April 3 is the 93rd day of the year (94th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 272 days remaining until the end of the year.
Events
- 1043 - Edward the Confessor is crowned King of England.
- 1077 - Creation of the first Parliament of Friuli.
- 1559 - The Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis treaty is signed, ending the Italian Wars.
- 1834 - The generals in the Greek War of Independence stand trial for treason.
- 1860 - The first successful Pony Express run from Saint Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento, California begins.
- 1865 - American Civil War: Union forces capture Richmond, Virginia, the capital of the Confederate States of America.
- 1882 - American Old West outlaw Jesse James is killed by Robert Ford for a $5,000 reward.
- 1885 - Gottlieb Daimler is granted a German patent for his engine design.
- 1895 - The libel trial instigated by Oscar Wilde begins, eventually resulting in his imprisonment on charges of homosexuality.
- 1896 - The first publication of La Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper in Italy.
- 1917 - Vladimir Lenin arrives in Russia from exile, marking the beginning of Bolshevik leadership in the Russian Revolution.
- 1922 - Joseph Stalin became the first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
- 1929 - RMS Queen Mary is ordered from John Brown & Company Shipbuilding and Engineering by Cunard Line.
- 1933 - Unsuccessful boycott of Jewish stores in Nazi Germany.
- 1936 - Bruno Richard Hauptmann is executed for the kidnapping and death of Charles Augustus Lindbergh II, the baby son of world-famous pilot Charles Lindbergh.
- 1942 - World War II: Japanese forces begin an assault on the United States and Filipino troops on the Bataan Peninsula.
- 1946 - Japanese Lt. General Masaharu Homma is executed in the Philippines for leading the Bataan Death March.
- 1948 - President Harry Truman signs the Marshall Plan which authorizes $5 billion in aid for 16 countries.
- 1948 - In Jeju, South Korea, a civil-war-like period of violence and human rights abuses begins, known as the Jeju massacre.
- 1948 - First run of the Texas Chief passenger train.
- 1953 - TV Guide debuts.
- 1955 - The American Civil Liberties Union announces it will defend Allen Ginsberg's book Howl against obscenity charges.
- 1956 - Elvis Presley sings "Heartbreak Hotel" on the Milton Berle Show, with an estimated 25% of the United States population viewing.
- 1956 - The western part of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan is struck by a deadly F5 tornado (known as the Hudsonville-Standale Tornado).
- 1968 - Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech.
- 1969 - Vietnam War: U.S. Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird announces that the United States will start to "Vietnamize" the war effort.
- 1971 - Japanese tokusatsu television series Kamen Rider premieres, marking the beginning of the long-running Kamen Rider franchise.
- 1973 - The first portable cell phone call is placed in New York City.
- 1974 - The Super Outbreak occurs, the biggest tornado outbreak in recorded history. The death toll is 315, with nearly 5,500 injured.
- 1975 - Bobby Fischer refuses to play in a chess match against Anatoly Karpov, giving Karpov the title of World Champion by default.
- 1982 - Great Britain dispatched a naval task force to the south Atlantic to reclaim the disputed Falkland Islands from Argentina.
- 1996 - Suspected "Unabomber" Theodore Kaczynski is arrested at his Montana cabin.
- 1996 - A United States Air Force airplane carrying United States Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown crashes in Croatia, killing all 35 on board.
- 1997 - Thalit massacre begins in Algeria; all but 1 of the 53 inhabitants of Thalit are killed by guerrillas.
- 2000 - United States v. Microsoft: Microsoft is ruled to have violated United States antitrust laws by keeping "an oppressive thumb" on its competitors.
- 2004 - Islamist terrorists involved in the 11 March 2004 Madrid attacks are trapped by the police in their apartment and kill themselves.
- 2007 - An official new world record for conventional-train speed of 574.8 km/h (357.2 mph) is set by a French TGV on the LGV Est high speed line east of Paris.
