What happened today in history
June
What happened on June 3
On June 3 history recorded 50 notable events. 160 people who left a mark were born on this day, and 92 died. Here is the full almanac.
- 50events
- 160births
- 92deaths
- 13observances
Highlights
Highlights
1326The Treaty of Novgorod established the border between Norway and the Novgorod Republic in Finnmark.
The Treaty of Novgorod was a 10-year peace treaty signed on 3 June 1326 in Novgorod. It marked the end of decades of border skirmishes between Norway and Novgorod in the far northern region of Finnmark. A few years earlier, in 1323, Novgorod had settled its co
1602Anglo-Spanish War: The English navy defeated a Spanish–Portuguese fleet off Sesimbra, Portugal, and captured a carrack.
The Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604) was an intermittent conflict between Habsburg Spain and the Kingdom of England that was never formally declared. It began with England's military expedition in 1585 to what was then the Spanish Netherlands under the command of
1658Pope Alexander VII appointed François de Laval as the first apostolic vicar of New France.
Pope Alexander VII, born Fabio Chigi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 April 1655 to his death, in May 1667.
June 3
On this day
IV century
- 350
350The Roman usurper Nepotianus, of the Constantinian dynasty, proclaims himself Roman emperor, entering Rome at the head of a group of gladiators.
VIII century
XI century
XII century
XIV century
XVI century
XVII century
- 1602
1602An English naval force defeats a fleet of Spanish galleys, and captures a large Portuguese carrack at the Battle of Sesimbra Bay. - 1608
1608Samuel de Champlain lands at Tadoussac, Quebec, in the course of his third voyage to New France, and begins erecting fortifications. - 1621
1621The Dutch West India Company receives a charter for New Netherland. - 1658
1658Pope Alexander VII appoints François de Laval vicar apostolic in New France. - 1665
1665James Stuart, Duke of York (later to become King James II of England), defeats the Dutch fleet off the coast of Lowestoft. - 1700
1700Foundation of the Academy of the Distrustful in the library room of the Palau Dalmases in Barcelona.
XVIII century
XIX century
- 1839
1839In Humen, China, Lin Zexu destroys 1.2 million kilograms of opium confiscated from British merchants, providing Britain with a casus belli to open hostilities, resulting in the First Opium War. - 1844
1844The last pair of great auks is killed. - 1861
1861American Civil War: Battle of Philippi (also called the Philippi Races): Union forces rout Confederate troops in Barbour County, Virginia, now West Virginia. - 1863
1863American Civil War: Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia begin marching to invade the North for a second time, starting the Gettysburg campaign. - 1864
1864American Civil War: Union forces under Ulysses S. Grant sustain heavy casualties attacking Confederate troops under Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Cold Harbor in Hanover County, Virginia. - 1885
1885In the last military engagement fought on Canadian soil, the Cree leader, Big Bear, escapes the North-West Mounted Police. - 1889
1889The first long-distance electric power transmission line in the United States is completed, running 14 miles (23 km) between a generator at Willamette Falls and downtown Portland, Oregon. - 1892
1892Liverpool F.C. is founded by John Houlding.
XX century
- 1916
1916The National Defense Act is signed into law, increasing the size of the United States National Guard by 450,000 men. - 1935
1935One thousand unemployed Canadian workers board freight cars in Vancouver, beginning a protest trek to Ottawa. - 1937
1937The Duke of Windsor (the former King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom) marries Wallis Simpson. - 1940
1940World War II: During the Battle of France, the Luftwaffe bombs Paris. - 1940
1940Franz Rademacher proposes plans to make Madagascar the "Jewish homeland", an idea that had first been considered by 19th century journalist Theodor Herzl. - 1941
1941World War II: The Wehrmacht razes the Greek village of Kandanos to the ground and murders 180 of its inhabitants. - 1942
1942World War II: Japan begins the Aleutian Islands Campaign by bombing Unalaska Island. - 1943
1943In Los Angeles, California, white U.S. Navy sailors and Marines attack Latino youths in the five-day Zoot Suit Riots. - 1950
1950Herzog and Lachenal of the French Annapurna expedition become the first climbers to reach the summit of an 8,000-metre peak. - 1962
1962At Paris Orly Airport, Air France Flight 007 overruns the runway and explodes when the crew attempts to abort takeoff, killing 130. - 1963
1963Soldiers of the South Vietnamese Army attack protesting Buddhists in Huế with liquid chemicals from tear-gas grenades, causing 67 people to be hospitalized for blistering of the skin and respiratory ailments. - 1965
1965The launch of Gemini 4, the first multi-day space mission by a NASA crew. Ed White, a crew member, performs the first American spacewalk. - 1969
1969Melbourne-Evans collision: Off the coast of South Vietnam, the Australian aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne cuts the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Frank E. Evans in half, resulting in 74 deaths. - 1973
1973A Soviet supersonic Tupolev Tu-144 crashes near Goussainville, France, killing 14, the first crash of a supersonic passenger aircraft. - 1979
1979A blowout at the Ixtoc I oil well in the southern Gulf of Mexico causes at least 3,000,000 barrels (480,000 m3) of oil to be spilled into the waters, the second-worst accidental oil spill ever recorded. - 1980
1980The 1980 Grand Island tornado outbreak hits Nebraska, United States, causing five deaths and $300 million (equivalent to $1172 million in 2025) worth of damage. - 1982
1982The Israeli ambassador to the United Kingdom, Shlomo Argov, is shot on a London street; he survives but is left paralysed. - 1984
1984Operation Blue Star, a military offensive, is launched by the Indian government at Harmandir Sahib, also known as the Golden Temple, the holiest shrine for Sikhs, in Amritsar. The operation continues until June 6, with casualties, most of them civilians, in excess of 5,000. - 1989
1989The government of China sends troops to force protesters out of Tiananmen Square after seven weeks of occupation. - 1991
1991Mount Unzen erupts in Kyūshū, Japan, killing 43 people, all of them either researchers or journalists. - 1992
1992Australian Aboriginal land rights are recognised in Mabo v Queensland (No 2), a case brought by Torres Strait Islander Eddie Mabo which led to the Native Title Act 1993 overturning the long-held colonial assumption of terra nullius. - 1998
1998After suffering a mechanical failure, a high speed train derails at Eschede, Germany, killing 101 people.
