Historical Events on March 3

  • 1776: During the American Revolutionary War, the U.S Marine Corps perform their first amphibious landing at the Battle of Nassau.
  • 1779: Near Savannah, Georgia at the Battle of Brier Creek during the American Revolutionary War, the Continental Army is routed by British forces.
  • 1820: The Missouri Compromise is passed by the United States Congress.
  • 1845: Florida enters the United States as the 27thS State.
  • 1849: The Minnesota Territory is organized on this date.
  • 1857: During the Second Opium War, the U.K and France declare war against China.
  • 1859: The Great Slave Auction – the largest pre-Civil War slave auction in the U.S – finishes on this day.
  • 1873: The Comstock Law is passed by the United States Congress. This law makes it illegal to seen “lewd or obscene” material through the mail.
  • 1913: In Washington, D.C., thousands of women march in suffrage parades.
  • 1923: The first issue of Time Magazine is published on this date.
  • 1931: The “Star Spangled Banner” is adopted by the U.S as its national anthem.
  • 1938: In Saudi Arabia, oil is discovered.
  • 1942: More than a hundred people are killed in Western Australia when Imperial Japanese warplanes raid Broome during World War II.
  • 1943: Over 170 people are crushed to death as they were trying to get into an air raid shelter at the Bethnal Green Tube Station in London during WWII.
  • 1945: American and Filipino forces capture Manila.
  • 1991: Amateur video captures the brutal beating of Rodney King by police offices of the Los Angeles Police Department.
  • 1997: After over two years of construction, Sky Tower opens in Auckland, New Zealand. It’s the tallest free standing structure in the Southern Hemisphere.

Famous Birthdays on March 3

  • Scottish-American engineer and inventor of the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell is born in 1847.
  • English conductor Henry Wood is born in 1869.
  • Italian businessman and conman, Charles Ponzi is born in 1882.
  • American actress Jessica Biel is born in 1982.
  • Australian rugby player, Brent Tate is born in 1982.