March 3

March 3 in recent years

2024 (Sunday)

2023 (Friday)

2022 (Thursday)

2021 (Wednesday)

2020 (Tuesday)

2019 (Sunday)

2018 (Saturday)

2017 (Friday)

2016 (Thursday)

2015 (Tuesday)

March 3 is the 62nd day of the year (63rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 303 days remain until the end of the year.

Events

Pre-1600

• 473 – Gundobad (nephew of Ricimer) nominates Glycerius as emperor of the Western Roman Empire.
• 724 – Empress Genshō abdicates the throne in favor of her nephew Shōmu who becomes emperor of Japan.
• 1575 – Mughal Emperor Akbar defeats Sultan of Bengal Daud Khan Karrani's army at the Battle of Tukaroi.
• 1585 – The Olympic Theatre, designed by Andrea Palladio, is inaugurated in Vicenza.

1601–1900

• 1776 – American Revolutionary War: The first amphibious landing of the United States Marine Corps begins the Battle of Nassau.
• 1779 – American Revolutionary War: The Continental Army is routed at the Battle of Brier Creek near Savannah, Georgia.
• 1799 – The Russo-Ottoman siege of Corfu ends with the surrender of the French garrison.
• 1845 – Florida is admitted as the 27th U.S. state.
• 1849 – The Territory of Minnesota is created.
• 1857 – Second Opium War: France and the United Kingdom declare war on China.
• 1859 – The two-day Great Slave Auction, the largest such auction in United States history, concludes.
• 1861 – Alexander II of Russia signs the Emancipation Manifesto, freeing serfs.
• 1873 – Censorship in the United States: The U.S. Congress enacts the Comstock Law, making it illegal to send any "obscene literature and articles of immoral use" through the mail.
• 1875 – The first ever organized indoor game of ice hockey is played in Montreal, Quebec, Canada as recorded in the Montreal Gazette.
• 1878 – The Russo-Turkish War ends with Bulgaria regaining its independence from the Ottoman Empire according to the Treaty of San Stefano.
• 1891 – Shoshone National Forest is established as the first national forest in the US and world.

1901–present

• 1913 – Thousands of women march in the Woman Suffrage Procession in Washington, D.C.
• 1918 – Russia signs the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, agreeing to withdraw from World War I, and conceding German control of the Baltic States, Belarus and Ukraine. It also conceded Turkish control of Ardahan, Kars and Batumi.
• 1923 – US magazine Time publishes its first issue.
• 1924 – The 407-year-old Islamic caliphate is abolished, when Caliph Abdülmecid II of the Ottoman Caliphate is deposed. The last remnant of the old regime gives way to the reformed Turkey of Kemal Atatürk.
• 1924 – The Free State of Fiume is annexed by the Kingdom of Italy.
• 1938 – Oil is discovered in Saudi Arabia.
• 1939 – In Bombay, Mohandas Gandhi begins a hunger strike in protest at the autocratic rule in British India.
• 1940 – Five people are killed in an arson attack on the offices of the communist newspaper Flamman in Luleå, Sweden.
• 1942 – World War II: Ten Japanese warplanes raid 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 are instituted in USSR as the highest naval awards.
• 1944 – A freight train carrying stowaway passengers stalls in a tunnel shortly after departing from Balvano, Basilicata, Italy just after midnight, with 517 dying from carbon monoxide poisoning.
• 1945 – World War II: In poor visibility, the RAF mistakenly bombs the Bezuidenhout area of The Hague, Netherlands, killing 511 people.
• 1953 – A De Havilland Comet (Canadian Pacific Air Lines) crashes in Karachi, Pakistan, killing 11 people.
• 1958 – Nuri al-Said becomes Prime Minister of Iraq for the eighth time.
• 1969 – Apollo program: NASA launches Apollo 9 to test the lunar module.
• 1972 – Mohawk Airlines Flight 405 crashes as a result of a control malfunction and insufficient training in emergency procedures.
• 1974 – Turkish Airlines Flight 981 crashes at Ermenonville near Paris, France killing all 346 aboard.
• 1980 – The USS Nautilus is decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register.
• 1985 – A magnitude 8.3 earthquake strikes the Valparaíso Region of Chile, killing 177 and leaving nearly a million people homeless.
• 1986 – The Australia Act 1986 commences, causing Australia to become fully independent from the United Kingdom.
• 1991 – An amateur video captures the beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles police officers.
• 1991 – United Airlines Flight 585 crashes on its final approach to Colorado Springs killing everyone on board.
• 2005 – James Roszko murders four Royal Canadian Mounted Police constables during a drug bust at his property in Rochfort Bridge, Alberta, then commits suicide. This 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 non-stop around the world solo without refueling.
• 2005 – Margaret Wilson is elected as Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives, beginning a period lasting until August 23, 2006, where all the highest political offices (including Elizabeth II as Head of State), were occupied by women, making New Zealand the first country for this to occur.
• 2013 – A bomb blast in Karachi, Pakistan, kills at least 48 people and injured 200 others in a predominantly Shia Muslim area.

