On this day in history

April 3

25 births · 7 deaths · 5 events

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Anniversary highlights

Event anniversary

Marshall Plan

78 years ago

Born this day

1924

Marlon Brando

Would be 102

Oldest record

781st

Philip III of France

birth anniversary

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Famous births25

1245 · 781 yrs

Philip III of France

Philip III (1 May 1245 – 5 October 1285), called the Bold (French: le Hardi), was King of France from 1270 until his death in 1285. His father, Louis IX, died in Tunis during the Eighth Crusade.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

RoyaltyDied aged 40

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Photo: Unknown author · Public domain

1593 · 433 yrs

George Herbert

George Herbert (3 April 1593 – 1 March 1633) was an English poet, orator, and priest of the Church of England.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureDied aged 39

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Photo: Robert White · Public domain

1660 · 366 yrs

Daniel Defoe

Daniel Defoe ( c. 1660 – 24 April 1731) was an English writer, journalist, merchant and spy. He is famous for his novels Robinson Crusoe (1719), Moll Flanders (1722) and Roxana: The Fortunate Mistress (1724).

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureDied aged 71

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Photo: Unknown Unknown , style of Sir Godfrey Kneller · Public domain

1783 · 243 yrs

Washington Irving

Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureDied aged 76

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Photo: Attributed to Charles Robert Leslie · Public domain

1880 · 146 yrs

Otto Weininger

Otto Weininger (German:; 3 April 1880 – 4 October 1903) was an Austrian philosopher who in 1903 published the book Geschlecht und Charakter (Sex and Character), which gained popularity after his suicide at the age of 23.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PhilosophyWould be 146

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Photo: Photogravure Richard Paulussen (1852-1906), Wien · Public domain

1881 · 145 yrs

Alcide De Gasperi

Alcide Amedeo Francesco De Gasperi (Italian:; 3 April 1881 – 19 August 1954) was an Italian politician and statesman who founded the Christian Democracy party and served as prime minister of Italy in eight successive coalition governments from 1945 to 1953.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PoliticsWould be 145

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Photo: Presidenza Del Consiglio Dei Ministri · Public domain

1896 · 130 yrs

Nikolay Semyonov

Nikolay Nikolayevich Semyonov, sometimes Semenov, Semionov or Semenoff (Russian: Никола́й Никола́евич Семёнов; 15 April 1896 – 25 September 1986) was a Soviet physicist and chemist. Semyonov was awarded the 1956 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on the mechanism of chemical transformation.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ScienceWould be 130

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Photo: Unknown author · Public domain

1922 · 104 yrs

Doris Day

Doris Day (born Doris Mary Anne Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress and singer.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

MusicWould be 104

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Photo: Los Angeles Times · CC BY 4.0

1924 · 102 yrs

Marlon Brando

Marlon Brando (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

FilmWould be 102

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Photo: None visible/Paramount Pictures · Public domain

1926 · 100 yrs

Gus Grissom

Virgil Ivan "Gus" Grissom (April 3, 1926 – January 27, 1967) was an American astronaut, and one of the original Mercury Seven selected by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for Project Mercury, a program to train and launch astronauts into outer space.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

SpaceWould be 100

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Photo: NASA · Public domain

1930 · 96 yrs

Helmut Kohl

Helmut Josef Michael Kohl (3 April 1930 – 16 June 2017) was a German politician who served as chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998. He was leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1973 to 1998 and oversaw the end of the Cold War, German reunification, and the creation of the European Union (EU).

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PoliticsWould be 96

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Photo: Christian Lambiotte · CC BY 4.0

1934 · 92 yrs

Jane Goodall

Dame Valerie Jane Morris-Goodall ( GUUD-awl; 3 April 1934 – 1 October 2025) was an English primatologist and anthropologist.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ActivismWould be 92

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Photo: U.S. Department of State from United States · Public domain

Showing 12 of 25

Famous deaths7

1472 · 554 yrs

Leon Battista Alberti

Leon Battista Alberti (Italian:; 14 February 1404 – 25 April 1472) was an Italian Renaissance humanist author, artist, architect, poet, priest, linguist, philosopher, and cryptographer; he epitomised the nature of those identified now as polymaths.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ArtDied aged 68

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Photo: Leon Battista Alberti · CC BY 2.5

1680 · 346 yrs

Shivaji

Shivaji I (Shivaji Shahaji Bhonsale, Marathi pronunciation:; c. 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680) was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle dynasty.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

RoyaltyDied aged 53

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Photo: Unknown author · Public domain

1682 · 344 yrs

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo ( mure-IL-oh, m(y)uu-REE-oh, Spanish:; late December 1617, baptised 1 January 1618 – 3 April 1682) was a Spanish Baroque painter. Although he is best known for his religious works, Murillo also produced a considerable number of paintings of contemporary women and children.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ArtDied aged 64

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Photo: Bartolomé Esteban Murillo · Public domain

1849 · 177 yrs

Juliusz Słowacki

Juliusz Słowacki (Polish:; French: Jules Slowacki; 4 September 1809 – 3 April 1849) was a Polish Romantic poet. He is considered one of the "Three Bards" of Polish literature — a major figure in the Polish Romantic period, and the father of modern Polish drama.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureDied aged 39

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Photo: James Hopwood the Younger · Public domain

1862 · 164 yrs

James Clark Ross

Rear-Admiral of the Red Sir James Clark Ross (15 April 1800 – 3 April 1862) was a British naval officer and explorer who explored both the North and South Poles.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ExplorationDied aged 61

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Photo: Wildman, John R. (1785) · Public domain

1897 · 129 yrs

Johannes Brahms

Johannes Brahms (German:; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. His music features expressive counterpoint, freer dissonance, rhythmic vitality, and traditional forms.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

MusicDied aged 63

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Photo: C. Brasch , Berlin ( biography ) · Public domain

1991 · 35 yrs

Graham Greene

Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading novelists of the 20th century.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureWould be 122

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Photo: FOTO:Fortepan — ID 84697 : Adományozó/Donor: Magyar Hírek folyóirat. archive copy at the Wayback Machine · CC BY-SA 3.0

Events5

1930 · 96 yrs

2nd Academy Awards

The 2nd Academy Awards, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) on April 3, 1930, at an awards banquet in the Cocoanut Grove of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, honored the best films released between August 1, 1928, and July 31, 1929.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Culture

1948 · 78 yrs

Marshall Plan

The Marshall Plan (officially the European Recovery Program, ERP) was an American initiative enacted in 1948 to provide foreign aid to Western Europe.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Politics

1978 · 48 yrs

50th Academy Awards

The 50th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored films released in 1977 and took place on April 3, 1978, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles. During the ceremony, AMPAS presented Academy Awards (commonly referred to as Oscars) in 22 categories.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Culture

2017 · 9 yrs

2017 Saint Petersburg Metro attack

On 3 April 2017, a terrorist attack using an explosive device took place on the Saint Petersburg Metro between Sennaya Ploshchad and Tekhnologichesky Institut stations. Eleven people (including the perpetrator) were initially reported to have died, and five more died later from their injuries, bringing the total to 15.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Tragedy

2024 · 2 yrs

2024 Hualien earthquake

On 3 April 2024, at 07:58:11 NST (23:58:11 UTC on 2 April), a Mw 7.4 earthquake struck 15 km (9.3 mi) south of Hualien City, Hualien County, Taiwan. At least 19 people were killed and over 1,100 were injured in the earthquake.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Disaster

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