On This Day in History for November 3

Events 1 - 100 of 146

• 644 Umar ibn al-Khattab, second Muslim caliph, is killed by a Persian slave in Medina
• 1394 Jews are expelled from France by Charles VI
• 1468 Liège is sacked by Charles I of Burgundy's troops.

• 1527 Ferdinand of Austria/Bohemia chosen as king of Hungary
• 1529 London - 1st sitting of the Reformation Parliament

• 1620 Great Patent granted to Plymouth Colony

• 1640 English Long Parliament forms
• 1655 England & France sign military & economic treaties
• 1656 Treaty of Vilnius: Russia & Poland sign anti-Swedish covenant [NS]
• 1676 Kara Mustafa succeeds Ahmed Kiprulu as Turkish grand vizier

• 1760 Battle at Torgau, Saxony: Prussia beats Austria
• 1762 Britain & Spain sign Treaty of Paris


• 1762 Spain acquires Louisiana
• 1783 Washington orders Continental Army disbanded
• 1783 John Austin, a footpad turned murderer, is the last to be publicly hanged at London's Tyburn gallows
• 1791 Battle at Wabash: Indians assault general St Clair, 637 soldiers killed

• 1794 French troops conquer Maastricht

• 1813 US troops under General Coffee destroy Indian village at Talladega Ala
• 1820 Cuenca (Santa Ana de los Ríos de Cuenca), Ecuador, declares independence
• 1838 The Times of India, world's largest circulated English language daily broadsheet newspaper founded as The Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce
• 1839 First Opium War - 2 British frigates engage several Chinese junks
• 1839 Palace of Gulhane Turkey, freedom of religion proclaimed
• 1848 Johan Thorbeckes revises the Constitution of the Netherlands
• 1856 A British fleet bombards Canton
• 1861 Battle of Port Royal, fought in Port Royal Sound, South Carolina begins, Union victory (US Civil War)
• 1862 Battle until the 5th November between gunboats at Bayou Teche, a waterway in Louisiana
• 1863 Battle of Grand Coteau in Southwestern Louisiana in the American Civil War

• 1868 First black US Congressman elected (John W Menard, Louisiana)

• 1869 Canada's Hamilton Foot Ball Club forms
• 1874 James Theodore Holly, elected bishop of Haiti
• 1883 Race riots in Danville Virginia (4 blacks killed)
• 1883 US Supreme Court decides federal courts have no jurisdiction over Native American tribal Council (Ex parte Crow Dog)


• 1883 American Old West: Self-described "Black Bart the poet" gets away with his last stagecoach robbery, but leaves an incriminating clue that eventually leads to his capture
• 1885 Tacoma vigilantes drive out Chinese, burn their homes & businesses
• 1886 Friars of Tilburg arrives on Curacao
• 1888 Amsterdam: 1st concerto of Concert worker, under Willem Kes
• 1889 Chaplain Ariëns founds first roman catholic workers group
• 1896 J H Hunter patents portable weighing scales
• 1896 Martha Hughes Cannon of Utah elected 1st female senator

• 1900 First US automobile show opens at Madison Square Garden (NYC)
• 1903 Colombia grants independence to Panama
• 1903 Giovanni Giolitti becomes Prime Minister of Italy; a progressive liberal, he will hold his post through most of the next decade and introduce social, agrarian and labor reforms

• 1906 International Radiotelegraph Conference in Berlin selects "SOS" (· · · – – – · · ·) distress signal as the worldwide standard for help

• 1913 1st modern elastic brassiere is patented by New York socialite Mary Phelps Jacob
• 1916 Treaty establishes British suzerainty over Qatar
• 1917 1st class US mail now costs 3 cents per ounce
• 1918 Austro-Hungarian Empire dissolves
• 1918 Poland proclaims independence from Russia after WW I
• 1918 Thousands of revolutionary German sailors with the fleet at Kiel mutiny, seize the city, and set up councils of workers and sailors
• 1922 Greek parliament bans Prince Andreas for life
• 1927 22.3 cm rainfall at Somerset, Vermont (state record)
• 1927 Tropical storm flooding kills 84 in Winooski River Valley, Vermont
• 1928 Turkey switches from Arabic to Roman alphabet
• 1930 First vehicular tunnel to a foreign country (Detroit-Windsor) opens
• 1930 Bank of Italy renamed Bank of America

• 1931 First commercially produced synthetic rubber manufactured
• 1935 George II returns to Greece after 12 years and regains monarchy

• 1939 Clare Booth's "Margin for Error" premieres in NYC

• 1942 12th day of battle at El Alamein: Scottish assault
• 1942 William L Dawson elected to Congress from Chicago
• 1943 P-47D Thunderbolt shot down above North Holland
• 1944 Allied commandos land at Westkapelle, on the Dutch island of Walcheren
• 1944 German troops in Vlissingen surrender
• 1944 Pro-German government of Hungary flees
• 1944 US 28th Infantry division occupies Schmidt Hurtgenwald

