March 3

Historic Events

2013

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

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. ›

2005

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

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. ›

1991

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

1991

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

1986

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

1985

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

1980

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

1974

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

1972

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

1969

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

1958

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

1953

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

1945

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

1944

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

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. ›

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. ›

1942

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

1940

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

1939

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

1938

Oil is discovered in Saudi Arabia. ›

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. ›

1924

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

1923

US magazine Time publishes its first issue. ›

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. ›

1913

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

1891

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

1878

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

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. ›

1861

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

1859

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

1857

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

1849

The Territory of Minnesota is created. ›

1845

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

1799

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

1795

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

1779

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

1585

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

1575

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

880

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

724

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

473

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