Date·Lore

On This Day · The 34th day of the year

February 3

February 3 carries 10 recorded events spanning between 1917 and 2023. World War I: The American entry into World War I begins when diplomatic relations with Germany are severed due to its unrestricted submarine warfare.

♒ZodiacAquarius ◈BirthstoneAmethyst ❀Birth flowerViolet

Compiled & reviewed by · Last reviewed July 13, 2026

What happened on February 3?

February 3 is the 34th day of the year. It marks 10 notable events in history, dated between 1917 and 2023. Famous people born on February 3 include Joachim Löw, Blythe Danner and Felix Mendelssohn.

The shape of the day

As calendar dates go, February 3 keeps a short memory — its record stays close to the present. Most of the weight falls in the 20th century, where conflict is a recurring thread.

Aquarius is the sign for February 3 — read more on the Aquarius page, or see February's birthstone & birth flower.

Released on February 3

Movies, games, albums & shows

2025

  • Movie Mortal Game

2022

  • TV Reacher
  • Game Dying Light 2: Stay Human

Release data from TMDB & IGDB.

Events

10 notable moments
  1. 1917

    World War I

    World War I: The American entry into World War I begins when diplomatic relations with Germany are severed due to its unrestricted submarine warfare.

  2. 1933

    Adolf Hitler

    Adolf Hitler announces that the expansion of Lebensraum into Eastern Europe, and its ruthless Germanisation, are the ultimate geopolitical objectives of Nazi foreign policy.

  3. 1944

    World War II

    World War II: During the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign, U.S. Army and Marine forces seize Kwajalein Atoll from the defending Japanese garrison.

  4. 1958

    Benelux

    Founding of the Benelux Economic Union, creating a testing ground for a later European Economic Community.

  5. 1959

    Buddy Holly

    Rock and roll musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson are killed in a plane crash along with the pilot near Clear Lake, Iowa, an event later known as The Day the Music Died.

  6. 1960

    Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

    British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan speaks of "a wind of change", signalling that his Government is likely to support decolonisation.

  7. 1961

    United States Air Force

    The United States Air Force begins Operation Looking Glass, and over the next 30 years, a "Doomsday Plane" is always in the air, with the capability of taking direct control of the United States' bombers and missiles in the event of the destruction of the SAC's command post.

  8. 1972

    1972 Iran blizzard

    The first day of the seven-day 1972 Iran blizzard, which would kill at least 4,000 people, making it the deadliest snowstorm in history.

  9. 1989

    Stroke

    After a stroke two weeks previously, South African President P. W. Botha resigns as leader of the National Party, but stays on as president for six more months.

  10. 2023

    East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment

    Ohio train derailment: A freight train containing vinyl chloride and other hazardous materials derails and burns in East Palestine, Ohio, United States, releasing hydrogen chloride and phosgene into the air and contaminating the Ohio River.

Famous birthday twins

Born on February 3

Joachim Löw

b. 1960

German footballer and manager

Blythe Danner

b. 1943

American actress

Felix Mendelssohn

b. 1809

German pianist, composer, and conductor

Angela Fong

b. 1985

Canadian wrestler and actress

Carl Theodor Dreyer

b. 1889

Danish director and screenwriter

Emile Griffith

b. 1938

American boxer and trainer

Michael Cimino

b. 1939

American director, producer, and screenwriter

Hugo Junkers

b. 1859

German engineer, designed the Junkers J 1

Deaths

  • 2019Julie Adams
  • 2005Ernst Mayr
  • 1989John Cassavetes
  • 1959Buddy Holly
  • 1924Woodrow Wilson
  • 1468Johannes Gutenberg

Holidays & observances

  • —Christian feast day: Aaron the Illustrious (Syriac Orthodox Church)
  • —Christian feast day: Ansgar
  • —Christian feast day: Berlinda of Meerbeke
  • —Christian feast day: Blaise
  • —Christian feast day: Celsa and Nona
  • —Christian feast day: Claudine Thévenet
  • —Christian feast day: Dom Justo Takayama (Philippines and Japan)
  • —Christian feast day: Hadelin

Historical facts, event summaries, and biographical lines above are adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) license. DateLore adds curation, structure, and original editorial commentary. DateLore is not affiliated with the Wikimedia Foundation.

About the author

Roman Tailor compiles and reviews every date on DateLore. He's the writer and editor behind the site's editorial essays and the day-by-day almanac. Corrections and questions are welcome — read more about DateLore or get in touch.

Born on this day?

Make your birthday card.

Drop in your birth year and we'll work out your exact age, the day of the week you were born, your Chinese zodiac, your generation, and the countdown to your next candle.