March 3 in History

A bomb blast in Karachi, Pakistan, kills at least 48 people and injured 200 others in a predominantly Shia Muslim area.

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.

Steve Fossett becomes the first person to fly an airplane non-stop around the world solo without refueling.

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.

An amateur video captures the beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles police officers.

United Airlines Flight 585 crashes on its final approach to Colorado Springs killing everyone on board.

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

A magnitude 8.3 earthquake strikes the Valparaíso Region of Chile, killing 177 and leaving nearly a million people homeless.

The USS Nautilus is decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register.

Turkish Airlines Flight 981 crashes at Ermenonville near Paris, France killing all 346 aboard.

Mohawk Airlines Flight 405 crashes as a result of a control malfunction and insufficient training in emergency procedures.

Apollo program: NASA launches Apollo 9 to test the lunar module.

Nuri al-Said becomes Prime Minister of Iraq for the eighth time.

A De Havilland Comet (Canadian Pacific Air Lines) crashes in Karachi, Pakistan, killing 11 people.

World War II: In poor visibility, the RAF mistakenly bombs the Bezuidenhout area of The Hague, Netherlands, killing 511 people.

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

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.

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.

World War II: Ten Japanese warplanes raid Broome, Western Australia, killing more than 100 people.

Five people are killed in an arson attack on the offices of the communist newspaper Flamman in Luleå, Sweden.

In Bombay, Mohandas Gandhi begins a hunger strike in protest at the autocratic rule in British India.

Oil is discovered in Saudi Arabia.

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.

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

US magazine Time publishes its first issue.

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.

Thousands of women march in the Woman Suffrage Procession in Washington, D.C.

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

The Russo-Turkish War ends with Bulgaria regaining its independence from the Ottoman Empire according to the Treaty of San Stefano.

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.

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

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

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

The Territory of Minnesota is created.

Florida is admitted as the 27th U.S. state.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jvke, American singer-songwriter

Jevon Holland, Canadian-American football player

Corey Kispert, American basketball player

Jayson Tatum, American basketball player

Camila Cabello, Cuban-American singer-songwriter and actress

David Neres, Brazilian footballer

Cameron Johnson, American basketball player

Andile Phehlukwayo, South African cricketer

Bryan Cristante, Italian footballer

Maine Mendoza, Filipina actress

Dilson Herrera, Colombian baseball player

Umika Kawashima, Japanese singer and actress

Gabriela Cé, Brazilian tennis player

Josef Dostál, Czech kayaker

Antonio Rüdiger, German footballer

Michael Thomas, American football player

Park Cho-rong, South Korean singer-songwriter and actress

Anri Sakaguchi, Japanese actress

Vlado Janković, Greek-Serbian basketball player

Erwin Mulder, Dutch footballer

Teodora Mirčić, Serbian tennis player

Michael Morrison, English footballer

Jan-Arie van der Heijden, Dutch footballer

Max Waller, English cricketer

Shraddha Kapoor, Indian actress, singer, and designer

Jesús Padilla, Mexican footballer

Andrei Zubarev, Russian ice hockey player

Jed Collins, American football player

Stacie Orrico, American singer-songwriter

Mehmet Topal, Turkish footballer

Toby Turner, American Internet personality

Valerio Bernabò, Italian rugby player

Santonio Holmes, American football player

Ivar, American wrestler

Alexander Semin, Russian ice hockey player

Ashley Hansen, Australian footballer

Sarah Poewe, South African swimmer

Jessica Biel, American actress, singer, and producer

Tolu Ogunlesi, Nigerian journalist and writer

Colton Orr, Canadian ice hockey player

Brent Tate, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster

Lil' Flip, American rapper, songwriter, and producer

Julius Malema, South African politician

Emmanuel Pappoe, Ghanaian footballer

Tobias Forge, Swedish singer and songwriter

Katherine Waterston, English-American actress

Albert Jorquera, Spanish footballer

Ronan Keating, Irish singer-songwriter and actor

Buddy Valastro, American chef and television host

Kampamba Mulenga, Zambian politician

Fraser Gehrig, Australian footballer

Isabel Granada, Filipino-Spanish actress (died 2017)

Keit Pentus-Rosimannus, Estonian politician, 28th Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs

Patric Chiha, Austrian film director and screenwriter

David Faustino, American actor

Xavier Bettel, Luxembourger lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of Luxembourg