Births

Pre-1600

• 1455 – John II of Portugal (d. 1495)
• 1455 – Ascanio Sforza, Catholic cardinal (d. 1505)
• 1506 – Luís of Portugal, Duke of Beja (d. 1555)
• 1520 – Matthias Flacius, Croatian theologian and reformer (d. 1575)
• 1583 – Edward Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Cherbury, English-Welsh soldier, historian, and diplomat (d. 1648)
• 1589 – Gisbertus Voetius, Dutch minister, theologian, and academic (d. 1676)

1601–1900

• 1606 – Edmund Waller, English poet and politician (d. 1687)
• 1652 – Thomas Otway, English playwright and author (d. 1685)
• 1678 – Madeleine de Verchères, Canadian rebel leader (d. 1747)
• 1756 – William Godwin, English journalist and author (d. 1836)
• 1778 – Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (d. 1841)
• 1793 – William Macready, English actor and manager (d. 1873)
• 1800 – Heinrich Georg Bronn, German geologist and paleontologist (d. 1862)
• 1803 – Thomas Field Gibson, English manufacturer who aided the welfare of the Spitalfields silk weavers (d. 1889)
• 1805 – Jonas Furrer, Swiss politician (d. 1861)
• 1816 – William James Blacklock, English-Scottish painter (d. 1858)
• 1819 – Gustave de Molinari, Dutch-Belgian economist and theorist (d. 1912)
• 1825 – Shiranui Kōemon, Japanese sumo wrestler (d. 1879)
• 1831 – George Pullman, American engineer and businessman, founded the Pullman Company (d. 1897)
• 1839 – Jamsetji Tata, Indian businessman, founded Tata Group (d. 1904)
• 1841 – John Murray, Canadian-Scottish oceanographer and biologist (d. 1914)
• 1845 – Georg Cantor, Russian-German mathematician and philosopher (d. 1918)
• 1847 – Alexander Graham Bell, Scottish-American engineer and academic, invented the telephone (d. 1922)
• 1860 – John Montgomery Ward, American baseball player and manager (d. 1925)
• 1866 – Fred A. Busse, American lawyer and politician, 39th Mayor of Chicago (d. 1914)
• 1868 – Émile Chartier, French philosopher and journalist (d. 1951)
• 1869 – Henry Wood, English conductor (d. 1944)
• 1871 – Maurice Garin, Italian-French cyclist (d. 1957)
• 1873 – William Green, American union leader and politician (d. 1952)
• 1880 – Florence Auer, American actress and screenwriter (d. 1962)
• 1880 – Yōsuke Matsuoka, Japanese politician, Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1946)
• 1882 – Elisabeth Abegg, German anti-Nazi resistance fighter (d. 1974)
• 1882 – Charles Ponzi, Italian businessman (d. 1949)
• 1883 – Cyril Burt, English psychologist and geneticist (d. 1971)
• 1883 – Paul Marais de Beauchamp, French zoologist (d. 1977)
• 1887 – Lincoln J. Beachey, American pilot (d. 1915)
• 1891 – Damaskinos of Athens, Greek archbishop (d. 1949)
• 1893 – Beatrice Wood, American illustrator and potter (d. 1998)
• 1895 – Ragnar Frisch, Norwegian economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1973)
• 1895 – Matthew Ridgway, American general (d. 1993)
• 1898 – Emil Artin, Austrian-German mathematician and academic (d. 1962)
• 1900 – Edna Best, British stage and film actress (d. 1974)

