October 3

Events

• 2457 BC - Gaecheonjeol, Hwanung purportedly descended from heaven. South Korea's National Foundation Day.
• 52 BC - Vercingetorix, leader of the Gauls, surrenders to the Romans under Julius Caesar, ending the siege and battle of Alesia.
• 42 BC - Triumvirs Mark Antony and Octavian fight a decisive battle with Caesar's assassins Brutus and Cassius.
• 382 - Roman Emperor Theodosius I concludes a peace treaty with the Goths and settles them in the Balkans.
• 1283 - Dafydd ap Gruffydd, prince of Gwynedd in Wales, is the first nobleman to be executed by hanging, drawing and quartering.
• 1392 - Muhammed VII becomes the twelfth sultan of the Emirate of Granada.
• 1574 - The Siege of Leiden is lifted by the Watergeuzen.
• 1683 - Qing dynasty naval commander Shi Lang receives the surrender of the Tungning kingdom on Taiwan after the Battle of Penghu.
• 1712 - The Duke of Montrose issues a warrant for the arrest of Rob Roy MacGregor.
• 1739 - The Treaty of Niš is signed by the Ottoman Empire and Russia at the end of the Russian–Turkish War.
• 1789 - George Washington proclaims a Thanksgiving Day for that year.
• 1792 - A militia departs from the Spanish stronghold of Valdivia to quell a Huilliche uprising in southern Chile.
• 1795 - Slave rebel leader Tula is executed in Curaçao.
• 1863 - The last Thursday in November is declared as Thanksgiving Day by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln.
• 1873 - Chief Kintpuash and companions are hanged for their part in the Modoc War of northern California.
• 1912 - U.S. forces defeat Nicaraguan rebels at the Battle of Coyotepe Hill.
• 1918 - King Boris III of Bulgaria accedes to the throne.
• 1919 - Cincinnati Reds pitcher Adolfo Luque becomes the first Latin player to appear in a World Series.
• 1929 - The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes is renamed to Yugoslavia by King Alexander I.
• 1930 - The German Socialist Labour Party in Poland – Left is founded.
• 1932 - Iraq gains independence from the United Kingdom.
• 1935 - Second Italo-Abyssinian War: Italy invades Ethiopia.
• 1942 - A German V-2 rocket reaches a record 85 km in altitude.
• 1943 - World War II: German forces murder 92 civilians in Lyngiades, Greece.
• 1949 - WERD, the first black-owned radio station in the United States, opens in Atlanta.
• 1951 - Korean War: The First Battle of Maryang San pits Commonwealth troops against communist Chinese troops.
• 1952 - The United Kingdom successfully tests a nuclear weapon to become the world's third nuclear power.
• 1957 - The California State Superior Court rules that the book Howl and Other Poems is not obscene.
• 1962 - Project Mercury: Wally Schirra in Sigma 7 launched from Cape Canaveral for a six-orbit flight.
• 1963 - A violent coup in Honduras begins two decades of military rule.
• 1978 - A Finnish Air Force DC-3 crashes, killing all 15 people on board.
• 1981 - The hunger strike at the Maze Prison in Northern Ireland ends after seven months and ten deaths.
• 1985 - The Space Shuttle Atlantis makes its maiden flight.
• 1986 - TASCC, a superconducting cyclotron at the Chalk River Laboratories in Canada, is officially opened.
• 1989 - A coup in Panama City is suppressed and 11 participants are executed.
• 1990 - The German Democratic Republic is abolished and becomes part of the Federal Republic of Germany.
• 1991 - Nadine Gordimer is announced as the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature.
• 1993 - An American attack against a warlord in Mogadishu fails; eighteen US soldiers and over 350 Somalis die.
• 1995 - The O. J. Simpson murder case ended with a verdict of not guilty.
• 2008 - The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 for the U.S. financial system is signed by President George W. Bush.
• 2009 - Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkey join together in the Turkic Council.
• 2010 - The 19th Commonwealth Games commence in Delhi.
• 2013 - At least 360 migrants are killed when their boat sinks near the Italian island of Lampedusa.
