April 3

Events

*1043 - Edward the Confessor is crowned King of England.
*1077 - The first Parliament of Friuli is created.
*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 United States 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.
*1885 - Gottlieb Daimler is granted a German patent for his engine design.
*1895 - Trial of the libel case instigated by Oscar Wilde begins, eventually resulting in his imprisonment on charges of homosexuality.
*1917 - Vladimir Lenin arrives in Russia from exile, marking the beginning of Bolshevik leadership in the Russian Revolution.
*1922 - Joseph Stalin becomes 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.
*1936 - Bruno Richard Hauptmann is executed for the kidnapping and death of Charles Augustus Lindbergh II, the baby son of 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 S. Truman signs the Marshall Plan, authorizing $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.
*1955 - The American Civil Liberties Union announces it will defend Allen Ginsberg's book "Howl" against obscenity charges.
*1956 - Hudsonville-Standale Tornado: The western half of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan is struck by a deadly F5 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.
*1973 - The first portable cell phone call is made in New York City, United States.
*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 - The United Kingdom sends 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, United States 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 - Islamic terrorists involved in the 11 March 2004 Madrid attacks are trapped by the police in their apartment and kill themselves.
*2007 - Conventional-Train World Speed Record: a French TGV train on the LGV Est high speed line sets an official new world speed record.

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 (d. 1843)
* 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 (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)
* 1899 - David Jack, English footballer (d. 1958)
* 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 (d. 1999)
* 1929 - Lee Leonard, American television personality
* 1930 - Lawton Chiles, U.S. (Florida) Senator and Governor (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
* 1939 - François de Roubaix, French film score composer (d. 1975)
* 1941 - Jan Berry, American musician (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 - Mario Lavista, Mexican composer
* 1943 - Jonathan Lynn, British actor and comedy writer
* 1943 - Richard Manuel, Canadian musician and songwriter (d. 1986)
* 1943 - Doreen Tracey, English-born Mouseketeer
* 1944 - Tony Orlando, American musician
* 1945 - Bernard Parent, Quebec ice hockey player
* 1945 - Catherine Spaak, French actress
* 1946 - Marisa Paredes, Spanish actress
* 1946 - Hanna Suchocka, Poland's first female prime minister
* 1948 - Arlette Cousture, French-Canadian writer
* 1948 - Carlos Salinas, President of Mexico
* 1949 - Lyle Alzado, American football player (d. 1992)
* 1949 - Anthony Grayling, British philosopher
* 1949 - Richard Thompson, English musician and songwriter
* 1950 - Sally Thomsett, English actress
* 1951 - Mel Schacher, American musician
* 1952 - Mike Moore, American politician and attorney
* 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)
* 1956 - Boris Miljkovic, Serbian director
* 1958 - Alec Baldwin, American actor
* 1958 - Jaya Prada, Indian Actress
* 1959 - David Hyde Pierce, American actor
* 1960 - Arjen Anthony Lucassen, Dutch musician
* 1960 - Marie Denise Pelletier, Quebec singer
* 1961 - Eddie Murphy, American actor and comedian
* 1962 - Mike Ness, American musician
* 1962 - Jennifer Rubin, American actress
* 1963 - Criss Oliva, American musician (d. 1993)
* 1963 - Jack Del Rio, American football coach
* 1963 - Tsuyoshi Sekito, Japanese composer
* 1964 - Bjarne Riis, Danish cyclist
* 1964 - Andy Robinson, English rugby player
* 1965 - Nazia Hassan, South Asian pop singer (d.2000)
* 1966 - Mina Tominaga, Japanese seiyu (voice actress)
* 1966 - John de Vries, Australian racing driver
* 1967 - Pervis Ellison, American basketball player
* 1967 - Brent Gilchrist, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1967 - Mark Skaife, Australian racing driver
* 1968 - Sebastian Bach, Canadian musician
* 1968 - Charlotte Coleman, English actress (d. 2001)
* 1968 - Jamie Hewlett, English illustrator
* 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 - Jamie Bamber, English actor
* 1973 - Matthew Ferguson, Canadian actor
* 1975 - Shawn Bates, American ice hockey player
* 1975 - Mickey Beyer Clausen, Danish entrepreneur and philanthropist
* 1975 - Michael Olowokandi, Nigerian basketball player
* 1975 - Aries Spears, American comedian
* 1975 - Yoshinobu Takahashi, Japanese professional baseball player
* 1975 - Koji Uehara, Japanese professional baseball pitcher
* 1976 - Will Mellor, English actor
* 1976 - Drew Shirley, American musician
* 1978 - Matthew Goode, English actor
* 1978 - Tommy Haas, German tennis player
* 1978 - John Smit, South African rugby player
* 1981 - Aaron Bertram, American musician
* 1981 - Matthew Nash, Australian soccer player
* 1981 - Heath Ramsay, Australian Olympic swimmer
* 1981 - DeShawn Stevenson, American basketball player
* 1982 - Jared Allen, American football 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 - Jonathan Blondel, Belgian footballer
* 1984 - Maxi López, Argentine footballer
* 1985 - Leona Lewis, English singer
* 1986 - Amanda Bynes, American actress
* 1986 - Sergio Sánchez, Spanish footballer
* 1987 - Jay Bruce, American baseball player
* 1987 - Julie Sokolow, American musician
* 1987 - Sal Zizzo, American soccer player
* 1988 - Peter Hartley, English footballer
* 1988 - Tim Krul, Dutch footballer
* 1989 - Israel Falou, Australian Rugby League player
* 1993 - Dakoda Dowd, American golfer

Deaths

* 963 - William III, Duke of Aquitaine (b. 915)
* 1287 - Pope Honorius IV, Pope for two years from 1285 to 1287 (b. circa 1210)
* 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, India (b. 1630)
* 1682 - Bartolomé Estéban Murillo, Spanish painter (b. 1618)
* 1691 - Jean Petitot, Swiss enamel painter (b. 1608)
* 1695 - Melchior d'Hondecoeter, Dutch painter (b. circa 1636)
* 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 (born 1897 or 1898)
* 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)
* 1988 - Milton Caniff, American cartoonist (Terry and the Pirates, Steve Canyon) (b. 1907)
* 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 singer (b. 1940)
* 2005 - Jef Eygel, Belgian basketball player (b. 1933)
* 2007 - Marion Eames, Welsh novelist (b. 1921)
* 2007 - Eddie Robinson, American football coach (b. 1919)
* 2007 - Nina Wang, Asia's richest woman (b. 1937)
* 2008 - Hrvoje Ćustić, Croatian football player (b. 1983)

Holidays and observances

* Saint Richard (d. 1253)
* Saint Sixtus I
* Saint Mary of Egypt

External links

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/3 BBC: On This Day]
*
* [http://www1.sympatico.ca/cgi-bin/on_this_day?mth=Apr&day=03 On This Day in Canada] ----