1901–present

• 1901 – Claude Choules, English-Australian soldier (d. 2011)
• 1902 – Ruby Dandridge, African-American film and radio actress (d. 1987)
• 1903 – Vasily Kozlov, Belarusian general and politician (d. 1967)
• 1906 – Artur Lundkvist, Swedish poet and critic (d. 1991)
• 1911 – Jean Harlow, American actress (d. 1937)
• 1911 – Hugues Lapointe, Canadian lawyer and politician, 22nd Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (d. 1982)
• 1913 – Margaret Bonds, American pianist and composer (d. 1972)
• 1913 – Harold J. Stone, American actor (d. 2005)
• 1914 – Asger Jorn, Danish painter and sculptor (d. 1973)
• 1916 – Paul Halmos, Hungarian-American mathematician (d. 2006)
• 1917 – Sameera Moussa, Egyptian physicist and academic (d. 1952)
• 1918 – Arthur Kornberg, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2007)
• 1920 – Julius Boros, American golfer and accountant (d. 1994)
• 1920 – James Doohan, Canadian-American actor and soldier (d. 2005)
• 1920 – Ronald Searle, English-French soldier and illustrator (d. 2011)
• 1921 – Diana Barrymore, American actress (d. 1960)
• 1922 – Nándor Hidegkuti, Hungarian footballer and manager (d. 2002)
• 1923 – Barney Martin, American police officer and actor (d. 2005)
• 1923 – Doc Watson, American bluegrass singer-songwriter and musician (d. 2012)
• 1924 – Tomiichi Murayama, Japanese soldier and politician, 52nd Prime Minister of Japan
• 1926 – James Merrill, American poet and playwright (d. 1995)
• 1927 – Pierre Aubert, Swiss lawyer and politician (d. 2016)
• 1930 – Ion Iliescu, Romanian engineer and politician, 2nd President of Romania
• 1932 – Roy Fisher, Australian rugby league player
• 1933 – Lee Radziwill, American socialite, sister of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (d. 2019)
• 1934 – Peter Brooke, Baron Brooke of Sutton Mandeville, English politician, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (d. 2023)
• 1934 – Jimmy Garrison, American bassist and educator (d. 1976)
• 1935 – Mal Anderson, Australian tennis player
• 1935 – Michael Walzer, American philosopher and academic
• 1935 – Zhelyu Zhelev, Bulgarian philosopher and politician, 2nd President of Bulgaria (d. 2015)
• 1939 – Larry Burkett, American author and radio host (d. 2003)
• 1939 – M. L. Jaisimha, Indian cricketer (d. 1999)
• 1940 – Germán Castro Caycedo, Colombian author and journalist (d. 2021)
• 1940 – Perry Ellis, American fashion designer, founded Perry Ellis (d. 1986)
• 1940 – Jean-Paul Proust, French-Monégasque police officer and politician, 21st Minister of State of Monaco (d. 2010)
• 1941 – Mike Pender, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1945 – George Miller, Australian director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1945 – Hattie Winston, American actress
• 1947 – Clifton Snider, American author, poet, and critic (d. 2021)
• 1947 – Jennifer Warnes, American singer-songwriter and producer
• 1947 – Willie Wise, American basketball player
• 1948 – Snowy White, English guitarist
• 1948 – Steve Wilhite, American computer scientist, developer of the GIF image format at CompuServe in 1987 (d. 2022)
• 1949 – Ron Chernow, American historian, journalist, and author
• 1949 – Bonnie J. Dunbar, American engineer, academic, and astronaut
• 1949 – Jesse Jefferson, American baseball player (d. 2011)
• 1950 – Tim Kazurinsky, American actor and screenwriter
• 1950 – Kamal Ahmed Majumder, Bangladeshi politician
• 1951 – Lindsay Cooper, English composer, bassoon and oboe player (d. 2013)
• 1951 – Andy Murray, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1951 – Heizō Takenaka, Japanese economist and politician
• 1952 – Rudy Fernandez, Filipino actor and producer (d. 2008)
• 1953 – Robyn Hitchcock, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1953 – Zico, Brazilian footballer and coach
• 1954 – Keith Fergus, American golfer
• 1954 – Robert Gossett, American actor
• 1954 – John Lilley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1954 – Édouard Lock, Moroccan-Canadian dancer and choreographer
• 1955 – John Ribot, Australian rugby league player and administrator
• 1955 – Darnell Williams, English-American actor and director
• 1956 – Zbigniew Boniek, Polish footballer and manager
• 1956 – John Fulton Reid, New Zealand cricketer (d. 2020)
• 1957 – Stephen Budiansky, American historian, journalist, and author
• 1957 – Thom Hoffman, Dutch actor and photographer
• 1958 – Johnny Moore, American basketball player and coach
