is the 62^nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (63^rd in leap years). There are 303 days remaining.

Events

• 1431 - Eugene IV becomes Pope.
• 1585 - The Olympic Theatre, designed by Andrea Palladio, is inaugurated in Vicenza
• 1639 - The early settlement of Taunton, Massachusetts is incorporated as a town.
• 1791 - The United States Mint is created by the U.S. Congress.
• 1820 - The U.S. Congress passes the Missouri Compromise.
• 1833 - According to Akilattirattu Ammanai Ayya Vaikundar arises from the sea as avatar of Narayana at Thiruchendur.
• 1845 - Florida is admitted as the 27th U.S. state.
• 1845 - For the first time the U.S. Congress passes legislation overriding a presidential veto.
• 1849 - Minnesota Territory organizes as a political division of the United States.
• 1849 - The United States Department of the Interior is established.
• 1849 - The U.S. Congress passes the Gold Coinage Act allowing the minting of gold coins.
• 1857 - France and the United Kingdom declare war on China.
• 1861 - the Emancipation Manifesto is signed and published in Russia, freeing serfs.
• 1863 - Idaho Territory organizes as a political division of the United States.
• 1865 - The U.S. Congress authorizes formation of the Freedmen's Bureau.
• 1865 - Opening of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, the founding member of the HSBC Group.
• 1873 - Censorship: The U.S. Congress enacts the Comstock Law, making it illegal to send any "obscene, lewd, or lascivious" books through the mail.
• 1875 - The first ever organized indoor game of ice hockey is played in Montreal, as recorded in The Montreal Gazette.
• 1877 - Rutherford B. Hayes is privately inaugurated as the 19th President of the United States (his public inauguration coming on March 5).
• 1878 - Bulgaria regains its independence from Ottoman Empire.
• 1879 - The United States Geological Survey is created.
• 1885 - The American Telephone and Telegraph Company is incorporated in New York State.
• 1891 - The Penalty Spot Kick rule in Football is conceived, but does not come into effect until the next season
• 1904 - Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany becomes the first person to make a sound recording of a political document, using Thomas Edison's cylinder.
• 1905 - Tsar Nicholas II of Russia agrees to create an elected assembly (the Duma).
• 1910 - Rockefeller Foundation: J.D. Rockefeller Jr. announces his retirement from managing his businesses so that he could devote full time to being a philanthropist.
• 1913 - Establishment of the first football club in Bulgaria - Ticha, now known as PFC "Cherno More".
• 1915 - NACA, the predecessor of NASA founded.
• 1918 - Germany, Austria and Russia sign the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk ending Russia's involvement in World War I, and leading to the independence of Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.
• 1923 - TIME magazine is published for the first time.
• 1924 - The 1400-year-old Islamic caliphate is abolished when Caliph Abdul Mejid II of the Ottoman Empire is deposed. The last remnant of the old regime gives way to the reformed Turkey of President Kemal Atatürk.
• 1931 - The United States officially adopts "The Star-Spangled Banner" as its national anthem.
• 1933 - Mount Rushmore National Memorial is dedicated.
• 1938 - Glenn Cunningham breaks the world record for the indoor mile run by completing the distance in 4 minutes, 4.4 seconds.
• 1938 - Oil is discovered in Saudi Arabia.
• 1939 - In Mumbai, Mohandas Gandhi begins to fast in protest of the autocratic rule in India.
• 1940 - Five people are killed in an arson attack on the offices of the communist newspaper Norrskensflamman in Luleå, Sweden.
• 1942 - World War II: Ten Japanese warplanes raid the town of Broome, Western Australia killing more than 100 people.