Births
- 1151 - Igor Svyatoslavich, Ukrainian prince (d. 1202)
- 1367 - King Henry IV of England (d. 1413)
- 1529 - Michael Neander, German mathematician and astronomer (d. 1581)
- 1593 - George Herbert, English poet and orator (d. 1633)
- 1643 - Charles V, Duke of Lorraine, general of the Holy Roman Empire (d. 1690)
- 1683 - Mark Catesby, English naturalist (d. 1749)
- 1693 - George Edwards, English naturalist (d. 1773)
- 1715 - William Watson, English physician and scientist (d. 1787)
- 1764 - John Abernathy, English surgeon (d. 1831)
- 1769 - Christian Günther von Bernstorff, Danish and Prussian statesman and diplomat (d. 1835)
- 1770 - Theodoros Kolokotronis, Greek general in the Greek War of Independence (d. 1843)
- 1781 - Bhagwan Swaminarayan (d. 1830)
- 1783 - Washington Irving, American author (d. 1859)
- 1806 - Ivan Kireevsky, Russian literary critic and philosopher (d. 1856)
- 1814 - Lorenzo Snow, 5th president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the LDS or Mormon Church) (d. 1901)
- 1821 - T. Pelham Dale, Anglican clergyman prosecuted for Ritualist practices in the 1870s (d. 1892)
- 1822 - Edward Everett Hale, American writer (d. 1909)
- 1823 - William Marcy Tweed, American political boss (d. 1878)
- 1880 - Otto Weininger, Austrian philosopher (d. 1903)
- 1881 - Alcide De Gasperi, Prime Minister of Italy (d. 1954)
- 1885 - Allan Dwan, Canadian-born American film director (d. 1981)
- 1885 - Bud Fisher, American cartoonist (Mutt and Jeff) (d. 1954)
- 1889 - Grigoraş Dinicu, Romanian composer and violinist (d. 1949)
- 1893 - Leslie Howard, English actor (d. 1943)
- 1893 - Princess Maud of Fife (d. 1945)
- 1895 - Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Italian composer (d. 1968)
- 1898 - George Jessel, American comedian (d. 1981)
- 1898 - Henry Luce, American publisher (d. 1967)
- 1904 - Iron Eyes Cody, American actor (d. 1999)
- 1904 - Russel Wright, American industrial designer (d. 1976)
- 1905 - Robert Frederick Sink, United States Army Officer (d. 1965)
- 1913 - Per Borten, Premier of Norway (d. 2005)
- 1916 - Herb Caen, American newspaper columnist (d. 1997)
- 1918 - Louis Applebaum, Canadian composer, conductor and administrator (d. 2000)
- 1920 - John Demjanjuk, Ukrainian-born American auto worker, alleged Nazi
- 1920 - Stan Freeman, American composer and lyricist (d. 2001)
- 1921 - Robert Karvelas, American actor (d. 1991)
- 1921 - Darío Moreno, Turkish-Jewish singer and songwriter (d. 1968)
- 1921 - Jan Sterling, American actress (d. 2004)
- 1924 - Marlon Brando, American actor (d. 2004)
- 1924 - Doris Day, American actress
- 1925 - Tony Benn, British politician
- 1926 - Alex Grammas, American baseball player
- 1926 - Gus Grissom, American astronaut (d. 1967)
- 1928 - Don Gibson, American country musician (d. 2003)
- 1928 - Kevin Hagen, American actor (d. 2005)
- 1928 - Jennifer Paterson, English chef and TV personality (Two Fat Ladies) (d. 1999)
- 1929 - Lee Leonard, American television personality
- 1930 - Lawton Chiles, U.S. Senator from Florida and Governor of Florida (d. 1998)
- 1930 - Helmut Kohl, Chancellor of Germany
- 1930 - Wally Moon, American baseball player
- 1934 - Jane Goodall, English zoologist
- 1936 - Scott LaFaro, American musician (d. 1961)
- 1936 - Jimmy McGriff, American jazz organist