• 1958 – Miranda Richardson, English actress
• 1959 – Ira Glass, American radio host and producer
• 1959 – Duško Vujošević, Montenegrin basketball player and coach
• 1960 – Neal Heaton, American baseball player and coach
• 1961 – Mary Page Keller, American actress and producer
• 1961 – John Matteson, American biographer
• 1961 – Perry McCarthy, English race car driver
• 1961 – Fatima Whitbread, English javelin thrower
• 1962 – Glen E. Friedman, American photographer
• 1962 – Jackie Joyner-Kersee, American heptathlete and long jumper
• 1962 – Herschel Walker, American football player, mixed martial artist, and activist
• 1963 – Khaltmaagiin Battulga, Mongolian politician and wrestler, 5th President of Mongolia
• 1963 – Martín Fiz, Spanish runner
• 1964 – Raúl Alcalá, Mexican cyclist
• 1964 – Laura Harring, Mexican-American model and actress, Miss USA 1985
• 1964 – Glenn Kulka, Canadian ice hockey player and wrestler
• 1965 – Dragan Stojković, Serbian footballer and manager
• 1966 – Tone Lōc, American rapper, producer, and actor
• 1966 – Timo Tolkki, Finnish guitarist, songwriter, and producer
• 1968 – Brian Cox, English keyboard player and physicist
• 1968 – Brian Leetch, American ice hockey player
• 1970 – Julie Bowen, American actress
• 1970 – Inzamam-ul-Haq, Pakistani cricketer and coach
• 1971 – Charlie Brooker, English journalist, producer, and author
• 1971 – Tyler Florence, American chef and author
• 1972 – Darren Anderton, English footballer and sportscaster
• 1972 – Martin Procházka, Czech ice hockey player
• 1973 – Xavier Bettel, Luxembourger lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of Luxembourg
• 1974 – David Faustino, American actor
• 1975 – Patric Chiha, Austrian film director and screenwriter
• 1976 – Kampamba Mulenga Chilumba, Zambian politician
• 1976 – Fraser Gehrig, Australian footballer
• 1976 – Isabel Granada, Filipino-Spanish actress (d. 2017)
• 1976 – Keit Pentus-Rosimannus, Estonian politician, 28th Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs
• 1977 – Ronan Keating, Irish singer-songwriter and actor
• 1977 – Buddy Valastro, American chef and television host
• 1979 – Albert Jorquera, Spanish footballer
• 1980 – Katherine Waterston, English-American actress
• 1981 – Lil' Flip, American rapper, songwriter, and producer
• 1981 – Julius Malema, South African politician
• 1981 – Emmanuel Pappoe, Ghanaian footballer
• 1982 – Jessica Biel, American actress, singer, and producer
• 1982 – Tolu Ogunlesi, Nigerian journalist and writer
• 1982 – Colton Orr, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1982 – Brent Tate, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster
• 1983 – Ashley Hansen, Australian footballer
• 1983 – Sarah Poewe, South African swimmer
• 1984 – Valerio Bernabò, Italian rugby player
• 1984 – Santonio Holmes, American football player
• 1984 – Ivar, American wrestler
• 1984 – Alexander Semin, Russian ice hockey player
• 1985 – Toby Turner, American Internet personality
• 1986 – Jed Collins, American football player
• 1986 – Stacie Orrico, American singer-songwriter
• 1986 – Mehmet Topal, Turkish footballer
• 1987 – Shraddha Kapoor, Indian actress, singer, and designer
• 1987 – Jesús Padilla, Mexican footballer
• 1987 – Andrei Zubarev, Russian ice hockey player
• 1988 – Teodora Mirčić, Serbian tennis player
• 1988 – Michael Morrison, English footballer
• 1988 – Jan-Arie van der Heijden, Dutch footballer
• 1988 – Max Waller, English cricketer
• 1989 – Erwin Mulder, Dutch footballer
• 1990 – Vladimir Janković, Greek-Serbian basketball player
• 1991 – Park Cho-rong, South Korean singer-songwriter and actress
• 1991 – Anri Sakaguchi, Japanese actress
• 1993 – Gabriela Cé, Brazilian tennis player
• 1993 – Josef Dostál, Czech kayaker
• 1993 – Antonio Rüdiger, German footballer
• 1993 – Michael Thomas, American football player
• 1994 – Dilson Herrera, Colombian baseball player
• 1994 – Umika Kawashima, Japanese singer and actress
• 1995 – Bryan Cristante, Italian footballer
• 1995 – Maine Mendoza, Filipina actress
• 1996 – Cameron Johnson, American basketball player
• 1996 – Andile Phehlukwayo, South African cricketer
• 1997 – Camila Cabello, Cuban-American singer-songwriter and actress
• 1997 – David Neres, Brazilian footballer
• 1998 – Jayson Tatum, American basketball player
• 1999 – Corey Kispert, American basketball player
• 2000 – Jevon Holland, Canadian-American football player
• 2001 – Jvke, American singer-songwriter

