✦ DateLore

On This Day · The 123rd day of the year

May 3

A look at May 3 through the almanac — historic events, famous birthdays including Niccolò Machiavelli and James Brown, and the day's notable deaths and observances.

♉ZodiacTaurus ◈BirthstoneEmerald ❀Birth flowerLily of the Valley
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Events

10 notable moments
  1. 2021

    Mexico City Metro

    Twenty-six people are killed and ninety-eight are injured after an elevated section of the Mexico City Metro collapses.

    Rapid transit system in
  2. 2007

    Disappearance of Madeleine McCann

    The three-year-old British girl Madeleine McCann disappears in Praia da Luz, Portugal, starting "the most heavily reported missing-person case in modern history".

    Unsolved 2007 missing-person case
  3. 1999

    Kargil War

    Infiltration of Pakistani soldiers on Indian side results in the Kargil War.

    1999 conflict between India
  4. 1971

    Erich Honecker

    Erich Honecker becomes First Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany, remaining in power until 1989.

    Leader of East Germany
  5. 1963

    Birmingham, Alabama

    The police force in Birmingham, Alabama switches tactics and responds with violent force to stop the "Birmingham campaign" protesters. Images of the violent suppression are transmitted worldwide, bringing new-found attention to the civil rights movement.

    City in Alabama, United
  6. 1947

    Constitution of Japan

    New post-war Japanese constitution goes into effect.

    Supreme law of Japan
  7. 1942

    World War II

    World War II: Japanese naval troops invade Tulagi Island in the Solomon Islands during the first part of Operation Mo that results in the Battle of the Coral Sea between Japanese forces and forces from the United States and Australia.

    1939–1945 global conflict
  8. 1913

    Raja Harishchandra

    Raja Harishchandra, the first full-length Indian feature film, is released, marking the beginning of the Indian film industry.

    1913 film by Dadasaheb
  9. 1491

    Kingdom of Kongo

    Kongo monarch Nkuwu Nzinga is baptised by Portuguese missionaries, adopting the baptismal name of João I.

    1390–1914 state in Central
  10. 1481

    1481 Rhodes earthquake

    The largest of three earthquakes strikes the island of Rhodes and causes an estimated 30,000 casualties.

    Magnitude 7 earthquake
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Famous birthday twins

Born on May 3

Niccolò Machiavelli

b. 1469

Italian historian and philosopher

James Brown

b. 1933

American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor

Butch Otter

b. 1942

American soldier and politician, 32nd Governor of Idaho

Heraclius Constantine

b. 612

Byzantine emperor

Golda Meir

b. 1898

Ukrainian-Israeli educator and politician, 4th Prime Minister of Israel

Charles XV

b. 1826

of Sweden

August von Kotzebue

b. 1761

German playwright and author

Yehuda Amichai

b. 1924

German-Israeli author and poet

Deaths

  • 2010Günter Wendt, German-American engineer
  • 2009Ram Balkrushna Shewalkar, Indian author and critic
  • 2007Wally Schirra, American captain, pilot, and astronaut
  • 1793Martin Gerbert, German historian and theologian
  • 1589Julius, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, 16th-century German nobleman
  • 1481Mehmed II, Ottoman sultan

Holidays & observances

  • —Christian feast day: Abhai (Syriac Orthodox Church)
  • —Christian feast day: Blessed Emilia Bicchieri
  • —Christian feast day: Juvenal of Narni
  • —Christian feast day: Marie-Léonie Paradis
  • —Christian feast day: Moura and Timothy (Catholic and Coptic Church)
  • —Christian feast day: Philip and James the Lesser
  • —Christian feast day: Pope Alexander I
  • —Christian feast day: Sarah the Martyr (Coptic Church)

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