• 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.
• 1944 - The Order of Nakhimov and Order of Ushakov were instituted in USSR as the highest naval awards.
• 1945 - World War II: Previously neutral Finland declares war on the Axis powers.
• 1949 - The Tucker Automobile Corporation folds.
• 1953 - A Canadian Pacific Airlines De Havilland Comet crashes in Karachi, Pakistan killing 11.
• 1955 - Elvis Presley appears on television for the first time.
• 1957 - In Frankfurt. Germany, Corry Brokken wins the second Eurovision Song Contest for the Netherlands singing "Net als toen" (Like it used to be).
• 1957 - Cypriot liberation fighter Gregoris Afxentiou is killed, while fighting against British troops, burnt alive in a cave near the Machera Monastery, refusing to surrender.
• 1958 - Nuri as-Said becomes the prime minister of Iraq for the 14th time.
• 1959 - The San Francisco Giants officially name their new stadium Candlestick Park.
• 1961 - Hassan II becomes King of Morocco.
• 1966 - A British Overseas Airways Boeing 707 flies into a mountain wave after the captain decides to give the passengers a close-up view of Mt. Fuji. All 124 people aboard are killed.
• 1969 - Apollo program: NASA launches Apollo 9 to test the lunar module.
• 1969 - In a Los Angeles, California court, Sirhan Sirhan admits that he killed presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy.
• 1971 - Beginning of Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 and India's official entry to the Bangladesh Liberation War in support of Mukti Bahini
• 1972 - The space probe Pioneer X is launched by NASA.
• 1973 - Presidents Rule introduced in the Indian state of Orissa.
• 1974 - A Turkish DC-10 crashes at Ermenonville near Paris, killing all 346 aboard.
• 1974 - Roman Catholic and Lutheran officials reach an agreement for eventual reconciliation into one communion, marking the first agreement between the two churches since the Reformation.
• 1976 - Fleetwood Mac records Rumours, which will be a blockbuster album in 1977.
• 1985 - Censorship: Women Against Pornography award their "Pig Award" to Huggies Diapers, claiming that the television ads had "crossed the line between eye-catching and porn."
• 1991 - An amateur video captures the beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles police officers.
• 1995 - In Somalia, the United Nations peacekeeping mission ends.
• 1997 - The tallest free-standing structure in the Southern Hemisphere, Sky Tower in downtown Auckland, New Zealand, opens after two-and-a-half years of construction.
• 1999 - LaGrand case: The State of Arizona executes Walter LaGrand, a German despite German legal action in the International Court of Justice.
• 1999 - Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones begin their successful attempt to circumnavigate the world in a hot air balloon without stopping.
• 2001 - A U.S. Air Force Materiel Command C-23 Sherpa transport crashes during stormy weather in the U.S. state of Georgia, killing 21.
• 2002 - Citizens of Switzerland narrowly vote in favour of their country becoming a member of the United Nations.
• 2004 - Belgian brewer Interbrew and Brazilian rival AmBev agreed to merge in a $11.2 billion deal that formed InBev, the world's largest brewer.
• 2005 - Mayerthorpe Incident: James Roszko murders four Royal Canadian Mounted Police constables during a drug bust at his property in Rochfort Bridge, Alberta, then commits suicide. It 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 around the world solo without any stops without refuelling - a journey of 40,234 km/25,000 mi completed in 67 hours and 2 minutes.
• 2005 - The freighter M/V Karen Danielsen, crashes into part of the Great Belt Bridge of Denmark, 800 m from Funen. All traffic across the bridge stops, effectively separating Denmark in two.

