May 3 in History

Historical Events on May 3

334 BC The Macedonian army of Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of the Granicus.

1802 Washington, D.C. is incorporated as a city.

1808 Peninsular War: The Madrid rebels who rose up on May 2 are executed near Príncipe Pío hill.

1867 The Hudson's Bay Company gives up all claims to Vancouver Island.

1921 West Virginia becomes the first state to legislate a broad sales tax, but does not implement it until a number of years later due to enforcement issues.

1942 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.

1948 The U.S. Supreme Court rules in Shelley v. Kraemer that covenants prohibiting the sale of real estate to blacks and other minorities are legally unenforceable.

1987 A crash by Bobby Allison at the Talladega Superspeedway, Alabama fencing at the start-finish line would lead NASCAR to develop the restrictor plate for the following season both at Daytona International Speedway and Talladega.

2002 An Indian Air Force MiG-21 crashes into a bank in Jalandhar, killing eight and injuring 17.

All Events

Famous Birthdays on May 3

1921 Sugar Ray Robinson

1933 James Brown

1949 Ron Wyden

1961 David Vitter

All Births

Famous Deaths on May 3

1270 Béla IV of Hungary

1481 Mehmed the Conqueror

1978 Bill Downs

2002 Barbara Castle, Baroness Castle of Blackburn

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