Deaths

Pre-1600

• 532 – Winwaloe, founder of Landévennec Abbey (b. c. 460)
• 1009 – Abd al-Rahman Sanchuelo, Umayyad chief minister (b. 983)
• 1195 – Hugh de Puiset, bishop of Durham (b. c. 1125)
• 1239 – Vladimir IV Rurikovich, Grand Prince of Kiev (b. 1187)
• 1311 – Antony Bek, bishop of Durham
• 1323 – Andrew Harclay, 1st Earl of Carlisle, English military leader
• 1383 – Hugh III, Italian nobleman
• 1459 – Ausiàs March, Catalan knight and poet (b. 1397)
• 1542 – Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle, illegitimate son of Edward IV
• 1554 – John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony (b. 1503)
• 1578 – Sebastiano Venier, doge of Venice (b. 1496)
• 1578 – Michael Kantakouzenos Şeytanoğlu, Ottoman Greek magnate
• 1588 – Henry XI, duke of Legnica (b. 1539)
• 1592 – Michael Coxcie, Flemish painter (b. 1499)

1601–1900

• 1611 – William Douglas, 10th Earl of Angus, Scottish nobleman (b. 1552)
• 1616 – Matthias de l'Obel, Flemish physician and botanist (b. 1538)
• 1700 – Chhatrapati Rajaram, 3rd Chhatrapati of Maratha Empire (b. 1670)
• 1703 – Robert Hooke, English architect and philosopher (b. 1635)
• 1744 – Jean Barbeyrac, French scholar and jurist (b. 1674)
• 1765 – William Stukeley, English archaeologist and historian (b. 1687)
• 1768 – Nicola Porpora, Italian composer and educator (b. 1686)
• 1789 – Ghulam Kadir, leader of the Afghan Rohilla
• 1792 – Robert Adam, Scottish-English architect and politician, designed the Culzean Castle (b. 1728)
• 1850 – Oliver Cowdery, American religious leader (b. 1806)
• 1894 – Ned Williamson, American baseball player (b. 1857)

