Historical Events on April 3

  • 1860: The U.S Pony Express starts its first successful run on this day. It’s run from St. Joseph in Missouri to Sacramento in California.
  • 1865: The Confederate Capital – Richmond in Virginia – is captured by Union forces on this day during the American Civil War.
  • 1882: American outlaw Jesse James is shot dead by Robert Ford.
  • 1885: A German patent is granted to Gottlieb Daimler for his engine design.
  • 1888: The “Jack the Ripper” murders begin in the Whitechapel District of the East End of London. From this date until February 13, 1891, 11 women would be brutally murdered.
  • 1895: The libel case of Oscar Wilde starts on this day. This case would eventually lead to him being imprisoned on homosexuality charges.
  • 1936: Bruno Richard Hauptmann is executed in the electric chair for kidnapping and killing Charles August Lindbergh, the baby son of Charles Lindbergh.
  • 1942:S and Filipino forces are attacked by the Japanese Imperial Army on the Bataan Peninsula during World War II.
  • 1946: For leading the Bataan Death March, Japanese Lieutenant General Masaharu Homma is executed in the Philippines.
  • 1948: The Marshall Plan is signed into law by U.S President Harry S. Truman. This plan authorizes $5 billion USD in aid to over sixteen different countries.
  • 1975: Anatoly Karpov gets the World Champion of Chess title when Bobby Fischer refuses to play a chess match against him.
  • 1981: The first portable computer, the Osborne 1, is shown at the West Coast Computer Fair in San Francisco, California.
  • 1996: Theodore Kaczynski, a man suspected of being the UnaBomber, is captured at his Montana cabin.
  • 2000: During the case of the U.S v. Microsoft Corporation, it’s ruled that Microsoft did violate U.S Antitrust Laws.

Famous Birthdays on April 3

  • American short story writer and essayist, Washington Irving is born in 1783.
  • English social and educational reformer, Mary Carpenter is born in 1807.
  • American author and botanist, John Burroughs is born in 1837.
  • American actress and singer, Doris Day is born in 1922.
  • American actor and director Marlon Brando is born in 1924.
  • English anthropologist Jane Goodall is born in 1934.
  • American actress Marsha Mason is born in 1942.
  • American singer Wayne Newton is born in 1942.
  • American singer Tony Orlando is born in 1944.
  • American actor, comedian, TV host and producer, Alec Baldwin is born in 1958.
  • American actor David Hyde Pierce is born in 1959.
  • American comedian and actor, Eddie Murphy is born in 1961.