Darren Anderton, English footballer and sportscaster

Martin Procházka, Czech ice hockey player

Charlie Brooker, English journalist, producer, and author

Tyler Florence, American chef and author

Julie Bowen, American actress

Inzamam-ul-Haq, Pakistani cricketer and coach

Brian Cox, English keyboard player and physicist

Brian Leetch, American ice hockey player

Tone Lōc, American rapper, producer, and actor

Timo Tolkki, Finnish guitarist, songwriter, and producer

Dragan Stojković, Serbian footballer and manager

Raúl Alcalá, Mexican cyclist

Laura Harring, Mexican-American model and actress, Miss USA 1985

Glenn Kulka, Canadian ice hockey player and wrestler

Khaltmaagiin Battulga, Mongolian politician and wrestler, 5th President of Mongolia

Martín Fiz, Spanish runner

Jackie Joyner-Kersee, American heptathlete and long jumper

Herschel Walker, American football player, mixed martial artist, and activist

Mary Page Keller, American actress and producer

John Matteson, American biographer

Fatima Whitbread, English javelin thrower

Ira Glass, American radio host and producer

Duško Vujošević, Montenegrin basketball player and coach (died 2026)

Johnny Moore, American basketball player and coach

Miranda Richardson, English actress

Stephen Budiansky, American historian, journalist, and author

Thom Hoffman, Dutch actor and photographer

Zbigniew Boniek, Polish footballer and manager

John Fulton Reid, New Zealand cricketer (died 2020)

Michele Singer Reiner, American film producer (died 2025)

John Ribot, Australian rugby league player and administrator

Darnell Williams, English-American actor and director

Keith Fergus, American golfer

Robert Gossett, American actor

John Lilley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

Édouard Lock, Moroccan-Canadian dancer and choreographer

Robyn Hitchcock, English singer-songwriter and guitarist

Zico, Brazilian footballer and coach

Rudy Fernandez, Filipino actor and producer (died 2008)

Lindsay Cooper, English composer, bassoon and oboe player (died 2013)

Andy Murray, Canadian ice hockey player and coach

Heizō Takenaka, Japanese economist and politician

Kamal Ahmed Majumder, Bangladeshi politician

Ron Chernow, American historian, journalist, and author

Bonnie J. Dunbar, American engineer, academic, and astronaut

Jesse Jefferson, American baseball player (died 2011)

Steve Wilhite, American computer scientist, developer of the GIF image format at CompuServe in 1987 (died 2022)

Clifton Snider, American author, poet, and critic (died 2021)

Jennifer Warnes, American singer-songwriter and producer

Willie Wise, American basketball player

George Miller, Australian director, producer, and screenwriter

Hattie Winston, American actress

Mike Pender, English singer-songwriter and guitarist

Germán Castro Caycedo, Colombian author and journalist (died 2021)

Perry Ellis, American fashion designer, founded Perry Ellis (died 1986)

Jean-Paul Proust, French-Monégasque police officer and politician, 21st Minister of State of Monaco (died 2010)

Larry Burkett, American author and radio host (died 2003)

M. L. Jaisimha, Indian cricketer (died 1999)

Mal Anderson, Australian tennis player (died 2026)

Michael Walzer, American philosopher and academic

Zhelyu Zhelev, Bulgarian philosopher and politician, 2nd President of Bulgaria (died 2015)

Peter Brooke, Baron Brooke of Sutton Mandeville, English politician, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (died 2023)

Jimmy Garrison, American bassist and educator (died 1976)

Lee Radziwill, American socialite, sister of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (died 2019)

Roy Fisher, Australian rugby league player

Ion Iliescu, Romanian engineer and politician, 2nd President of Romania (died 2025)

Pierre Aubert, Swiss lawyer and politician (died 2016)

James Merrill, American poet and playwright (died 1995)

Tomiichi Murayama, Japanese soldier and politician, 52nd Prime Minister of Japan (died 2025)

Tamara Lisitsian, Soviet film director and screenwriter (died 2009)

Barney Martin, American police officer and actor (died 2005)

Doc Watson, American bluegrass singer-songwriter and musician (died 2012)

Nándor Hidegkuti, Hungarian footballer and manager (died 2002)

Diana Barrymore, American actress (died 1960)

Julius Boros, American golfer and accountant (died 1994)

James Doohan, Canadian-American actor and soldier (died 2005)

Ronald Searle, English-French soldier and illustrator (died 2011)

Arthur Kornberg, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2007)

Sameera Moussa, Egyptian physicist and academic (died 1952)

Paul Halmos, Hungarian-American mathematician (died 2006)

Asger Jorn, Danish painter and sculptor (died 1973)

Margaret Bonds, American pianist and composer (died 1972)

Harold J. Stone, American actor (died 2005)