1901–present

• 1901 – George Gilman, American businessman, founded The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (b. 1826)
• 1905 – Antonio Annetto Caruana, Maltese archaeologist and author (b. 1830)
• 1927 – Mikhail Artsybashev, Ukrainian author and playwright (b. 1878)
• 1927 – J. G. Parry-Thomas, Welsh race car driver and engineer (b. 1884)
• 1929 – Katharine Wright, American educator (b. 1874)
• 1932 – Eugen d'Albert, Scottish-German pianist and composer (b. 1864)
• 1943 – George Thompson, English cricketer and umpire (b. 1877)
• 1949 – Katherine Sleeper Walden, American environmental activist (b. 1862)
• 1959 – Lou Costello, American actor and comedian (b. 1906)
• 1961 – Azizul Haq, Bengali Islamic scholar (b. 1903)
• 1961 – Paul Wittgenstein, Austrian-American pianist (b. 1887)
• 1966 – Joseph Fields, American playwright, director, and producer (b. 1895)
• 1966 – William Frawley, American actor and vaudevillian (b. 1887)
• 1966 – Alice Pearce, American actress (b. 1917)
• 1981 – Rebecca Lancefield, American microbiologist and researcher (b. 1895)
• 1982 – Firaq Gorakhpuri, Indian poet and critic (b. 1896)
• 1982 – Georges Perec, French author and screenwriter (b. 1936)
• 1983 – Hergé, Belgian author and illustrator (b. 1907)
• 1987 – Danny Kaye, American actor, singer, and dancer (b. 1911)
• 1988 – Henryk Szeryng, Polish-Mexican violinist and composer (b. 1918)
• 1988 – Sewall Wright, American biologist and geneticist (b. 1889)
• 1990 – Charlotte Moore Sitterly, American astronomer (b. 1898)
• 1991 – Arthur Murray, American dancer and educator (b. 1895)
• 1991 – William Penney, Baron Penney, Gibraltar-born English mathematician, physicist, and academic (b. 1909)
• 1993 – Mel Bradford, American author and critic (b. 1934)
• 1993 – Carlos Marcello, Tunisian-American mob boss (b. 1910)
• 1993 – Carlos Montoya, Spanish guitarist and composer (b. 1903)
• 1993 – Albert Sabin, Polish-American physician and virologist (b. 1906)
• 1994 – John Edward Williams, American author and academic (b. 1922)
• 1995 – Howard W. Hunter, American religious leader, 14th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1907)
• 1996 – Marguerite Duras, French author and director (b. 1914)
• 1996 – John Krol, American cardinal (b. 1910)
• 1998 – Fred W. Friendly, American journalist and broadcaster (b. 1915)
• 1999 – Gerhard Herzberg, German-Canadian chemist and astronomer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1904)
• 1999 – Lee Philips, American actor and director (b. 1927)
• 2000 – Toni Ortelli, Italian composer and conductor (b. 1904)
• 2001 – Louis Edmonds, American actor (b. 1923)
• 2001 – Eugene Sledge, American soldier, author, and academic (b. 1923)
• 2002 – G. M. C. Balayogi, Indian lawyer and politician, 12th Speaker of the Lok Sabha (b. 1951)
• 2003 – Horst Buchholz, German actor (b. 1933)
• 2003 – Luis Marden, American linguist, photographer, and explorer (b. 1913)
• 2003 – Goffredo Petrassi, Italian composer and conductor (b. 1904)
• 2005 – Max Fisher, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1928)
• 2006 – Ivor Cutler, Scottish poet and songwriter (b. 1923)