Births

• 1455 - King John II of Portugal (d. 1495)
• 1520 - Matthias Flacius, Croatian protestant reformer (d. 1575)
• 1583 - Edward Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Cherbury, English diplomat, poet, and philosopher (d. 1648)
• 1589 - Gisbertus Voetius, Dutch theologian (d. 1676)
• 1606 - Edmund Waller, British poet (d. 1687)
• 1652 - Thomas Otway, British dramatist (d. 1685)
• 1800 - Heinrich Georg Bronn, German geologist (d. 1862)
• 1805 - Jonas Furrer, first President of the Swiss Confederation, (d. 1861)
• 1831 - George Pullman, American inventor and industrialist, (d. 1897)
• 1839 - Jamshedji Tata, Indian industrialist (d. 1904)
• 1845 - Georg Cantor, German mathematician, (d. 1918)
• 1847 - Alexander Graham Bell, Scottish inventor (d. 1922)
• 1860 - Monte Ward, Baseball player (d. 1925)
• 1863 - Arthur Machen, Welsh-born author (d. 1947)
• 1873 - William Green, American labor union leader (d. 1952)
• 1886 - Fred A. Busse, Mayor of Chicago (d. 1914)
• 1886 - Tore Ørjasæter, Norwegian poet (d. 1968)
• 1890 - Norman Bethune, Canadian doctor and humanitarian (d. 1939)
• 1893 - Beatrice Wood, American artist and ceramicist (d. 1998)
• 1895 - Ragnar Anton Kittil Frisch, Norwegian economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1973)
• 1895 - Matthew Ridgway, Supreme Allied Commander of NATO, U.S. Army Chief of Staff (d. 1993)
• 1911 - Jean Harlow, American actress (d. 1937)
• 1918 - Arthur Kornberg, American biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
• 1918 - Fritz Thiedemann, German equestrian (d. 2000)
• 1920 - Julius Boros, American golfer (d. 1994)
• 1920 - James Doohan, Canadian-born actor (d. 2005)
• 1920 - Ronald Searle, British illustrator
• 1922 - Nándor Hidegkuti, Hungarian footballer
• 1923 - Barney Martin, American actor
• 1923 - Doc Watson, American musician
• 1926 - Lys Assia, Swiss singer
• 1926 - Joseph Anthony Ferrario, American Catholic prelate
• 1926 - James Merrill, American poet (d. 1995)
• 1927 - Pierre Aubert, member of the Swiss Federal Council
• 1930 - Heiner Geißler, German politician
• 1930 - Ion Iliescu, President of Romania
• 1933 - Lee Radziwill, American fashion executive
• 1937 - Bobby Driscoll, American actor (d. 1968)
• 1940 - Germán Castro Caycedo, Colombian writer and journalist
• 1940 - Perry Ellis, fashion designer (d. 1986)
• 1945 - George Miller, Australian film director
• 1946 - John Virgo, English snooker player
• 1947 - Jennifer Warnes, American singer and songwriter
• 1948 - Snowy White, British guitarist (Thin Lizzy, Pink Floyd)
• 1949 - Jüri Allik, Estonian psychologist
• 1949 - Gloria Hendry, American actress
• 1950 - Tim Kazurinsky, American actor and comedian
• 1952 - Dermot Morgan, Irish actor and comedian
• 1953 - Robyn Hitchcock, British musician
• 1953 - Zico, Brazilian footballer
• 1955 - Andy Breckman, American comedian and radio personality
• 1956 - Zbigniew Boniek, Polish soccer player
• 1958 - Marc Silvestri, American comic book artist and publisher (Top Cow Productions)
• 1958 - Miranda Richardson, British actress
• 1959 - Ira Glass, American radio host
• 1962 - Jackie Joyner-Kersee, American athlete
• 1962 - Herschel Walker, American football player
• 1966 - Tone-Loc, American musician
• 1968 - Brian Leetch, American ice hockey player
• 1970 - Julie Bowen, American actress
• 1973 - Victoria Zdrok, Ukrainian model
• 1974 - David Faustino, American actor
• 1977 - Ronan Keating, Irish singer
• 1978 - Matt Diaz, American baseball player
• 1981 - Lil' Flip, American rapper
• 1982 - Jessica Biel, American actress
• 1985 - Sam Morrow, Northern Irish footballer
• 1986 - Stacie Orrico, American singer