• 1952 Egypt protests German retribution payments to Israel
• 1953 First live color US coast-to-coast telecast (NYC)
• 1954 Nobel for physics awarded to Max Born & Walter Bothe
• 1955 First virus crystallized (announced)

• 1955 Australia takes control of Cocos Islands
• 1955 Bernardus J Alfrink installed as archbishop of Utrecht
• 1957 USSR launches Sputnik 2 with a dog (Laika), 1st animal in orbit
• 1958 USSR performs nuclear test

• 1960 Ivory Coast adopts constitution
• 1961 UN General Assembly unanimously elects U Thant as acting Secretary-General after the death of Dag Hammarskjöld in a plane crash
• 1962 USSR performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya USSR

• 1964 For 1st time since 1800, residents of Washington, D.C. permitted to vote
• 1967 Vietnam War: The Battle of Dak To begins, becoming one of the bloodiest battles of the war
• 1968 Bob Packwood is elected senator of Oregon

• Previous
• 1
• 2
• Next

• 39 Lucan, Latin poet (Bellum Civile), born in Cordova, Spain
• 1560 Annibale Carracci, Italian painter, born in Bologna, Italy (d. 1609)
• 1604 Osman II, sultan of Turkey (1618-22)
• 1611 Henry Ireton, English general/MP (Edgehill)
• 1618 Aurangzeb, [Alamgir], Emperor of India (1658-1707)
• 1619 Willem Kalf, Rotterdam Neth, painter (still lifes)
• 1621 Renatus Rapinus, [René Rapin], French jesuit/poet (Hortorum libri IV)
• 1633 Bernardino Ramazzini, Italian physician (d. 1714)
• 1718 John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, British statesman who claimed to have invented the sandwich, born in Chiswick, England (d. 1792)
• 1736 Christian Brunings, Dutch hydraulic engineer
• 1749 Daniel Rutherford, Scottish chemist and physician (d. 1819)
• 1753 August G Meissner, German author

• 1794 William Cullen Bryant, poet (Thanatopsis)
• 1798 Mason James Murray, American senator and Confederate diplomat (Trent Affair), born in Fairfax, Virginia (d. 1871)
• 1799 William Sprague III, American politician from Rhode Island (d. 1856)
• 1801 Karl Baedeker, German published travel books
• 1815 John Mitchel, Irish nationalist (Jail Journal), born in Camnish, County Londonderry (d. 1875)
• 1816 Jubal Anderson Early, Lt General (Confederate Army), (d. 1894)
• 1818 Gustavus Adolphus DeRussy, American Brigadier General (Union Army), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1891)
• 1826 Jasper Adalmorn Maltby, American Brigadier General (Union Army), born in Kingsville, Ohio (d. 1867)
• 1830 Esten Cooke, John (Confederate Army), (d. 1886)
• 1830 Jacob M van Bemmelen, Dutch physicist/chemist
• 1833 Edward Dorr Tracy, Brigadier General (Confederate Army), (d. 1863)
• 1841 Johannes Eugenius Bülow Warming, Mandø, Danish Botanist (plant ecology, environment-organism interactions)
• 1844 Mehmed V Reshad, sultan of Turkey (1909-18)
• 1845 Edward Douglass White, 9th Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1921)
• 1852 Mutsuhito, 122nd emperor of Japan (1867-1912)
• 1854 Jokichi Takamine, Takaoka Toyama, Japanese-American Biochemist who isolated adrenalin (epinephrine), which causes the body to respond to emergencies, the first pure hormone isolated from natural sources
• 1857 Michail V Alekseyev, Imperial Russian general and WW I Chief of Staff (d. 1918)
• 1861 Johann Peter Kirsch, Luxembourg church historian/archaeologist
• 1870 John Motley Morehead III, American Chemist (commercial production of calcium carbide, important for welding)
• 1872 Wilfred Trotter, Coleford Gloucestershire, English surgeon who was a pioneer in neurosurgery, popularized the concept of herd instinct, and was an authority in cancers of the head and neck
• 1876 Stephen Peter Alencastre, Roman Catholic prelate (d. 1940)
• 1877 Carlos Ibáñez del Campo, Chilean president. (d. 1960)
• 1879 Vilhjalmur Stefansson, Canadian Arctic explorer/ethnologist
• 1884 Apie [Adrian P] Prince, Dutch author (Me Own Way)
• 1887 Samuil Marshak, Russian writer, translator and children's poet (d. 1964)
• 1889 Heinrich Campendonk, German painter/wood carver/glazer
• 1890 Eustaquio van Lieshout, Dutch priest (d. 1943)

