August 3
Events
Pre-1600
- 8 - Roman Empire general Tiberius defeats the Dalmatae on the river Bosna.
- 435 - Deposed Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Nestorius, considered the originator of Nestorianism, is exiled by Roman Emperor Theodosius II to a monastery in Egypt.
- 881 - Battle of Saucourt-en-Vimeu: Louis III of France defeats the Vikings, an event celebrated in the poem Ludwigslied.
- 908 - Battle of Eisenach: An invading Hungarian force defeats an East Frankish army under Duke Burchard of Thuringia.
- 1031 - Olaf II of Norway is canonized as Saint Olaf by Grimketel, the English Bishop of Selsey.
- 1057 - Frederick of Lorraine elected as Pope Stephen IX.
- 1342 - The Siege of Algeciras commences during the Spanish Reconquista.
- 1492 - Christopher Columbus sets sail from Palos de la Frontera, Spain.
- 1527 - The first known letter from North America is sent by John Rut while at St. John's, Newfoundland.
1601–1900
- 1601 - Long War: Austria captures Transylvania in the Battle of Goroszló.
- 1645 - Thirty Years' War: The Second Battle of Nördlingen sees French forces defeating those of the Holy Roman Empire.
- 1678 - Robert LaSalle builds the Le Griffon, the first known ship built on the Great Lakes.
- 1778 - The theatre La Scala in Milan is inaugurated with the première of Antonio Salieri's Europa riconosciuta.
- 1795 - Treaty of Greenville is signed, ending the Northwest Indian War in the Ohio Country.
- 1811 - First ascent of Jungfrau, third highest summit in the Bernese Alps by brothers Johann Rudolf and Hieronymus Meyer.
- 1829 - The Treaty of Lewistown is signed by the Shawnee and Seneca peoples, exchanging land in Ohio for land west of the Mississippi River.
- 1852 - Harvard University wins the first Boat Race between Yale University and Harvard. The race is also known as the first ever American intercollegiate athletic event.
- 1859 - The American Dental Association is founded in Niagara Falls, New York.
- 1900 - The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company is founded.
1901–present
- 1903 - Macedonian rebels in Kruševo proclaim the Kruševo Republic, which exists for only ten days before Ottoman Turks lay waste to the town.
- 1907 - Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis fines Standard Oil of Indiana a record $29.4 million for illegal rebating to freight carriers; the conviction and fine are later reversed on appeal.
- 1914 - World War I: Germany declares war against France, while Romania declares its neutrality.
- 1921 - Major League Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis confirms the ban of the eight Chicago Black Sox, the day after they were acquitted by a Chicago court.
- 1936 - Jesse Owens wins the 100 metre dash, defeating Ralph Metcalfe, at the Berlin Olympics.
- 1936 - A fire wipes out Kursha-2 in the Meshchera Lowlands, Ryazan Oblast, Russia, killing 1,200 and leaving only 20 survivors.
- 1940 - World War II: Italian forces begin the invasion of British Somaliland.
- 1946 - Santa Claus Land, the world's first themed amusement park, opens in Santa Claus, Indiana, United States.
- 1948 - Whittaker Chambers accuses Alger Hiss of being a communist and a spy for the Soviet Union.
- 1949 - The Basketball Association of America and the National Basketball League finalize the merger that would create the National Basketball Association.
- 1958 - The world's first nuclear submarine, the USS Nautilus, becomes the first vessel to complete a submerged transit of the geographical North Pole.
- 1959 - Portugal's state police force PIDE fires upon striking workers in Bissau, Portuguese Guinea, killing over 50 people.
- 1960 - Niger gains independence from France.
- 1972 - The United States Senate ratifies the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.
- 1975 - A privately chartered Boeing 707 strikes a mountain peak and crashes near Agadir, Morocco, killing 188.
- 1977 - Tandy Corporation announces the TRS-80, one of the world's first mass-produced personal computers.
- 1981 - Senegalese opposition parties, under the leadership of Mamadou Dia, launch the Antiimperialist Action Front – Suxxali Reew Mi.