XXI century
- 2006
2006The union of Serbia and Montenegro comes to an end with Montenegro's formal declaration of independence. - 2012
2012A plane carrying 153 people crashes in a residential neighborhood in Lagos, Nigeria, killing everyone on board plus six people on the ground. - 2012
2012The pageant for the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II takes place on the River Thames. - 2013
2013The trial of United States Army private Chelsea Manning for leaking classified material to WikiLeaks begins in Fort Meade, Maryland. - 2013
2013At least 119 people are killed in a fire at a poultry farm in Jilin Province in northeastern China. - 2019
2019Khartoum massacre: In Sudan, over 100 people are killed when security forces accompanied by Janjaweed militiamen storm and open fire on a sit-in protest. - 2025
2025Reconstitution of the Academy of the Distrustful in the Sala Dalmases of the Historical Archive of the City of Barcelona in Barcelona.
Best known
Born on June 3
1537João Manuel, Prince of Portugal
Prince of Portugal
1540Charles II of Austria
Archduke of Inner Austria from 1564 to 1590
1554Pietro de' Medici
Tuscan noble
1576Giovanni Diodati
Calvinist theologian
1636John Hale (minister)
American Puritan minister
1659David Gregory (mathematician)
Scottish mathematician and astronomer
Best known
Died on June 3
1052Guaimar IV of Salerno
11th-century Lombard prince
1397William Montagu, 2nd Earl of Salisbury
Earl of Salisbury
1411Leopold IV, Duke of Austria
Austrian Habsburg ruler
1548Juan de Zumárraga
Spanish Franciscan prelate in colonial Mexico
1553Wolf Huber
Austro-German painter, printmaker and architect
1615Sanada Yukimura
Japanese samurai warrior
Holidays and observances
- Christian feast day: Charles Lwanga and Companions (Roman Catholic Church), and its related observances: Martyrs' Day (Uganda)
- Christian feast day: Clotilde
- Christian feast day: Blessed Francis Ingleby
- Christian feast day: Juan Grande Román
- Christian feast day: Kevin of Glendalough
- Christian feast day: Ovidius
- Christian feast day: Vladimirskaya (Russian Orthodox)
- Christian feast day: June 3 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Confederate Memorial Day (Kentucky, and Tennessee, United States)
- Economist day (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
- Mabo Day (Australia)
- Opium Suppression Movement Day (Taiwan)
- World Bicycle Day
Frequently asked questions
What happened on June 3?
50 documented historical events happened on June 3, from antiquity to the present day. The best known is this: The Treaty of Novgorod established the border between Norway and the Novgorod Republic in Finnmark. On the same day, in another year: Anglo-Spanish War: The English navy defeated a Spanish–Portuguese fleet off Sesimbra, Portugal, and captured a carrack. On Almanaccolo every event is listed in chronological order, grouped by century, and links to the Wikipedia article it comes from, so you can always read further or check the source. Alongside the events you find who was born and who died on this date, and which observances are celebrated around the world.
Who was born on June 3?
160 people with a Wikipedia article were born on June 3, including João Manuel, Prince of Portugal, Charles II of Austria, Pietro de' Medici. The list spans every era and every field — art, science, politics, sport, entertainment — ordered by year of birth, from the earliest to the most recent. The six featured people are those most has been written about: the ordering uses the length of their Wikipedia article as an indicator of prominence. For each one you find their occupation, year of birth and a link to the full biography.
Who died on June 3?
92 people with a Wikipedia article died on June 3, including Guaimar IV of Salerno, William Montagu, 2nd Earl of Salisbury, Leopold IV, Duke of Austria. The list is in chronological order by year of death and spans all of documented history, from antiquity to the present day. For each person you find their occupation, the year and a link to the Wikipedia biography, where the full story and its sources can be read.
What is celebrated on June 3?
13 observances are celebrated on June 3 around the world: Christian feast day: Charles Lwanga and Companions (Roman Catholic Church), and its related observances: Martyrs' Day (Uganda), Christian feast day: Clotilde, Christian feast day: Blessed Francis Ingleby, Christian feast day: Juan Grande Román, Christian feast day: Kevin of Glendalough, Christian feast day: Ovidius. The list gathers national holidays, international days and religious or civil observances falling on this date in different countries, as recorded on Wikipedia. Some are fixed and recur on the same day every year; others depend on the local calendar. Each links to the article explaining its origin and meaning.
Keep exploring
Free app
Every day’s history, in your pocket
Almanaccolo greets you each morning with the almanac of the day, sunrise and sunset times and your saved events.
- Today’s almanac, every morning
- Save the events that strike you
- Sunrise, sunset and weather for your city
- Free, no account required
Source: Wikipedia · Calendar