- 1938 - Jeff Barry, American songwriter and record producer
- 1941 - Jan Berry, American musician (Jan and Dean) (d. 2004)
- 1941 - Carl Boenish, American father of BASE jumping (d. 1984)
- 1941 - Eric Braeden, German-born actor
- 1941 - Philippé Wynne, American musician (d. 1984)
- 1942 - Marsha Mason, American actress
- 1942 - Wayne Newton, American singer
- 1942 - Marek Perepeczko, Polish actor (d. 2005)
- 1942 - Billy Joe Royal, American singer
- 1943 - Jonathan Lynn, British actor and comedy writer
- 1943 - Mario Lavista, Mexican composer
- 1943 - Richard Manuel, Canadian musician and songwriter (d. 1986)
- 1943 - Doreen Tracey, English-born Mouseketeer
- 1944 - Tony Orlando, American musician
- 1945 - Catherine Spaak, French actress
- 1946 - Hanna Suchocka, Poland's first female prime minister
- 1946 - Marisa Paredes, Spanish actress
- 1948 - Arlette Cousture, French-Canadian writer
- 1948 - Carlos Salinas, President of Mexico
- 1949 - Lyle Alzado, American football player (d. 1992)
- 1949 - Richard Thompson, English musician and songwriter
- 1953 - Craig Taubman, Jewish singer
- 1954 - Elisabetta Brusa, Italian composer
- 1956 - Miguel Bosé, Spanish musician and actor
- 1956 - Ray Combs, American game show host and comedian (d. 1996)
- 1958 - Alec Baldwin, American actor
- 1959 - David Hyde Pierce, American actor
- 1960 - Arjen Anthony Lucassen, Dutch musician (Ayreon)
- 1960 - Marie Denise Pelletier, Quebec singer
- 1961 - Eddie Murphy, American actor and comedian
- 1962 - Mike Ness, American musician (Social Distortion)
- 1963 - Criss Oliva, American musician (Savatage) (d. 1993)
- 1963 - Jack Del Rio, American football coach
- 1963 - Tsuyoshi Sekito, Japanese composer
- 1964 - Bjarne Riis, Danish cyclist
- 1966 - Mina Tominaga, Japanese seiyu (voice actress)
- 1966 - John de Vries, Australian racing driver
- 1967 - Brent Gilchrist, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1967 - Mark Skaife, Australian racing driver
- 1968 - Sebastian Bach, Canadian musician (Skid Row)
- 1968 - Charlotte Coleman, English actress (d. 2001)
- 1968 - Jamie Hewlett, English illustrator (Tank Girl and Gorillaz)
- 1969 - Lance Storm, Canadian professional wrestler
- 1971 - Picabo Street, American alpine ski champion
- 1972 - Jennie Garth, American actress
- 1972 - Sandrine Testud, French Top-10 tennis player
- 1973 - Matthew Ferguson, Canadian actor
- 1973 - Jamie Bamber, English Actor
- 1975 - Michael Olowokandi, Nigerian basketball player
- 1975 - Aries Spears, American comedian
- 1975 - Mickey Beyer Clausen, Danish entrepreneur and philanthropist
- 1975 - Shawn Bates, American ice hockey player
- 1976 - Drew Shirley, American musician (Switchfoot)
- 1976 - Will Mellor, English actor
- 1978 - Tommy Haas, German tennis player
- 1978 - Matthew Goode, English actor
- 1978 - John Smit, South African rugby player
- 1981 - Heath Ramsay, Australian Olympic swimmer
- 1981 - Aaron Bertram, American musician, Suburban Legends
- 1981 - Matthew Nash, Australian soccer player
- 1982 - Fler, German rapper
- 1982 - Iain Fyfe, Australian soccer player
- 1982 - Kasumi Nakane, Japanese gravure idol
- 1982 - Cobie Smulders, Canadian actress
- 1983 - Errol Barnett, English reporter
- 1984 - Maxi López, Argentine footballer
- 1985 - Leona Lewis, English singer