- 1997 - Oued El-Had and Mezouara massacre in Algeria: A total of 116 villagers killed, 40 in Oued El-Had and 76 in Mezouara.
- 1997 - The tallest free-standing structure in the Southern Hemisphere, Sky Tower in downtown Auckland, New Zealand, opens after two-and-a-half years of construction.
- 2004 - The pedestal of the Statue of Liberty reopens after being closed since the September 11 attacks.
- 2005 - President of Mauritania Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya is overthrown in a military coup while attending the funeral of King Fahd in Saudi Arabia.
- 2007 - Former deputy director of the Chilean secret police Raúl Iturriaga is captured after having been on the run following a conviction for kidnapping.
- 2010 - Widespread rioting erupts in Karachi, Pakistan, after the assassination of a local politician, leaving at least 85 dead and at least 17 billion Pakistani rupees in damage.
- 2014 - A 6.1 magnitude earthquake kills at least 617 people and injures more than 2,400 in Yunnan, China.
- 2014 - The genocide of Yazidis by ISIL begins.
- 2018 - Two burka-clad men kill 29 people and injure more than 80 in a suicide attack on a Shia mosque in eastern Afghanistan.
- 2019 - Six hundred protesters, including opposition leader Lyubov Sobol, are arrested in an election protest in Moscow, Russia.
- 2019 - Twenty-three people are killed and 22 injured in a mass shooting in El Paso, Texas.
- 2023 - Worst floods hit major parts of Slovenia.
Births
Pre-1600
- 1442 - Galeotto I Pico, Duke of Mirandola
- 1486 - Imperia Cognati, Italian courtesan
- 1491 - Maria of Jülich-Berg, German noblewoman
- 1509 - Étienne Dolet, French scholar and translator
1601–1900
- 1622 - Wolfgang Julius, Count of Hohenlohe-Neuenstein, German field marshal
- 1692 - John Henley, English minister and poet
- 1724 - Alvise Foscari, Venetian admiral
- 1766 - Aaron Chorin, Hungarian rabbi and author
- 1770 - Frederick William III of Prussia
- 1803 - Joseph Paxton, English gardener and architect, designed The Crystal Palace
- 1808 - Hamilton Fish, American lawyer and politician, 26th United States Secretary of State
- 1811 - Elisha Otis, American businessman, founded the Otis Elevator Company
- 1817 - Archduke Albrecht, Duke of Teschen
- 1823 - Thomas Francis Meagher, Irish-American revolutionary and military leader, territorial governor of Montana
- 1823 - Francisco Asenjo Barbieri, Spanish clarinetist, composer, and musicologist
- 1832 - Ivan Zajc, Croatian composer, conductor, and director
- 1837 - Julien Reverchon, French botanist
- 1840 - John Bigham, 1st Viscount Mersey, English jurist and politician
- 1850 - Reginald Heber Roe, English-Australian swimmer, tennis player, and academic
- 1856 - Alfred Deakin, Australian lawyer and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Australia
- 1860 - William Kennedy Dickson, French-Scottish actor, director, and producer
- 1863 - Géza Gárdonyi, Hungarian author and journalist
- 1867 - Stanley Baldwin, English businessman and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
- 1871 - Vernon Louis Parrington, American historian and scholar
- 1872 - Haakon VII of Norway
- 1886 - Maithili Sharan Gupt, Indian poet and playwright
- 1887 - Rupert Brooke, English poet
- 1887 - August Wesley, Finnish journalist, trade unionist, and revolutionary
- 1890 - Konstantin Melnikov, Russian architect, designed the Rusakov Workers' Club
- 1894 - Harry Heilmann, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1895 - Allen Bathurst, Lord Apsley, English politician
- 1896 - Ralph Horween, American football player and coach
- 1899 - Louis Chiron, Monegasque race car driver
- 1900 - Ernie Pyle, American soldier and journalist
- 1900 - John T. Scopes, American educator
1901–present
- 1901 - John C. Stennis, American lawyer and politician