• 2006 – Else Fisher, Australian-Swedish dancer, choreographer, and director (b. 1918)
• 2006 – William Herskovic, Hungarian-American humanitarian (b. 1914)
• 2007 – Osvaldo Cavandoli, Italian cartoonist (b. 1920)
• 2008 – Giuseppe Di Stefano, Italian tenor and actor (b. 1921)
• 2008 – Norman Smith, English drummer and producer (b. 1923)
• 2009 – Gilbert Parent, Canadian educator and politician, 33rd Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada (b. 1935)
• 2010 – Keith Alexander, English footballer and manager (b. 1956)
• 2010 – Michael Foot, English journalist and politician, Secretary of State for Employment (b. 1913)
• 2011 – May Cutler, Canadian journalist, author, and politician (b. 1923)
• 2012 – Ralph McQuarrie, American conceptual designer and illustrator (b. 1929)
• 2012 – Ronnie Montrose, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer (b. 1947)
• 2012 – Alex Webster, American football player and coach (b. 1931)
• 2013 – Luis Cubilla, Uruguayan footballer and manager (b. 1940)
• 2013 – Bobby Rogers, American singer-songwriter (b. 1940)
• 2013 – James Strong, Qantas CEO from 1993 to 2001 (b. 1944)
• 2014 – Robert Ashley, American soldier and composer (b. 1930)
• 2014 – Sherwin B. Nuland, American surgeon, author, and educator (b. 1930)
• 2014 – William R. Pogue, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1930)
• 2015 – Ernest Braun, Austrian-English physicist and academic (b. 1925)
• 2015 – M. Stanton Evans, American journalist and author (b. 1934)
• 2016 – Hayabusa, Japanese wrestler (b. 1968)
• 2016 – Berta Cáceres, Honduran environmentalist (b. 1973)
• 2016 – Martin Crowe, New Zealand cricketer and sportscaster (b. 1962)
• 2016 – Thanat Khoman, Thai politician and diplomat, Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand (b. 1914)
• 2016 – Sarah Tait, Australian Olympic rower (b. 1983)
• 2017 – René Préval, Haitian politician (b. 1943)
• 2018 – Roger Bannister, English middle-distance athlete, first man to run a four-minute mile (b. 1929)
• 2018 – Mal Bryce, Australian politician (b. 1943)
• 2018 – Vanessa Goodwin, Australian politician (b. 1969)
• 2018 – David Ogden Stiers, American actor, voice actor and musician (b. 1942)
• 2019 – Peter Hurford OBE, British organist and composer (b. 1930)
• 2020 – Charles J. Urstadt, American real estate executive and investor (b. 1928)
• 2023 – Kenzaburō Ōe, Japanese novelist, 1994 Nobel Prize laureate in Literature (b. 1935)
• 2023 – Tom Sizemore, American actor (b. 1961)

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day:
  • Anselm, Duke of Friuli
  • Arthelais
  • Cunigunde of Luxembourg
  • Katharine Drexel
  • John and Charles Wesley (Episcopal Church (USA))
  • Marinus and Asterius of Caesarea
  • Winwaloe
  • March 3 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Hinamatsuri or "Girl's Day" (Japan)
• Liberation and Freedom Day (Charlottesville, Virginia, USA)
• Liberation Day (Bulgaria)
• Martyrs' Day (Malawi)
• Mother's Day (Georgia)
• Sportsmen's Day (Egypt)
• World Hearing Day
• World Wildlife Day

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• Historical Events on March 3