- 1986 - Amanda Bynes, American actress
- 1986 - Sergio Sánchez, Spanish footballer
- 1988 - Peter Hartley, English footballer
- 1988 - Tim Krul, Dutch footballer
- 1993 - Dakoda Dowd, American golfer
Deaths
- 963 - William III, Duke of Aquitaine (b. 915)
- 1287 - Pope Honorius IV
- 1350 - Eudes IV, Duke of Burgundy (b. 1295)
- 1606 - Charles Blount, 1st Earl of Devon, English politician (b. 1563)
- 1680 - Shivaji, founder of the Maratha Empire (b. 1630)
- 1682 - Bartolomé Estéban Murillo, Spanish painter (b. 1618)
- 1691 - Jean Petitot, Swiss enamel painter (b. 1608)
- 1695 - Melchior d'Hondecoeter, Dutch painter
- 1717 - Jacques Ozanam, French mathematician (b. 1640)
- 1728 - James Anderson, Scottish lawyer (b. 1662)
- 1792 - George Pocock, British admiral (b. 1706)
- 1804 - Jędrzej Kitowicz, Polish priest (b. 1727/1728)
- 1827 - Ernst Chladni, German physicist (b. 1756)
- 1849 - Juliusz Słowacki, Polish poet (b. 1809)
- 1868 - Franz Berwald, Swedish composer and inventor (b. 1796)
- 1882 - Jesse James, American outlaw (b. 1847)
- 1897 - Johannes Brahms, German composer (b. 1833)
- 1901 - Richard D'Oyly Carte, British impresario (b. 1844)
- 1930 - Emma Albani, Canadian soprano (b. 1847)
- 1932 - Wilhelm Ostwald, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1853)
- 1936 - Bruno Hauptmann, German killer of Charles Lindbergh III (b. 1899)
- 1943 - Conrad Veidt, German actor (b. 1893)
- 1950 - Carter G. Woodson, African American historian, author, journalist and founder of Black History Month (b. 1875)
- 1950 - Kurt Weill, German composer (b. 1900)
- 1952 - Miina Sillanpää, Finnish politician, first female Finnish minister (b. 1866)
- 1965 - Ernst Kirchweger, Austrian communist and resistance fighter
- 1971 - Joseph Valachi, American gangster (b. 1904)
- 1972 - Ferde Grofé, American composer (b. 1882)
- 1975 - Mary Ure, Scottish actress (b. 1933)
- 1978 - Ray Noble, English bandleader and composer (b. 1903)
- 1981 - Juan Trippe, Airline entrepreneur and pioneer, Pan Am founder (b. 1899)
- 1982 - Warren Oates, American character actor (b. 1928)
- 1986 - Peter Pears, English tenor (b. 1910)
- 1987 - Tom Sestak, American football player (b. 1936)
- 1990 - Sarah Vaughan, American singer (b. 1924)
- 1991 - Charles Goren, American bridge player, writer, and columnist (b. 1901)
- 1991 - Graham Greene, English writer (b. 1904)
- 1993 - Pinky Lee, American comic and children's television host (b. 1907)
- 1994 - Frank Wells, American entertainment businessman (b. 1932)
- 1995 - Alfred J. Billes, Canadian businessman (Canadian Tire) (b. 1902)
- 1996 - Ron Brown, U.S. Secretary of Commerce (b. 1941)
- 1996 - Carl Stokes, Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio (b. 1927)
- 1998 - Mary Cartwright, English mathematician (b. 1900)
- 1999 - Lionel Bart, English composer (Oliver!) (b. 1930)
- 2000 - Terence McKenna, American writer and philosopher (b. 1946)
- 2002 - Fad Gadget, English singer and musician (b. 1956)
- 2003 - Michael Kelly, American journalist (b. 1957)
- 2005 - Tony Croatto, Italian-born singer (b. 1940)
- 2007 - Marion Eames, Welsh novelist (b. 1921)
- 2007 - Eddie Robinson, American football coach (b. 1919)
- 2007 - Nina Wang, Asia's Richest Woman (b. 1937)
Holidays and observances
Liturgical feasts
External links