- 1901 - Stefan Wyszyński, Polish cardinal
- 1902 - Regina Jonas, German rabbi
- 1902 - David Buttolph, American film composer
- 1903 - Habib Bourguiba, Tunisian journalist and politician, 1st President of the Republic of Tunisia
- 1904 - Dolores del Río, Mexican actress
- 1904 - Clifford D. Simak, American journalist and author
- 1905 - Franz König, Austrian cardinal
- 1907 - Lawrence Brown, American trombonist and composer
- 1907 - Ernesto Geisel, Brazilian general and politician, 29th President of Brazil
- 1907 - Yang Shangkun, Chinese politician, and 4th President of China
- 1909 - Walter Van Tilburg Clark, American author and educator
- 1911 - Alex McCrindle, Scottish actor and producer
- 1912 - Fritz Hellwig, German politician
- 1913 - Mel Tolkin, Ukrainian-American screenwriter and producer
- 1916 - Shakeel Badayuni, Indian poet and songwriter
- 1916 - José Manuel Moreno, Argentinian footballer and manager
- 1917 - Les Elgart, American trumpet player and bandleader
- 1918 - James MacGregor Burns, American historian, political scientist, and author
- 1918 - Sidney Gottlieb, American chemist and theorist
- 1918 - Larry Haines, American actor
- 1918 - Eddie Jefferson, American singer-songwriter
- 1920 - Norman Dewis, English test driver and engineer
- 1920 - Max Fatchen, Australian journalist and author
- 1920 - P. D. James, English author
- 1920 - Charlie Shavers, American trumpet player and composer
- 1920 - Elmar Tampõld, Estonian-Canadian architect
- 1921 - Richard Adler, American composer and producer
- 1921 - Hayden Carruth, American poet and critic
- 1921 - Marilyn Maxwell, American actress
- 1922 - John Eisenhower, American historian, general, and diplomat, 45th United States Ambassador to Belgium
- 1923 - Jean Hagen, American actress
- 1923 - Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria
- 1924 - Connie Converse, American musician and singer-songwriter
- 1924 - Leon Uris, American soldier and author
- 1925 - Marv Levy, American-Canadian football player, coach, and manager
- 1925 - Lewis Rowland, American neurologist
- 1926 - Rona Anderson, Scottish actress
- 1926 - Tony Bennett, American singer and actor
- 1926 - Anthony Sampson, English journalist and author
- 1926 - Gordon Scott, American actor
- 1926 - Rushdy Abaza, Egyptian actor
- 1928 - Cécile Aubry, French actress, director, and screenwriter
- 1928 - Henning Moritzen, Danish actor
- 1930 - James Komack, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1933 - Pat Crawford, Australian cricketer
- 1934 - Haystacks Calhoun, American wrestler and actor
- 1934 - Michael Chapman, English bassoon player
- 1934 - Jonas Savimbi, Angolan general, founded UNITA
- 1935 - John Erman, American actor, director, and producer
- 1935 - Georgy Shonin, Ukrainian-Russian general, pilot, and cosmonaut
- 1935 - Vic Vogel, Canadian pianist, composer, and bandleader
- 1936 - Jerry G. Bishop, American radio and television host
- 1936 - Edward Petherbridge, English actor
- 1937 - Steven Berkoff, English actor, director, and playwright
- 1937 - Roland Burris, American lawyer and politician, 39th Illinois Attorney General
- 1937 - Duncan Sharpe, Pakistani-Australian cricketer
- 1938 - Terry Wogan, Irish radio and television host
- 1939 - Jimmie Nicol, English drummer
- 1939 - Apoorva Sengupta, Indian general and cricketer
- 1940 - Lance Alworth, American football player
- 1940 - Martin Sheen, American actor and producer
- 1940 - James Tyler, American guitarist and songwriter
- 1941 - Beverly Lee, American singer
- 1941 - Martha Stewart, American businesswoman, publisher, and author, founded Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia
- 1943 - Béla Bollobás, Hungarian-English mathematician and academic
- 1943 - Princess Christina, Mrs. Magnuson of Sweden