• 2015 - Forty-two are killed and 33 go missing in the Kunduz hospital airstrike.
• 2017 - King Felipe VI of Spain made a special televised speech on Catalan independence referendum crisis.

  Births

• 85 BC - Gaius Cassius Longinus, Roman politician
• 1292 - Eleanor de Clare, English noblewoman
• 1390 - Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester
• 1458 - Saint Casimir, Prince of Poland and Duke of Lithuania
• 1554 - Fulke Greville, 1st Baron Brooke, English poet
• 1610 - Gabriel Lalemant, French-Canadian missionary and saint
• 1631 - Sebastian Anton Scherer, German organist and composer
• 1713 - Antoine Dauvergne, French violinist and composer
• 1716 - Giovanni Battista Beccaria, Italian physicist and academic
• 1720 - Johann Uz, German poet and judge
• 1790 - John Ross, American tribal chief
• 1797 - Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany
• 1800 - George Bancroft, American historian and politician, 17th United States Secretary of the Navy
• 1804 - Townsend Harris, American merchant, politician, and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Japan
• 1804 - Allan Kardec, French author, translator, educator and founder of modern Spiritism
• 1828 - Woldemar Bargiel, German composer and educator
• 1837 - Nicolás Avellaneda, Argentinian journalist and politician, 8th President of Argentina
• 1846 - James Jackson Putnam, American neurologist and academic
• 1848 - Henry Lerolle, French painter and art collector
• 1858 - Eleonora Duse, Italian-American actress
• 1862 - Johnny Briggs, English cricketer and rugby player
• 1863 - Pyotr Kozlov, Russian archaeologist and explorer
• 1865 - Gustave Loiseau, French painter
• 1866 - Josephine Sabel, American singer & comedian
• 1867 - Pierre Bonnard, French painter
• 1869 - Alfred Flatow, German gymnast
• 1875 - Dr. Atl, Mexican painter
• 1879 - Warner Oland, Swedish-American actor and singer
• 1882 - A. Y. Jackson, Canadian painter and academic
• 1885 - Sophie Treadwell, American playwright and journalist
• 1886 - Alain-Fournier, French soldier, author, and critic
• 1888 - Wade Boteler, American actor and screenwriter
• 1889 - Carl von Ossietzky, German journalist and activist, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1890 - Emilio Portes Gil, Mexican politician, President of Mexico 1928-1930
• 1894 - Elmer Robinson, American lawyer and politician, 33rd Mayor of San Francisco
• 1894 - Walter Warlimont, German general
• 1895 - Giovanni Comisso, Italian author and poet
• 1895 - Sergei Yesenin, Russian poet
• 1896 - Auvergne Doherty, Australian businesswoman
• 1896 - Gerardo Diego, Spanish poet and critic
• 1897 - Louis Aragon, French author and poet
• 1898 - Leo McCarey, American director and screenwriter
• 1898 - Adolf Reichwein, German economist and educator
• 1899 - Gertrude Berg, American actress, screenwriter and producer
• 1900 - Thomas Wolfe, American novelist
• 1901 - Jean Grémillon, French director, composer, and screenwriter
• 1904 - Ernst-Günther Schenck, German colonel and physician
• 1905 - Tekin Arıburun, Turkish soldier and politician, President of Turkey
• 1906 - Natalie Savage Carlson, American author
• 1908 - Johnny Burke, American songwriter
• 1911 - Michael Hordern, English actor
• 1915 - Ray Stark, American film producer
• 1916 - James Herriot, English veterinarian and author
• 1919 - James M. Buchanan, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1921 - Ray Lindwall, Australian cricketer and soldier
• 1923 - Edward Oliver LeBlanc, Dominican lawyer and politician, 1st Premier of Dominica
• 1924 - Harvey Kurtzman, American cartoonist
• 1924 - Arkady Vorobyov, Russian weightlifter and coach
• 1925 - Gore Vidal, American novelist, screenwriter, and critic
• 1925 - George Wein, American pianist and producer, co-founded the Newport Folk Festival
• 1928 - Erik Bruhn, Danish dancer and choreographer
• 1928 - Edward L. Moyers, American businessman
• 1928 - Shridath Ramphal, Guyanese academic and politician, 2nd Commonwealth Secretary-General
• 1931 - Glenn Hall, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1932 - Terence English, South African-English surgeon and academic