• 1897 Frederick Russell, Bridport Dorset, English Marine Biologist who studied plankton life history and linked their depth in the seas to light availability helping explain long-term changes in the ecosystem
• 1899 Gleb Wataghin, Ukrainian-Italian physicist (d. 1986)

• 1901 Leopold III [Filip von Saksen-Coburg], King of the Belgians (from 1934, abdicated 1951) (d. 1983)
• 1903 Walker Evans, American photographer (Fortune Magazine)
• 1905 Lois Mailou Jones, US painter (Peasants on Parade)
• 1905 William Donald Campbell, diarist/ornithologist
• 1909 James "Scotty" Barrett Reston, Clydebank Scotld, journalist (NY Times)
• 1912 Alfredo Stroessner, dictator of Paraguay (1954-89)
• 1918 Russell B Long, (Sen-D-LA, 1948-86)
• 1918 Elizabeth P. Hoisington, American Brigadier General (d. 2007)
• 1919 Jesús Blasco, Spanish comic book author (d. 1995)
• 1920 Oodgeroo Noonuccal, Australian writer (d. 1993)
• 1922 Earl of Lonsdale, English large landowner/multi-millionaire
• 1923 Tomás Cardinal Ó Fiaich, Northern Irish clergyman (d. 1990)
• 1925 Dieter Wellershoff, German author (Minotaur)
• 1926 Valdas Adamkus, President of the Republic of Lithuania
• 1927 Harrison McCain, Canadian businessman (McCain Foods Limited), born in Florenceville, New Brunswick
• 1928 Osamu Tezuka, Japanese manga artist (Kimba the White Lion), born in Toyonaka City, Japan (d. 1989)
• 1930 Philip M Crane, (Rep-R-IL, 1969- )
• 1930 William H Dana, pilot (X-15)
• 1930 D. James Kennedy, American theologian (d. 2007)
• 1931 Yon Hyong-muk, North Korean politician (d. 2005)
• 1932 Thomas J Manton, (Rep-D-NY, 1985- )
• 1933 Louis W Sullivan, US Sec of Health & Human Services (1989- )
• 1933 Michael Dukakis, Governor of Massachusetts (1975-79 and 1983-91) and 1988 Democratic presidential nominee, born in Brookline, Massachusetts

• 1934 Hans Janmaat, Dutch politician (CP, CD)
• 1937 Lynn Woolsey, (Rep-D-California)
• 1938 Pupi Avati, Bologna Italy, director (Festival, Bix, Impiegati)
• 1938 Martin Dunwoody, British mathematician
• 1939 Terrence McNally, playwright (Bad Habits), born in St Petersburg, Florida
• 1947 Mazie Hirono, American politician

• 1950 Joe Queenan, American writer
• 1950 Massimo Mongai, Italian writer
• 1950 James Rothman, American Biochemist and Nobel Laureate (2013) for work on vesicle trafficking, born in Haverhill, Massachusetts
• 1951 Ed Murawinski, American cartoonist, New York Daily News
• 1952 Felix R de Rooy, Curacaos poet/sculptor

• 1954 Godzilla, Japanese monster (Godzilla)
• 1954 Kevin P Chilton, American General, test pilot and NASA astronaut (STS 49, 59, 76), born in Los Angeles, California
• 1961 David AC viscount Linley, son of English princess Margaret/mystic
• 1962 Phil Katz, American computer programmer (Zip file format), born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (d. 2000)
• 1962 Jacqui Smith UK Home Secretary
• 1962 Gaben "Gabe" Newell, American computer programmer, businessman and co-founder of "Valve Corporation", born in Colorado
• 1966 Joe Hachem, Lebanese-born Australian poker player
• 1979 Beau McDonald, Australian Rules Footballer
• 1983 Suzane von Richthofen, Brazilian murderess
• 1984 Ryo Nishikido, Japanese Idol (member of NEWS (band) and Kanjani8)
• 1987 Elizabeth A. Smart, American abductee and activist

• 2012 Professional bull rider Luke Snyder (30) weds Jennifer Manna (34) at Big Cedar Lodge outside of Branson, Missouri