- 1943 - Steven Millhauser, American novelist and short story writer
- 1944 - Morris Berman, American historian and social critic
- 1944 - Nino Bravo, Spanish singer
- 1945 - Eamon Dunphy, Irish footballer and journalist
- 1946 - Robert Ayling, English businessman
- 1946 - Jack Straw, English lawyer and politician, Shadow Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
- 1946 - John York, American bass player, songwriter, and producer
- 1947 - Ralph Wright, English footballer
- 1948 - Jean-Pierre Raffarin, French lawyer and politician, 166th Prime Minister of France
- 1949 - Philip Casnoff, American actor and director
- 1949 - B. B. Dickerson, American bass player and songwriter
- 1949 - Sue Slipman, English politician
- 1950 - Linda Howard, American author
- 1950 - John Landis, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1950 - Jo Marie Payton, American actress and singer
- 1950 - Ernesto Samper, Colombian economist and politician, 29th President of Colombia
- 1951 - Marcel Dionne, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1951 - Jay North, American actor
- 1952 - Osvaldo Ardiles, Argentinian footballer and manager
- 1953 - Ian Bairnson, Scottish guitarist, songwriter and saxophonist
- 1953 - Marlene Dumas, South African painter
- 1954 - Michael Arthur, English physician and academic
- 1954 - Gary Peters, English footballer and manager
- 1956 - Kirk Brandon, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1956 - Todd Christensen, American football player and sportscaster
- 1956 - Dave Cloud, American singer-songwriter and actor
- 1956 - Balwinder Sandhu, Indian cricketer and coach
- 1956 - Ian Crichton, Canadian guitarist
- 1957 - Bodo Rudwaleit, German footballer and manager
- 1957 - Kate Wilkinson, New Zealand lawyer and politician, 11th New Zealand Minister of Conservation
- 1958 - Lindsey Hilsum, English journalist and author
- 1958 - Ana Kokkinos, Australian director and screenwriter
- 1959 - Martin Atkins, English drummer and producer
- 1959 - Mike Gminski, American basketball player and sportscaster
- 1959 - John C. McGinley, American actor and producer
- 1959 - Koichi Tanaka, Japanese chemist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1960 - Tim Mayotte, American tennis player and coach
- 1960 - Gopal Sharma, Indian cricketer
- 1961 - Molly Hagan, American actress
- 1961 - Nick Harvey, English politician, Minister of State for the Armed Forces
- 1961 - Lee Rocker, American bassist
- 1963 - Tasmin Archer, English pop singer
- 1963 - Frano Botica, New Zealand rugby player and coach
- 1963 - James Hetfield, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1963 - David Knox, Australian rugby player
- 1963 - Ed Roland, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1963 - Lisa Ann Walter, American actress, producer, and screenwriter
- 1963 - Isaiah Washington, American actor and producer
- 1964 - Lucky Dube, South African singer and keyboard player
- 1964 - Ralph Knibbs, British rugby union player
- 1964 - Nate McMillan, American basketball player and coach
- 1964 - Kevin Sumlin, American football player and coach
- 1964 - Abhisit Vejjajiva, English-Thai economist and politician, 27th Prime Minister of Thailand
- 1966 - Brent Butt, Canadian actor, producer, and screenwriter
- 1966 - Gizz Butt, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1966 - Eric Esch, American wrestler, boxer, and mixed martial artist
- 1966 - Robert Laimer, Austrian politician
- 1967 - Mathieu Kassovitz, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1967 - Skin, English singer and guitarist
- 1968 - Rod Beck, American baseball player
- 1969 - Doug Overton, American basketball player and coach
- 1970 - Stephen Carpenter, American guitarist and songwriter
- 1970 - Gina G, Australian singer-songwriter