• 1933 - Neale Fraser, Australian tennis player
• 1934 - Benjamin Boretz, American composer and theorist
• 1934 - Miguel-Ángel Cárdenas, Colombian-Dutch painter and illustrator
• 1934 - Harold Henning, South African golfer
• 1934 - Simon Nicholson, English sculptor and painter
• 1935 - Charles Duke, American general, pilot, and astronaut
• 1936 - Steve Reich, American composer
• 1938 - Eddie Cochran, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
• 1938 - David Hart Dyke, English captain
• 1938 - Jack Hodgins, Canadian author and academic
• 1938 - Dave Obey, American lawyer and politician
• 1939 - Bob Armstrong, American wrestler and trainer
• 1940 - Alan O'Day, American singer-songwriter
• 1940 - Jean Ratelle, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1940 - Mike Troy, American swimmer
• 1941 - Chubby Checker, American singer-songwriter
• 1941 - Andrea de Adamich, Italian race car driver and sportscaster
• 1941 - John Elliott, Australian businessman
• 1943 - Jeff Bingaman, American soldier and politician, 25th Attorney General of New Mexico
• 1943 - Baki İlkin, Turkish civil servant and diplomat
• 1944 - Pierre Deligne, Belgian mathematician and academic
• 1944 - Roy Horn, German-American magician and actor
• 1945 - Tony Brown, English footballer and sportscaster
• 1945 - Christopher Bruce, English dancer and choreographer
• 1945 - Jo Ritzen, Dutch economist and politician, Dutch Minister of Education
• 1946 - P. P. Arnold, American soul singer
• 1947 - John Perry Barlow, American poet, songwriter, blogger, and activist
• 1947 - Ben Cauley, American trumpet player and songwriter
• 1947 - Fred DeLuca, American businessman
• 1947 - Anne Dorte of Rosenborg
• 1947 - Takis Michalos, Greek water polo player and coach
• 1949 - Lindsey Buckingham, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
• 1949 - J. P. Dutta, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1949 - Aleksandr Rogozhkin, Russian director and screenwriter
• 1949 - Laurie Simmons, American photographer and director
• 1950 - Ronnie Laws, American jazz, R&B, and funk saxophone player
• 1951 - Keb' Mo', American blues musician and songwriter
• 1951 - Kathryn D. Sullivan, American geologist and astronaut
• 1951 - Dave Winfield, American baseball player and sportscaster
• 1952 - Bruce Arians, American football coach
• 1952 - Gary Troup, New Zealand cricketer
• 1954 - Eddie DeGarmo, American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
• 1954 - Dennis Eckersley, American baseball player and sportscaster
• 1954 - Al Sharpton, American minister, talk show host, and political activist
• 1954 - Stevie Ray Vaughan, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
• 1955 - Moshe Kam, American engineering educator
• 1955 - John S. Lesmeister, American educator and politician, 30th North Dakota State Treasurer
• 1955 - Allen Woody, American bass player and songwriter
• 1955 - Buket Uzuner, Turkish author
• 1956 - Hart Bochner, Canadian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1957 - Roberto Azevêdo, Brazilian engineer and diplomat, 6th Director-General of the World Trade Organization
• 1957 - Tim Westwood, English radio and television host
• 1958 - Chen Yanyin, Chinese sculptor
• 1958 - Louise Lecavalier, Canadian dancer and choreographer
• 1959 - Craig Bellamy, Australian rugby league player and coach
• 1959 - Fred Couples, American golfer
• 1959 - Greg Proops, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter
• 1959 - Jack Wagner, American actor and singer
• 1961 - Rebecca Stephens, English journalist and mountaineer
• 1961 - Ludger Stühlmeyer, German cantor, composer, and musicologist
• 1962 - Tommy Lee, Greek-American singer-songwriter, drummer, and producer
• 1962 - Simon Scarrow, Nigerian-English novelist
• 1963 - Benny Anders, American basketball player
• 1963 - Dan Goldie, American tennis player
• 1964 - Clive Owen, English actor
• 1965 - Annemarie Verstappen, Dutch swimmer
• 1965 - Jan-Ove Waldner, Swedish table tennis player
• 1966 - Darrin Fletcher, American baseball player and sportscaster
• 1967 - Rob Liefeld, American author and illustrator
