June 3
Events
Pre-1600
- 350 - The Roman usurper Nepotianus, of the Constantinian dynasty, proclaims himself Roman emperor, entering Rome at the head of a group of gladiators.
- 713 - The Byzantine emperor Philippicus is blinded, deposed and sent into exile by conspirators of the Opsikion army in Thrace. He is succeeded by Anastasios II, who begins the reorganization of the Byzantine army.
- 1098 - After a five-month siege during the First Crusade, the Crusaders seize Antioch.
- 1140 - The French scholar Peter Abelard is found guilty of heresy.
- 1326 - The Treaty of Novgorod delineates borders between Russia and Norway in Finnmark.
- 1539 - Hernando de Soto claims Florida for Spain.
1601–1900
- 1602 - An English naval force defeats a fleet of Spanish galleys, and captures a large Portuguese carrack at the Battle of Sesimbra Bay.
- 1608 - Samuel de Champlain lands at Tadoussac, Quebec, in the course of his third voyage to New France, and begins erecting fortifications.
- 1621 - The Dutch West India Company receives a charter for New Netherland.
- 1658 - Pope Alexander VII appoints François de Laval vicar apostolic in New France.
- 1665 - James Stuart, Duke of York, defeats the Dutch fleet off the coast of Lowestoft.
- 1781 - Jack Jouett begins his midnight ride to warn Thomas Jefferson and the Virginia legislature of an impending British raid.
- 1839 - In 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 - The last pair of great auks is killed.
- 1861 - American Civil War: Battle of Philippi : Union forces rout Confederate troops in Barbour County, Virginia, now West Virginia.
- 1863 - American 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 - American 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 - In the last military engagement fought on Canadian soil, the Cree leader, Big Bear, escapes the North-West Mounted Police.
- 1889 - The first long-distance electric power transmission line in the United States is completed, running between a generator at Willamette Falls and downtown Portland, Oregon.
- 1892 - Liverpool F.C. is founded by John Houlding.
1901–present
- 1916 - The National Defense Act is signed into law, increasing the size of the United States National Guard by 450,000 men.
- 1935 - One thousand unemployed Canadian workers board freight cars in Vancouver, beginning a protest trek to Ottawa.
- 1937 - The Duke of Windsor marries Wallis Simpson.
- 1940 - World War II: During the Battle of France, the Luftwaffe bombs Paris.
- 1940 - Franz Rademacher proposes plans to make Madagascar the "Jewish homeland", an idea that had first been considered by 19th century journalist Theodor Herzl.
- 1941 - World War II: The Wehrmacht razes the Greek village of Kandanos to the ground and murders 180 of its inhabitants.
- 1942 - World War II: Japan begins the Aleutian Islands Campaign by bombing Unalaska Island.
- 1943 - In Los Angeles, California, white U.S. Navy sailors and Marines attack Latino youths in the five-day Zoot Suit Riots.
- 1950 - Herzog and Lachenal of the French Annapurna expedition become the first climbers to reach the summit of an 8,000-metre peak.
- 1962 - At Paris Orly Airport, Air France Flight 007 overruns the runway and explodes when the crew attempts to abort takeoff, killing 130.
- 1963 - Soldiers 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 - The 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 - Melbourne–Evans collision: off the coast of South Vietnam, the Australian aircraft carrier cuts the U.S. Navy destroyer in half; resulting in 74 deaths.
- 1973 - A Soviet supersonic Tupolev Tu-144 crashes near Goussainville, France, killing 14, the first crash of a supersonic passenger aircraft.
- 1979 - A blowout at the Ixtoc I oil well in the southern Gulf of Mexico causes at least of oil to be spilled into the waters, the second-worst accidental oil spill ever recorded.
- 1980 - The 1980 Grand Island tornado outbreak hits Nebraska, United States, causing five deaths and $300 million worth of damage.
- 1982 - The Israeli ambassador to the United Kingdom, Shlomo Argov, is shot on a London street; he survives but is left paralysed.
- 1984 - Operation 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 - The government of China sends troops to force protesters out of Tiananmen Square after seven weeks of occupation.
- 1991 - Mount Unzen erupts in Kyūshū, Japan, killing 43 people, all of them either researchers or journalists.
- 1992 - Australian Aboriginal land rights are recognised in Mabo v Queensland , 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 - After suffering a mechanical failure, a high speed train derails at Eschede, Germany, killing 101 people.
- 2006 - The union of Serbia and Montenegro comes to an end with Montenegro's formal declaration of independence.
- 2012 - A plane carrying 153 people crashes in a residential neighborhood in Lagos, Nigeria, killing everyone on board plus six people on the ground.
- 2012 - The pageant for the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II takes place on the River Thames.
- 2013 - The trial of United States Army private Chelsea Manning for leaking classified material to WikiLeaks begins in Fort Meade, Maryland.
- 2013 - At least 119 people are killed in a fire at a poultry farm in Jilin Province in northeastern China.
- 2019 - Khartoum massacre: In Sudan, over 100 people are killed when security forces accompanied by Janjaweed militiamen storm and open fire on a sit-in protest.