• 361 Flavius Julius Constantius II, 1st Byzantine Emperor, dies at 44
• 753 Pirminius, German saint (b. 753)
• 1254 Johannes III Doukas Vatatzes, Byzantine Emperor (1222-54)/saint, dies
• 1344 Adolf van der Mark, prince-bishop of Liege (1313-44), dies at 56
• 1378 Jan II, ruler of Polanen/Leck/Breda, dies
• 1428 Thomas Montacute, 4th Earl of Salisbury, English military leader (mortally wounded in battle) (b. 1388)
• 1456 Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond and patriarch of the Tudor Dynasty, dies of bubonic plague imprisoned in Carmarthen Castle at 26
• 1580 Jeronimo Zurita y Castro, Spanish historian (b. 1512)
• 1584 Saint Charles Borromeo, Italian cardinal and Archbishop of Milan (1564-84), dies at 46
• 1600 Richard Hooker, English theologian (b. 1554)
• 1639 Martinus de Porres, Peruvian saint (patron of social justice), dies at 69
• 1643 Paul Guldin, Swiss astronomer and mathematician (Guldinus theorem), dies at 66
• 1643 John Bainbridge, English astronomer (b. 1582)
• 1708 Henriette Catharina van Nassau, daughter of Frederick Henry, dies at 71
• 1711 John Ernest Grabe, German-born Anglican theologian, dies at 45
• 1787 Robert Lowth, British bishop and grammarian (b. 1710)

• 1794 François-Joachim de Pierre de Bernis, French cardinal and statesman (b. 1715)
• 1845 Johan G Verstolk van Soelen, Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs, dies at 69
• 1864 Antonio Goncalves Dias, Brazilian national poet, dies at sea
• 1867 Pieter J Jong, Dutch Zouave, dies in battle
• 1869 Andreas Kalvos, Greek poet (b. 1792)
• 1873 Kintpuash, "Captain Jack", chief of Modoc-indians, dies
• 1890 Ulrich Ochsenbein, Swiss Federal Councilor (b. 1811)
• 1914 Georg Trakl, Austria poet (Totentag, Cocaine Overdose), dies at 27
• 1917 Léon Bloy, French novelist and essayist, dies at 71
• 1918 Aleksandr Lyapunov, Russian mathematician (Lyapunov exponent), dies at 61

• 1927 Karel Matěj Čapek-Chod, Czech journalist (b. 1860)
• 1929 Olav Aukrust, Norwegian poet (b. 1883)

• 1931 Rudolf Wilhelm Canne, Fries playwright (Peaske), dies at 60
• 1933 Emile Roux, French scientist (b. 1853)
• 1939 Waldemar Lindgren, Swedish-American Geologist (economic geology, ore classification), dies at 79
• 1942 Carl Sternheim, German playwright (Trousers, Snob), dies at 64
• 1944 Jack Miner, Canadian naturalist and conservationist, dies at 79
• 1949 Solomon R. Guggenheim, American businessman and art collector (Guggenheim Museum New York), dies at 88

• 1957 Wilhelm Reich, Austria/US psycho analyst (sexual), dies at 60
• 1960 Harold Spencer Jones, English astronomer and 10th astronomer royal of England whose work led to a more accurate determination of the distance between the Earth and the Sun, dies at 70

• 1970 Peter II Karadjordjevic, last King of Yugoslavia (1934-45), dies at 57
• 1980 Ludwig Hohl, writer, dies
• 1981 Thérèse Casgrain, French Canadian politician and senator, dies at 85
• 1982 E. H. Carr, English historian (History of Soviet Russia), dies at 90
• 1986 E Cuyler Hammond, American epidemiologist (first to link smoking with lung cancer), dies at 74
• 1988 Henri van Praag, Dutch para-psychologist, dies
• 1992 Jean Daskalides, Belgian chocolate factory, dies at 70
• 1993 Duncan Gibbins, director (Fire With Fire), dies in California fire at 41
• 1993 Aidan Crawley, British journalist and politician (Labour MP 1945-51), dies at 85
• 1994 Richard Krautheimer, US art historian, dies at 97
• 1994 Ralph Wyckoff, American scientist and pioneer of X-ray crystallography, dies at 97
• 1995 Arthur George Bottomley, politician, dies at 88
• 1995 Gordon S. Fahrni, physician and president of the Canadian Medical Association (b. 1887)
• 1996 Barry Porter, British lawyer and Conservative Party politician, dies at 57
• 1996 Heather Swift, local councellor, dies at 79

• 1996 Abdullah Çatlı, a Turkish nationalist and neofascist activist (b. 1956)
• 2001 Ernst Gombrich, Austrian art historian (b. 1909)
• 2003 Rasul Gamzatov, Russian poet (b. 1923)
• 2006 Marie Rudisill, American author and "Fruitcake Lady" (b. 1911)
• 2007 Martin Meehan, Irish republican (b. 1945)
• 2009 Francisco Ayala, Spanish novelist (b. 1906)
• 2010 Viktor Chernomyrdin, Russian politician (b. 1938)
• 2015 Ahmed Chalabi, Iraqi politician (supported US 2003 invasion), dies at 71
• 2015 Howard Coble, American politician (Rep-R-NC, 1985-2015), dies at 84

• Share On Facebook
• Share On Twitter