Date·Lore

On This Day · The 123rd day of the year

May 3

May 3 carries 10 recorded events spanning between 1481 and 2021. The largest of three earthquakes strikes the island of Rhodes and causes an estimated 30,000 casualties.

♉ZodiacTaurus ◈BirthstoneEmerald ❀Birth flowerLily of the Valley

Compiled & reviewed by · Last reviewed July 13, 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.

The shape of the day

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.

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

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

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

  2. 1491

    Kingdom of Kongo

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

  3. 1913

    Raja Harishchandra

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

  4. 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.

  5. 1947

    Constitution of Japan

    New post-war Japanese constitution goes into effect.

  6. 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.

  7. 1971

    Erich Honecker

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

  8. 1999

    Kargil War

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

  9. 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".

  10. 2021

    Mexico City Metro

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

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
  • 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)

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.

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