Births
Pre-1600
- 1139 - Conon of Naso, Basilian abbot
- 1421 - Giovanni di Cosimo de' Medici, Italian noble
- 1454 - Bogislaw X, Duke of Pomerania
- 1537 - João Manuel, Prince of Portugal
- 1540 - Charles II, Archduke of Austria
- 1554 - Pietro de' Medici, Italian noble
- 1576 - Giovanni Diodati, Swiss-Italian minister, theologian, and academic
1601–1900
- 1635 - Philippe Quinault, French playwright and composer
- 1636 - John Hale, American minister
- 1659 - David Gregory, Scottish-English mathematician and astronomer
- 1723 - Giovanni Antonio Scopoli, Italian physician, geologist, and botanist
- 1726 - James Hutton, Scottish geologist and physician
- 1736 - Ignaz Fränzl, German violinist and composer
- 1770 - Manuel Belgrano, Argentinian economist, lawyer, and politician
- 1808 - Jefferson Davis, American colonel and politician, President of the Confederate States of America from 1861 - 1865
- 1817 - Princess Clémentine of Orléans
- 1818 - Louis Faidherbe, French general and politician, Governor of Senegal
- 1819 - Anton Anderledy, Swiss religious leader, 23rd Superior General of the Society of Jesus
- 1819 - Johan Jongkind, Dutch painter
- 1819 - Magdalene Thoresen, Danish writer
- 1832 - Charles Lecocq, French pianist and composer
- 1843 - Frederik VIII of Denmark
- 1844 - Garret Hobart, American lawyer and politician, 24th Vice President of the United States
- 1844 - Detlev von Liliencron, German poet and author
- 1852 - Theodore Robinson, American painter and academic
- 1853 - Flinders Petrie, English archaeologist and academic
- 1864 - Otto Erich Hartleben, German poet and playwright
- 1864 - Ransom E. Olds, American businessman, founded Oldsmobile and REO Motor Car Company
- 1865 - George V of the United Kingdom
- 1866 - George Howells Broadhurst, English-American director and manager
- 1873 - Otto Loewi, German-American pharmacologist and psychobiologist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1877 - Raoul Dufy, French painter and illustrator
- 1879 - Alla Nazimova, Ukrainian-American actress, producer, and screenwriter
- 1879 - Raymond Pearl, American biologist and botanist
- 1879 - Vivian Woodward, English footballer and soldier
- 1881 - Mikhail Larionov, Russian painter and set designer
- 1890 - Baburao Painter, Indian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1897 - Memphis Minnie, American singer-songwriter
- 1899 - Georg von Békésy, Hungarian-American biophysicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1900 - Adelaide Ames, American astronomer and academic
- 1900 - Leo Picard, German-Israeli geologist and academic
1901–present
- 1901 - Maurice Evans, English actor
- 1901 - Zhang Xueliang, Chinese general and warlord
- 1903 - Eddie Acuff, American actor
- 1904 - Charles R. Drew, American physician and surgeon
- 1904 - Jan Peerce, American tenor and actor
- 1905 - Martin Gottfried Weiss, German SS officer
- 1906 - R. G. D. Allen, English economist, mathematician, and statistician
- 1906 - Josephine Baker, French actress, singer, and dancer; French Resistance operative
- 1906 - Walter Robins, English cricketer and footballer
- 1907 - Paul Rotha, English director and producer
- 1910 - Paulette Goddard, American actress and model
- 1911 - Ellen Corby, American actress and screenwriter
- 1913 - Pedro Mir, Dominican poet and author
- 1914 - Ignacio Ponseti, Spanish physician and orthopedist
- 1917 - Leo Gorcey, American actor
- 1918 - Patrick Cargill, English actor and producer
- 1918 - Lili St. Cyr, American burlesque dancer
- 1921 - Forbes Carlile, Australian pentathlete and coach
- 1922 - Alain Resnais, French director, cinematographer, and screenwriter
- 1923 - Igor Shafarevich, Russian mathematician and theorist
- 1924 - Karunanidhi, Indian screenwriter and politician, 3rd Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu
- 1924 - Colleen Dewhurst, Canadian-American actress
- 1924 - Jimmy Rogers, American singer and guitarist
- 1924 - Torsten Wiesel, Swedish neurophysiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1925 - Tony Curtis, American actor
- 1926 - Allen Ginsberg, American poet
- 1926 - Flora MacDonald, Canadian banker and politician, 10th Canadian Minister of Communications
- 1927 - Boots Randolph, American saxophonist and composer
- 1928 - Donald Judd, American sculptor and painter
- 1928 - John Richard Reid, New Zealand cricketer
- 1929 - Werner Arber, Swiss microbiologist and geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1929 - Chuck Barris, American game show host and producer
- 1930 - Marion Zimmer Bradley, American author and poet
- 1930 - George Fernandes, Indian journalist and politician, Minister of Defence for India
- 1930 - Joe Coulombe, founder of Trader Joe's
- 1931 - Françoise Arnoul, Algerian-French actress
- 1931 - Raúl Castro, Cuban commander and politician, 18th President of Cuba
- 1931 - John Norman, American philosopher and author
- 1931 - Lindy Remigino, American runner and coach
- 1931 - Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa, Bahranian king
- 1936 - Larry McMurtry, American novelist and screenwriter
- 1936 - Colin Meads, New Zealand rugby player and coach
- 1937 - Jean-Pierre Jaussaud, French racing driver
- 1942 - Curtis Mayfield, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1943 - Billy Cunningham, American basketball player and coach
- 1945 - Hale Irwin, American golfer and architect
- 1945 - Ramon Jacinto, Filipino singer, guitarist, and businessman, founded the Rajah Broadcasting Network
- 1945 - Bill Paterson, Scottish actor
- 1946 - Michael Clarke, American drummer
- 1946 - Penelope Wilton, English actress
- 1948 - Jan Reker, Dutch footballer and manager
- 1950 - Frédéric François, Belgian singer-songwriter
- 1950 - Melissa Mathison, American screenwriter and producer
- 1950 - Larry Probst, American businessman
- 1950 - Suzi Quatro, American-English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1951 - Jill Biden, American educator, First Lady of the United States
- 1951 - Deniece Williams, American singer-songwriter
- 1954 - Dan Hill, Canadian singer-songwriter
- 1955 - Louis H. Schiff, retired American judge, law school professor.