• 1967 - Chris Collingwood, English-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
• 1968 - Paul Crichton, English footballer and manager
• 1968 - Greg Foster, American basketball player and coach
• 1968 - Marko Rajamäki, Finnish footballer and manager
• 1968 - Donald Sild, Estonian javelin thrower
• 1969 - Garry Herbert, English rower and sportscaster
• 1969 - Gwen Stefani, American singer-songwriter, actress, and fashion designer
• 1969 - Tetsuya, Japanese singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer
• 1970 - Elmar Liitmaa, Estonian guitarist and songwriter
• 1970 - Jimmy Ray, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1971 - Wil Cordero, Puerto Rican-American baseball player and coach
• 1971 - Kevin Richardson, American singer-songwriter and actor
• 1972 - Komla Dumor, Ghanaian-English journalist
• 1972 - G. Love, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and harmonica player
• 1972 - Guy Oseary, Israeli–American talent manager and businessman
• 1973 - Neve Campbell, Canadian actress and producer
• 1973 - Angélica Gavaldón, American-Mexican tennis player and coach
• 1973 - Lena Headey, British actress
• 1973 - Eirik Hegdal, Norwegian saxophonist and composer
• 1974 - Mike Johnson, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
• 1974 - Marianne Timmer, Dutch speed skater
• 1975 - India Arie, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
• 1975 - Phil Greening, English rugby player and coach
• 1975 - Satoko Ishimine, Japanese singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
• 1976 - Herman Li, Hong Kong-English guitarist and producer
• 1976 - Seann William Scott, American actor and producer
• 1977 - Daniel Hollie, American wrestler
• 1977 - Eric Munson, American baseball player and coach
• 1977 - Luca Tognozzi, Italian footballer
• 1978 - Gerald Asamoah, Ghanaian-German footballer
• 1978 - Neil Clement, English footballer
• 1978 - Claudio Pizarro, Peruvian footballer
• 1978 - Jake Shears, American singer-songwriter
• 1979 - Josh Klinghoffer, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
• 1979 - John Morrison, American wrestler and actor
• 1979 - Danny O'Donoghue, Irish singer-songwriter and producer
• 1980 - Anquan Boldin, American football player
• 1980 - Sheldon Brookbank, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1980 - Lindsey Kelk, English journalist and author
• 1980 - Héctor Reynoso, Mexican footballer
• 1980 - Ivan Turina, Croatian footballer
• 1981 - Danny Coid, English footballer
• 1981 - Zlatan Ibrahimović, Swedish footballer
• 1981 - Andreas Isaksson, Swedish footballer
• 1981 - Jonna Lee, Swedish singer and musician
• 1981 - Ronald Rauhe, German kayaker
• 1981 - Matt Sparrow, English footballer
• 1983 - Fred, Brazilian footballer
• 1983 - Thiago Alves, Brazilian mixed martial artist
• 1983 - Andreas Papathanasiou, Cypriot footballer
• 1983 - Tessa Thompson, American actress
• 1984 - Yoon Eun-hye, South Korean singer and actress
• 1984 - Bruno Gervais, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1984 - Jessica Parker Kennedy, Canadian actress
• 1984 - Anthony Le Tallec, French footballer
• 1984 - Ashlee Simpson, American singer-songwriter and actress
• 1985 - Courtney Lee, American basketball player
• 1986 - Lewis Brown, New Zealand rugby league player
• 1986 - Jackson Martínez, Colombian footballer
• 1987 - Robert Grabarz, English high jumper
• 1987 - Martin Plowman, English race car driver
• 1987 - Starley, Australian pop singer
• 1988 - Alicia Vikander, Swedish actress
• 1988 - Dustin Gazley, American ice hockey player
• 1988 - ASAP Rocky, American rapper and songwriter
• 1989 - Nate Montana, American football player
• 1989 - Alex Trimble, Irish singer
• 1990 - Johan Le Bon, French cyclist
• 1991 - Jenny McLoughlin, English sprinter
• 1991 - Aki Takajo, Japanese singer
• 1993 - Raffaele Di Gennaro, Italian footballer
• 1994 - Victoria Bosio, Argentinian tennis player
• 1995 - Lil Tracy, American rapper
• 1997 - Jin Boyang, Chinese figure skater

  Deaths

• 42 BC - Gaius Cassius Longinus, Roman politician
• 723 - Elias I of Antioch, Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch.