Deaths

• 561 - Pope Pelagius I
• 1111 - Bohemund I, Prince of Antioch
• 1239 - Vladimir III Rurikovich, Grand Prince of Kiev (b. 1187)
• 1459 - Ausiàs March, Catalan poet (b. 1397)
• 1554 - John Frederick, Elector of Saxony (b. 1503)
• 1703 - Robert Hooke, English scientist (b. 1635)
• 1706 - Johann Pachelbel, German composer (b. 1653)
• 1707 - Aurangzeb, Mughal Emperor of India (b. 1618)
• 1717 - Pierre Allix, French protestant pastor (b. 1641)
• 1744 - Jean Barbeyrac, French jurist
• 1765 - William Stukeley, English archaeologist (b. 1687)
• 1768 - Nicola Porpora, Italian composer (b. 1686)
• 1792 - Robert Adam, Scottish architect (b. 1728)
• 1850 - Oliver Cowdery, American religious leader (b. 1806)
• 1927 - Mikhail Artsybashev, Russian writer (b. 1878)
• 1927 - J.G. Parry-Thomas, Welsh motor-racing driver (b. 1884)
• 1932 - Eugen d'Albert, German composer (b. 1864)
• 1937 - Amelia Earhart, American pilot (disappeared) (b. 1897)
• 1943 - George Thompson, English cricketer (b. 1877)
• 1959 - Lou Costello, American actor and comedian (b. 1906)
• 1961 - Paul Wittgenstein, Austrian-born pianist (b. 1887)
• 1966 - William Frawley, American actor (b. 1887)
• 1966 - Maxfield Parrish, American artist (b. 1870)
• 1966 - Alice Pearce, American actress (b. 1917)
• 1982 - Georges Perec, French writer (b. 1936)
• 1983 - Hergé, Belgian comics creator (b. 1907)
• 1983 - Arthur Koestler, Austrian writer (b. 1905)
• 1987 - Danny Kaye, American actor, singer, and comedian (b. 1913)
• 1988 - Sewall Wright, American biologist (b. 1889)
• 1990 - Gérard Blitz, Belgian waterpoloist and entrepreneur (b. 1912)
• 1991 - Arthur Murray, American dancer and dance instructor (b. 1895)
• 1993 - Carlos Marcello, Tunisian-born gangster (b. 1910)
• 1993 - Albert Sabin, Polish-born medical researcher (b. 1906)
• 1995 - Howard W. Hunter, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1907)
• 1996 - Marguerite Duras, French writer (b. 1914)
• 1996 - John Cardinal Krol, American Catholic clergyman (b. 1910)
• 1998 - Fred Friendly, American broadcast executive (b. 1915)
• 1999 - Gerhard Herzberg, German-born chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1904)
• 2000 - Toni Ortelli, Italian composer and alpinist (b. 1904)
• 2001 - Louis Edmonds, American actor (b. 1923)
• 2002 - Harlan Howard, American musician (b. 1927)
• 2003 - Horst Buchholz, German actor (b. 1933)
• 2003 - Peter Smithson, English architect (b. 1923)
• 2003 - Goffredo Petrassi, Italian composer (b. 1904)
• 2005 - Max M. Fisher, American philanthropist (b. 1928)
• 2005 - Rinus Michels, Dutch football coach (b.1928)
• 2006 - Ivor Cutler, Scottish poet (b. 1923)
• 2006 - William Herskovic, Holocaust hero and philanthropist (b.

Holidays and observances

• Hinamatsuri - Japanese celebration day for girls.
• Malawi - Martyr's Day.
• Bulgaria - Liberation Day.
• United States - Bonza Bottler Day

External links

• 3rd March- Bulgaria celebrates Liberty from the Ottoman yoke
• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada

March 2 - March 4 - February 3 - April 3 -- listing of all days

3 Maart | 3 مارس | 3 de marzo | 3 mârs | 3 de marzu | 3 сакавіка | 3. mart | 3 март | 3 de març | Пуш, 3 | Marso 3 | 3. březen | 3 di marzu | 3 Mawrth | 3. marts | 3. Matz | 3. März | 3. märts | 3 Μαρτίου | 3 de marzo | 3-a de marto | Martxoaren 3 | 3. mars | 3 mars | 3 maart | 3 di Març | 3 Márta | 3 de marzo | 3월 3일 | 3. ožujka | 3 di marto | Marso 3 | 3 Maret | 3 de martio | 3 marte | 3 мартъийы | 3. mars | 3 marzo | 3 במרץ | 3 Maret | 3 მარტი | 3 strumiannika | 3'ê adarê | 3 Martii | 3. Mäerz | Kovo 3 | Március 3 | 3 март | 3 Mac | 3 maart | 3月3日 | 3 'e màrzo | 3. mars | 3. mars | 3 de març | Marsu 3 | 3 marca | 3 de Março | 3 martie | 3 марта | Marso 3 | Njukčamánu 3. | 3 Mairch | 3 Mars | 3 di marzu | March 3 | 3. marec | 3. marec | 3. март | 3. maaliskuuta | 3 mars | Marso 3 | 3. Mart | మార్చి 3 | 3 มีนาคม | 3 tháng 3 | 3 Mart | 3 березня | 3 d' måss | 3月3日