Summary of the Day ✨ 3 March (03/03)
Violent incidents unfolded worldwide as a bomb blast in Karachi killed dozens while in Canada, James Roszko murdered four RCMP officers before taking his own life in the force’s deadliest peacetime loss. On the same day, aviation history was made as Steve Fossett completed the first solo non-stop flight around the world, while New Zealand achieved a gender equality milestone with all top political offices held by women, and amateur video captured the Rodney King beating that would later spark major civil unrest.
Historical Events 📜
- 2013: A bomb blast in Karachi, Pakistan, kills at least 48 people and injured 200 others in a predominantly Shia Muslim area.
- 2005: James Roszko murders four Royal Canadian Mounted Police constables during a drug bust at his property in Rochfort Bridge, Alberta, then commits suicide. This is the deadliest peace-time incident for the RCMP since 1885 and the North-West Rebellion.
- 2005: Steve Fossett becomes the first person to fly an airplane non-stop around the world solo without refueling.
- 2005: Margaret Wilson is elected as Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives, beginning a period lasting until August 23, 2006, where all the highest political offices (including Elizabeth II as Head of State), were occupied by women, making New Zealand the first country for this to occur.
- 1991: An amateur video captures the beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles police officers.
- 1991: United Airlines Flight 585 crashes on its final approach to Colorado Springs killing everyone on board.
- 1986: The Australia Act 1986 commences, causing Australia to become fully independent from the United Kingdom.
- 1985: A magnitude 8.3 earthquake strikes the Valparaíso Region of Chile, killing 177 and leaving nearly a million people homeless.
- 1980: The USS Nautilus is decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register.
- 1974: Turkish Airlines Flight 981 crashes at Ermenonville near Paris, France killing all 346 aboard.
- 1972: Mohawk Airlines Flight 405 crashes as a result of a control malfunction and insufficient training in emergency procedures.
- 1969: Apollo program: NASA launches Apollo 9 to test the lunar module.
- 1958: Nuri al-Said becomes Prime Minister of Iraq for the eighth time.
- 1953: A De Havilland Comet (Canadian Pacific Air Lines) crashes in Karachi, Pakistan, killing 11 people.
- 1945: World War II: In poor visibility, the RAF mistakenly bombs the Bezuidenhout area of The Hague, Netherlands, killing 511 people.
Famous Births 👶
- 2001: Jvke, American singer-songwriter
- 2000: Jevon Holland, Canadian-American football player
- 1999: Corey Kispert, American basketball player
- 1998: Jayson Tatum, American basketball player
- 1997: Camila Cabello, Cuban-American singer-songwriter and actress
- 1997: David Neres, Brazilian footballer
- 1996: Cameron Johnson, American basketball player
- 1996: Andile Phehlukwayo, South African cricketer
- 1995: Bryan Cristante, Italian footballer
- 1995: Maine Mendoza, Filipina actress
- 1994: Dilson Herrera, Colombian baseball player
- 1994: Umika Kawashima, Japanese singer and actress
- 1993: Gabriela Cé, Brazilian tennis player
- 1993: Josef Dostál, Czech kayaker
- 1993: Antonio Rüdiger, German footballer
Notable Deaths 🕊️
- 2023: Kenzaburō Ōe, Japanese novelist, 1994 Nobel Prize laureate in Literature (born 1935)
- 2023: Tom Sizemore, American actor (born 1961)
- 2020: Charles J. Urstadt, American real estate executive and investor (born 1928)
- 2019: Peter Hurford OBE, British organist and composer (born 1930)
- 2018: Roger Bannister, English middle-distance athlete, first man to run a four-minute mile (born 1929)
- 2018: Mal Bryce, Australian politician (born 1943)
- 2018: Vanessa Goodwin, Australian politician (born 1969)
- 2018: David Ogden Stiers, American actor, voice actor and musician (born 1942)
- 2017: René Préval, Haitian politician (born 1943)
- 2016: Hayabusa, Japanese wrestler (born 1968)
- 2016: Berta Cáceres, Honduran environmentalist (born 1973)
- 2016: Martin Crowe, New Zealand cricketer and sportscaster (born 1962)
- 2016: Thanat Khoman, Thai politician and diplomat, Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand (born 1914)
- 2016: Sarah Tait, Australian Olympic rower (born 1983)
- 2015: Ernest Braun, Austrian-English physicist and academic (born 1925)
Holidays & Observances 🎉
- Christian feast day:
Anselm, Duke of Friuli - Christian feast day:
Arthelais - Christian feast day:
Cunigunde of Luxembourg - Christian feast day:
Katharine Drexel - Christian feast day:
John and Charles Wesley (Episcopal Church (USA)) - Christian feast day:
Marinus and Asterius of Caesarea - Christian feast day:
Winwaloe - Christian feast day:
March 3 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) - Hinamatsuri or “Girl’s Day” (Japan)
- Liberation and Freedom Day (Charlottesville, Virginia, USA)
- Liberation Day (Bulgaria)
- Martyrs’ Day (Malawi)
- Mother’s Day (Georgia)
- Sportsmen’s Day (Egypt)
- World Hearing Day