• 818 - Ermengarde, queen of the Franks
• 900 - Muhammad ibn Zayd, Tabaristan emir
• 959 - Gérard of Brogne, Frankish abbot
• 1078 - Iziaslav I of Kiev
• 1226 - Francis of Assisi, Italian friar and saint
• 1283 - Dafydd ap Gruffydd, Welsh prince
• 1369 - Margaret, Countess of Tyrol
• 1399 - Eleanor de Bohun, English noble
• 1568 - Elisabeth of Valois
• 1596 - Florent Chrestien, French poet
• 1611 - Charles, Duke of Mayenne
• 1629 - Giorgi Saakadze, Georgian commander and politician
• 1649 - Giovanni Diodati, Swiss-Italian clergyman and theologian
• 1653 - Marcus Zuerius van Boxhorn, Dutch linguist and academic
• 1656 - Myles Standish, English captain
• 1690 - Robert Barclay, Scottish theologian and politician, 2nd Governor of East Jersey
• 1701 - Joseph Williamson, English politician, Secretary of State for the Northern Department
• 1801 - Philippe Henri, marquis de Ségur, French general and politician, French Minister of Defence
• 1833 - François, marquis de Chasseloup-Laubat, French general and engineer
• 1838 - Black Hawk, American tribal leader
• 1860 - Rembrandt Peale, American painter and curator
• 1867 - Elias Howe, American engineer, invented the sewing machine
• 1873 - Kintpuash, American tribal leader
• 1877 - James Roosevelt Bayley, American archbishop
• 1877 - Rómulo Díaz de la Vega, Mexican general and president
• 1881 - Orson Pratt, American mathematician and religious leader
• 1890 - Joseph Hergenröther, German historian and cardinal
• 1891 - Édouard Lucas, French mathematician and theorist
• 1896 - William Morris, English author and poet
• 1907 - Jacob Nash Victor, American engineer
• 1911 - Rosetta Jane Birks, Australian suffragist
• 1917 - Eduardo Di Capua, Neapolitan composer, singer and songwriter
• 1929 - Jeanne Eagels, American actress
• 1929 - Gustav Stresemann, German politician, Chancellor of Germany, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1931 - Carl Nielsen, Danish violinist, composer, and conductor
• 1936 - John Heisman, American football player and coach
• 1953 - Arnold Bax, English composer and poet
• 1959 - Tochigiyama Moriya, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 27th Yokozuna
• 1963 - Refet Bele, Turkish general
• 1965 - Zachary Scott, American actor
• 1966 - Rolf Maximilian Sievert, Swedish physicist and academic
• 1967 - Woody Guthrie, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1967 - Malcolm Sargent, English organist, composer, and conductor
• 1969 - Skip James, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1979 - Nicos Poulantzas, Greek-French sociologist and philosopher
• 1980 - Friedrich Karm, Estonian footballer
• 1981 - Anna Hedvig Büll, Estonian-German missionary
• 1986 - Vince DiMaggio, American baseball player and manager
• 1987 - Jean Anouilh, French playwright and screenwriter
• 1987 - Kalervo Palsa, Finnish painter
• 1988 - Franz Josef Strauss, Bavarian lieutenant and politician, Minister President of Bavaria
• 1990 - Stefano Casiraghi, Italian-Monegasque businessman
• 1990 - Eleanor Steber, American soprano and educator
• 1993 - Katerina Gogou, Greek actress, poet, and author
• 1993 - Gary Gordon, American sergeant, Medal of Honor recipient
• 1993 - Randy Shughart, American sergeant, Medal of Honor recipient