- 1956 - George Burley, Scottish footballer and manager
- 1956 - Danny Wilde, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1959 - Sam Mills, American football player
- 1960 - Jeff Colyer, American politician, 47th Governor of Kansas
- 1960 - Catherine Davani, first female Papua New Guinean judge
- 1960 - Tracy Grimshaw, Australian television host
- 1960 - Carl Rackemann, Australian cricketer and sportscaster
- 1961 - Lawrence Lessig, American lawyer, academic, and author, founded the Creative Commons
- 1961 - Peter Vidmar, American gymnast
- 1961 - Ed Wynne, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer
- 1962 - Susannah Constantine, English fashion designer, journalist, and author
- 1964 - Kerry King, American guitarist and songwriter
- 1964 - James Purefoy, English actor
- 1965 - Mike Gordon, American bassist and vocalist
- 1965 - Hans Kroes, Dutch swimmer
- 1965 - Michael Moore, British accountant and politician, Secretary of State for Scotland
- 1965 - Tina Kaidanow, American diplomat and government official
- 1966 - Wasim Akram, Pakistani cricketer, coach, and sportscaster
- 1966 - Bill Callahan, American singer-songwriter
- 1967 - Anderson Cooper, American journalist and author
- 1967 - Tamás Darnyi, Hungarian swimmer
- 1967 - Newton, English singer-songwriter
- 1969 - Takako Minekawa, Japanese singer-songwriter
- 1969 - Dean Pay, Australian rugby league player and coach
- 1969 - Hiroyuki Takami, Japanese singer and actor
- 1972 - Julie Gayet, French actress
- 1974 - Kelly Jones, Welsh singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1974 - Serhiy Rebrov, Ukrainian international footballer and manager
- 1975 - Jose Molina, Puerto Rican baseball player
- 1976 - Jamie McMurray, American race car driver
- 1977 - Cris, Brazilian footballer
- 1977 - Travis Hafner, American baseball player
- 1978 - Lyfe Jennings, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1979 - Christian Malcolm, Welsh sprinter
- 1979 - Pierre Poilievre, Canadian politician, Leader of the Opposition
- 1980 - Amauri, Italian international footballer
- 1981 - Sosene Anesi, New Zealand rugby player
- 1981 - Sam Murphy, Australian rugby league player
- 1982 - Yelena Isinbayeva, Russian pole vaulter
- 1982 - Manfred Mölgg, Italian skier
- 1983 - Pasquale Foggia, Italian footballer
- 1985 - Papiss Cissé, Senegalese footballer
- 1985 - Łukasz Piszczek, Polish footballer
- 1986 - Al Horford, Dominican basketball player
- 1986 - Micah Kogo, Kenyan runner
- 1986 - Rafael Nadal, Spanish tennis player
- 1986 - Tomáš Verner, Czech ice skater
- 1987 - Masami Nagasawa, Japanese actress
- 1989 - Katie Hoff, American swimmer
- 1989 - Imogen Poots, English actress and model
- 1991 - Yordano Ventura, Dominican baseball player
- 1992 - Dilraba Dilmurat, Chinese actress
- 1992 - Mario Götze, German footballer
- 1992 - Jade Cargill, American professional wrestler
- 1993 - Otto Porter Jr., American basketball player
- 1994 - Harrison Bader, American baseball player
- 1997 - Louis Hofmann, German actor
- 1998 - Sam Curran, English cricketer
- 1999 - Cameron Green, Australian cricketer
- 1999 - Dzhem Yamenov, Bulgarian politician
- 2000 - Beabadoobee, Filipino singer-songwriter
- 2001 - Jalen Suggs, American basketball player
- 2002 - Tyrell Sloan, Australian rugby league player
- 2005 - Désiré Doué, French footballer