.
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.
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 Canadian province of Alberta.
2005 Steve_Fossett

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 aircraft. He made his fortune in the financial services industry and held world records for five nonstop circumnavigations of the Earth: as a long-distance solo balloonist, as a sailor, and as a solo flight fixed-wing aircraft pilot.
2005 Margaret_Wilson

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 2008, during the Fifth Labour Government.
2013

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 killed and more than 180+ others injured after a car bomb was detonated outside a Shia mosque, just as locals were leaving after the evening's services. As rescuers gathered to the scene of the bombings, a second blast caused even more destruction. Authorities suspected the Sunni militant group Lashkar-e Jhangvi of being behind the attacks.

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