• 1994 - John C. Champion, American producer and screenwriter
• 1994 - Dub Taylor, American actor
• 1995 - Ma. Po. Si., Indian author and politician
• 1997 - Michael Adekunle Ajasin, Nigerian politician, 3rd Governor of Ondo State
• 1998 - Roddy McDowall, English-American actor
• 1999 - Akio Morita, Japanese businessman, co-founded Sony
• 2000 - Benjamin Orr, American singer-songwriter and bass player
• 2001 - Costas Hajihristos, Greek actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 2002 - Bruce Paltrow, American director, producer, and screenwriter
• 2003 - Florence Stanley, American actress
• 2003 - William Steig, American sculptor, author, and illustrator
• 2004 - John Cerutti, American baseball player and sportscaster
• 2004 - Janet Leigh, American actress
• 2005 - Ronnie Barker, English actor and screenwriter
• 2005 - Nurettin Ersin, Turkish general
• 2006 - Lucilla Andrews, Egyptian-Scottish nurse and author
• 2006 - John Crank, English mathematician and physicist
• 2006 - Peter Norman, Australian runner
• 2006 - Alberto Ramento, Filipino bishop
• 2007 - M. N. Vijayan, Indian journalist, author, and academic
• 2009 - Vladimir Beekman, Estonian poet and translator
• 2009 - Olga Dahl, Swedish genealogist
• 2010 - Ben Mondor, Canadian-American businessman
• 2010 - Abraham Sarmiento, Filipino lawyer and jurist
• 2012 - Abdul Haq Ansari, Indian theologian and scholar
• 2012 - Robert F. Christy, American physicist and astrophysicist
• 2012 - Billy Hullin, Welsh rugby player
• 2012 - Albie Roles, English footballer
• 2013 - Sari Abacha, Nigerian footballer
• 2013 - Sergei Belov, Russian basketball player and coach
• 2013 - Bob Chance, American baseball player
• 2013 - Frank D'Rone, American singer and guitarist
• 2013 - Chuck Smith, American pastor, founded the Calvary Chapel movement
• 2013 - Joan Thirsk, English cryptologist, historian, and academic
• 2014 - Ewen Gilmour, New Zealand comedian and television host
• 2014 - Benedict Groeschel, American priest, psychologist, and talk show host
• 2014 - Jean-Jacques Marcel, French footballer
• 2014 - Kevin Metheny, American businessman
• 2014 - Ward Ruyslinck, Belgian author
• 2015 - Denis Healey, English soldier and politician, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
• 2015 - Muhammad Nawaz Khan, Pakistani historian and author
• 2015 - Javed Iqbal, Pakistani philosopher and judge
• 2015 - Gerald Squires, Canadian painter and illustrator
• 2018 - Peter Wales, English cricketer

  Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day:
• * Abd-al-Masih
• * Adalgott
• * Blessed Szilárd Bogdánffy
• * Dionysius the Areopagite
• * Émilie de Villeneuve
• * Ewald the Black and Ewald the Fair
• * Francis Borgia
• * George Bell and John Raleigh Mott
• * Gerard of Brogne
• * Hesychius of Sinai
• * Théodore Guérin
• * October 3
• German Unity Day
• Morazán Day
• National Day, celebrates the independence of Iraq from the United Kingdom in 1932.
• National Foundation Day or Gaecheonjeol
• On social media: "Mean Girls Day", a widespread phenomenon in celebration of the film Mean Girls
• On social media: "Fullmetal Alchemist Day", a similar celebration of the Japanese shōnen manga series Fullmetal Alchemist