- 1970 - Masahiro Sakurai, Japanese video game designer
- 1971 - Forbes Johnston, Scottish footballer
- 1971 - DJ Spinderella, American DJ, rapper, producer, and actress
- 1972 - Sandis Ozoliņš, Latvian ice hockey player and politician
- 1973 - Jay Cutler, American bodybuilder
- 1973 - Nikos Dabizas, Greek footballer
- 1973 - Michael Ealy, American actor
- 1973 - Chris Murphy, American politician
- 1975 - Wael Gomaa, Egyptian footballer
- 1975 - Argyro Strataki, Greek heptathlete
- 1976 - Troy Glaus, American baseball player
- 1977 - Tom Brady, American football player
- 1977 - Justin Lehr, American baseball player
- 1977 - Óscar Pereiro, Spanish cyclist and footballer
- 1978 - Joi Chua, Singaporean singer-songwriter and actress
- 1978 - Mariusz Jop, Polish footballer
- 1978 - Jenny Tinmouth, English motorcycle racer
- 1978 - Dimitrios Zografakis, Greek footballer
- 1979 - Evangeline Lilly, Canadian actress
- 1980 - Nadia Ali, Libyan-American singer-songwriter
- 1980 - Dominic Moore, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1980 - Tony Pashos, American football player
- 1980 - Brandan Schieppati, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1980 - Hannah Simone, Canadian television host and actress
- 1981 - Fikirte Addis, Ethiopian fashion designer
- 1981 - Travis Bowyer, American baseball player
- 1981 - Pablo Ibáñez, Spanish footballer
- 1982 - Kaspar Kokk, Estonian skier
- 1982 - Jesse Lumsden, Canadian bobsledder and football player
- 1982 - Damien Sandow, American wrestler
- 1983 - Ryan Carter, American ice hockey player
- 1983 - Mark Reynolds, American baseball player
- 1984 - Yasin Avcı, Turkish footballer
- 1984 - Sunil Chhetri, Indian footballer
- 1984 - Matt Joyce, American baseball player
- 1984 - Ryan Lochte, American swimmer
- 1984 - Chris Maurer, former bassist of ska band Suburban Legends
- 1985 - Georgina Haig, Australian actress
- 1985 - Brent Kutzle, American bass player and producer
- 1985 - Ats Purje, Estonian footballer
- 1985 - Sonny Bill Williams, New Zealand rugby player and boxer
- 1986 - Charlotte Casiraghi, Monégasque journalist, co-founded Ever Manifesto
- 1986 - Darya Domracheva, Belarusian biathlete
- 1987 - Kim Hyung-jun, South Korean singer and dancer
- 1987 - Chris McQueen, Australian-English rugby league player
- 1988 - Denny Cardin, Italian footballer
- 1988 - Leigh Tiffin, American football player
- 1988 - Sven Ulreich, German footballer
- 1989 - Jules Bianchi, French race car driver
- 1989 - Sam Hutchinson, English footballer
- 1989 - Tyrod Taylor, American football player
- 1989 - Nick Viergever, Dutch footballer
- 1990 - Jourdan Dunn, English model
- 1990 - Kang Min-kyung, South Korean singer
- 1992 - Gamze Bulut, Turkish runner
- 1992 - Gesa Felicitas Krause, German runner
- 1992 - Diāna Marcinkēviča, Latvian tennis player
- 1992 - Aljon Mariano, Filipino basketball player
- 1992 - Lum Rexhepi, Finnish footballer
- 1992 - Karlie Kloss, American fashion model
- 1993 - Ola Abidogun, English sprinter
- 1993 - Yurina Kumai, Japanese singer
- 1994 - Kwon Alexander, American football player
- 1994 - Manaia Cherrington, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1994 - Esther Earl, American author, vlogger, and online personality
- 1994 - Todd Gurley, American football player
- 1994 - Younghoe Koo, South Korean-born American football player
- 1995 - Zac Gallen, American baseball player
- 1995 - Victoria Kan, Russian tennis player
- 1996 - Alec Bohm, American baseball player
- 1996 - Bokondji Imama, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1996 - Derwin James, American football player
- 1997 - Luis Robert Jr., Cuban baseball player
- 1999 - Zach Wilson, American football player
- 1999 - Brahim Díaz, Spanish-Moroccan footballer
- 1999 - Yoo Yeon-jung, South Korean singer