Jean Harlow, American actress (died 1937)

Hugues Lapointe, Canadian lawyer and politician, 22nd Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (died 1982)

Vasily Kozlov, Belarusian general and politician (died 1967)

Ruby Dandridge, African-American film and radio actress (died 1987)

Edna Best, British stage and film actress (died 1974)

Emil Artin, Austrian-German mathematician and academic (died 1962)

Ragnar Frisch, Norwegian economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1973)

Beatrice Wood, American illustrator and potter (died 1998)

Damaskinos of Athens, Greek archbishop (died 1949)

Elisabeth Abegg, German anti-Nazi resistance fighter (died 1974)

Charles Ponzi, Italian businessman and convicted con man (died 1949)

Yōsuke Matsuoka, Japanese politician, Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs (died 1946)

William Green, American union leader and politician (died 1952)

Frida Felser, German opera singer and actress (died 1941)

Maurice Garin, Italian-French cyclist (died 1957)

Henry Wood, English conductor (died 1944)

Émile Chartier, French philosopher and journalist (died 1951)

Fred A. Busse, American lawyer and politician, 39th Mayor of Chicago (died 1914)

John Montgomery Ward, American baseball player and manager (died 1925)

Alexander Graham Bell, Scottish-American engineer and academic, invented the telephone (died 1922)

Georg Cantor, Russian-German mathematician and philosopher (died 1918)

John Murray, Canadian-Scottish oceanographer and biologist (died 1914)

Jamsetji Tata, Indian businessman, founded Tata Group (died 1904)

George Pullman, American engineer and businessman, founded the Pullman Company (died 1897)

Shiranui Kōemon, Japanese sumo wrestler (died 1879)

Gustave de Molinari, Dutch-Belgian economist and theorist (died 1912)

William James Blacklock, English-Scottish painter (died 1858)

Jonas Furrer, Swiss politician (died 1861)

Thomas Field Gibson, English manufacturer who aided the welfare of the Spitalfields silk weavers (died 1889)

Heinrich Georg Bronn, German geologist and paleontologist (died 1862)

William Macready, English actor and manager (died 1873)

Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (died 1841)

William Godwin, English journalist and author (died 1836)

Madeleine de Verchères, Canadian rebel leader (died 1747)

Thomas Otway, English playwright and author (died 1685)

Edmund Waller, English poet and politician (died 1687)

Gisbertus Voetius, Dutch minister, theologian, and academic (died 1676)

Edward Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Cherbury, English-Welsh soldier, historian, and diplomat (died 1648)

Matthias Flacius, Croatian theologian and reformer (died 1575)

Luís of Portugal, Duke of Beja (died 1555)

John II of Portugal (died 1495)

Ascanio Sforza, Catholic cardinal (died 1505)

Kenzaburō Ōe, Japanese novelist, 1994 Nobel Prize laureate in Literature (born 1935)

Tom Sizemore, American actor (born 1961)

Charles J. Urstadt, American real estate executive and investor (born 1928)

Peter Hurford OBE, British organist and composer (born 1930)

Roger Bannister, English middle-distance athlete, first man to run a four-minute mile (born 1929)

Mal Bryce, Australian politician (born 1943)

Vanessa Goodwin, Australian politician (born 1969)

David Ogden Stiers, American actor, voice actor and musician (born 1942)

René Préval, Haitian politician (born 1943)

Hayabusa, Japanese wrestler (born 1968)

Berta Cáceres, Honduran environmentalist (born 1973)

Martin Crowe, New Zealand cricketer and sportscaster (born 1962)

Thanat Khoman, Thai politician and diplomat, Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand (born 1914)

Sarah Tait, Australian Olympic rower (born 1983)

Ernest Braun, Austrian-English physicist and academic (born 1925)

M. Stanton Evans, American journalist and author (born 1934)

Luis Cubilla, Uruguayan footballer and manager (born 1940)

James Strong, Qantas CEO from 1993 to 2001 (born 1944)

Ralph McQuarrie, American conceptual designer and illustrator (born 1929)

Ronnie Montrose, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer (born 1947)

Alex Webster, American football player and coach (born 1931)

May Cutler, Canadian journalist, author, and politician (born 1923)

Keith Alexander, English footballer and manager (born 1956)

Michael Foot, English journalist and politician, Secretary of State for Employment (born 1913)

Gilbert Parent, Canadian educator and politician, 33rd Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada (born 1935)

Giuseppe Di Stefano, Italian tenor and actor (born 1921)

Norman Smith, English drummer and producer (born 1923)

Osvaldo Cavandoli, Italian cartoonist (born 1920)

