Date·Lore

On This Day · The 123rd day of the year

May 3

May 3's record stretches 540 years, from 1481 to 2021. Its center of gravity is the 20th century, and conflict is a recurring thread.

♉ZodiacTaurus ◈BirthstoneEmerald ❀Birth flowerLily of the Valley

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

Compiled & reviewed by · Last reviewed September 6, 2026

What happened on May 3?

May 3 is the 123rd day of the year. It marks 10 notable events in history, dated between 1481 and 2021. Famous people born on May 3 include Niccolò Machiavelli, James Brown and Butch Otter.

Released on May 3

Movies, games, albums & shows

2023

  • TV Shrouding the Heavens

2022

  • Game Loot River

Release data from TMDB & IGDB.

Events

10 notable moments
  1. 1481

    1481 Rhodes earthquake

  2. 1491

    Kingdom of Kongo

  3. 1913

    Raja Harishchandra

  4. 1942

    World War II

  5. 1947

    Constitution of Japan

  6. 1963

    Birmingham, Alabama

  7. 1971

    Erich Honecker

  8. 1999

    Kargil War

  9. 2007

    Disappearance of Madeleine McCann

  10. 2021

    Mexico City Metro

Famous birthday twins

Born on May 3

Niccolò Machiavelli

b. 1469

James Brown

b. 1933

Butch Otter

b. 1942

Heraclius Constantine

b. 612

Golda Meir

b. 1898

Charles XV

b. 1826

August von Kotzebue

b. 1761

Yehuda Amichai

b. 1924

Deaths

  • 2010Günter Wendt
  • 2009Ram Balkrushna Shewalkar
  • 2007Wally Schirra
  • 1793Martin Gerbert
  • 1589Julius, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
  • 1481Mehmed II

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)

The factual record above — event titles, dates, names, and observances — is drawn 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.