Ivor Cutler, Scottish poet and songwriter (born 1923)

Else Fisher, Australian-Swedish dancer, choreographer, and director (born 1918)

William Herskovic, Hungarian-American humanitarian (born 1914)

Max Fisher, American businessman and philanthropist (born 1928)

Horst Buchholz, German actor (born 1933)

Luis Marden, American linguist, photographer, and explorer (born 1913)

Goffredo Petrassi, Italian composer and conductor (born 1904)

G. M. C. Balayogi, Indian lawyer and politician, 12th Speaker of the Lok Sabha (born 1951)

Louis Edmonds, American actor (born 1923)

Maija Isola, Finnish textile designer (born 1927)

Eugene Sledge, American soldier, author, and academic (born 1923)

Toni Ortelli, Italian composer and conductor (born 1904)

Gerhard Herzberg, German-Canadian chemist and astronomer, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1904)

Lee Philips, American actor and director (born 1927)

Fred W. Friendly, American journalist and broadcaster (born 1915)

Marguerite Duras, French author and director (born 1914)

John Krol, American cardinal (born 1910)

Howard W. Hunter, American religious leader, 14th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (born 1907)

John Edward Williams, American author and academic (born 1922)

Mel Bradford, American author and critic (born 1934)

Carlos Marcello, Tunisian-American mob boss (born 1910)

Carlos Montoya, Spanish guitarist and composer (born 1903)

Albert Sabin, Polish-American physician and virologist (born 1906)

Arthur Murray, American dancer and educator (born 1895)

William Penney, Baron Penney, Gibraltar-born English mathematician, physicist, and academic (born 1909)

Charlotte Moore Sitterly, American astronomer (born 1898)

Henryk Szeryng, Polish-Mexican violinist and composer (born 1918)

Sewall Wright, American biologist and geneticist (born 1889)

Danny Kaye, American actor, singer, and dancer (born 1911)

Hergé, Belgian author and illustrator (born 1907)

Firaq Gorakhpuri, Indian poet and critic (born 1896)

Georges Perec, French author and screenwriter (born 1936)

Rebecca Lancefield, American microbiologist and researcher (born 1895)

Joseph Fields, American playwright, director, and producer (born 1895)

William Frawley, American actor and vaudevillian (born 1887)

Alice Pearce, American actress (born 1917)

Azizul Haq, Bengali Islamic scholar (born 1903)

Paul Wittgenstein, Austrian-American pianist (born 1887)

Lou Costello, American actor and comedian (born 1906)

Katherine Sleeper Walden, American environmental activist (born 1862)

George Thompson, English cricketer and umpire (born 1877)

Eugen d'Albert, Scottish-German pianist and composer (born 1864)

Katharine Wright, American educator (born 1874)

Mikhail Artsybashev, Ukrainian author and playwright (born 1878)

J. G. Parry-Thomas, Welsh race car driver and engineer (born 1884)

Antonio Annetto Caruana, Maltese archaeologist and author (born 1830)

George Gilman, American businessman, founded The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (born 1826)

Ned Williamson, American baseball player (born 1857)

Oliver Cowdery, American religious leader (born 1806)

Robert Adam, Scottish-English architect and politician, designed the Culzean Castle (born 1728)

Ghulam Kadir, leader of the Afghan Rohilla

Nicola Porpora, Italian composer and educator (born 1686)

William Stukeley, English archaeologist and historian (born 1687)

Jean Barbeyrac, French scholar and jurist (born 1674)

Robert Hooke, English architect and philosopher (born 1635)

Chhatrapati Rajaram, 3rd Chhatrapati of Maratha Empire (born 1670)

Matthias de l'Obel, Flemish physician and botanist (born 1538)

William Douglas, 10th Earl of Angus, Scottish nobleman (born 1552)

Michael Coxcie, Flemish painter (born 1499)

Henry XI, duke of Legnica (born 1539)

Sebastiano Venier, doge of Venice (born 1496)

Michael Kantakouzenos Şeytanoğlu, Ottoman Greek magnate

John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony (born 1503)

Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle, illegitimate son of Edward IV

Ausiàs March, Catalan knight and poet (born 1397)

Hugh III, Italian nobleman

Andrew Harclay, 1st Earl of Carlisle, English military leader

Antony Bek, bishop of Durham

Vladimir IV Rurikovich, Grand Prince of Kiev (born 1187)

Hugh de Puiset, bishop of Durham (born c. 1125)

Abd al-Rahman Sanchuelo, Umayyad chief minister (born 983)

Winwaloe, founder of Landévennec Abbey (born c. 460)