This is a list of selected April 3 anniversaries that appear in the "On this day" section of the Main Page. To suggest a new item, in most cases, you can be bold and edit this page. Please read the selected anniversaries guidelines before making your edit. However, if your addition might be controversial or on a day that is or will soon be on the Main Page, please post your suggestion on the talk page instead.
Please note that the events listed on the Main Page are chosen based more on relative article quality and to maintain a mix of topics, not based solely on how important or significant their subjects are. Only four to five events are posted at a time and thus not everything that is "most important and significant" can be listed. In addition, an event is generally not posted this year if it is also the subject of the scheduled featured article or picture of the day.
To report an error when this appears on the Main Page, see Main Page errors. Please remember that this list defers to the supporting articles, so it is best to achieve consensus and make any necessary changes there first.
Images
Only use ONE image at a time
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Martin Cooper, demonstrating an old-style mobile phone -
One of a number of posters created to promote the Marshall Plan in Europe -
George Marshall -
Bruno Hauptmann
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Westbound Pony Express postmark -
Osborne 1 portable computer
Ineligible
| Blurb | Reason |
|---|---|
| 1966 – Luna 10 entered orbit around the Moon, becoming the first space probe to orbit an astronomical body other than Earth. | unreferenced, no epoch |
| 1971 – The Japanese tokusatsu television series Kamen Rider premiered, marking the beginning of the long-running Kamen Rider franchise. | multiple issues |
| 1974 – The Super Outbreak of 148 tornadoes began, killing at least 315 people and injuring 5,484 in 13 US states at the end of a very strong La Niña event. | needs more footnotes |
| 1981 – The Osborne 1, the first successful portable computer, was unveiled at the West Coast Computer Faire in San Francisco. | lead too short |
Eligible
- 1888 – The first of eleven unsolved brutal murders of women committed in or near the impoverished Whitechapel district in the East End of London, occurred.
- 1936 – Richard Hauptmann was executed in the electric chair for the kidnapping and murder of the " Lindbergh baby".
- 1948 – An uprising began on Jeju Island, eventually leading to the deaths of between 14,000 and 30,000 individuals due to fighting between its various factions, and the violent suppression of the rebellion by the South Korean army.
- 1948 – The Marshall Plan, an economic recovery program established by US Secretary of State George Marshall to assist the post- World War II re-building of Europe, was signed into law.
- 1961 – An individual Leadbeater's possum, thought to have been extinct for over 50 years, was discovered in New South Wales, Australia.
- 1973 – On a New York City street, Motorola researcher Martin Cooper made the first public call on a handheld mobile phone.
- 2008 – Texas law enforcement authorities raided the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints' YFZ Ranch, eventually removing 533 women and children from the premises.
- 2009 – A gunman opened fire at an American Civic Association immigration center in Binghamton, New York, US, killing thirteen and wounding four before committing suicide.
- 2013 – The northeastern section of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, experienced several flash floods that claimed the lives of at least 100 people.
Notes
- 1920 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak appears on March 28 and April 2, 2006 tornado outbreak appears on April 2 and 1936 Tupelo–Gainesville tornado outbreak appears on April 5, so Super Outbreak should not appear in the same year
- 1043 – Edward the Confessor was crowned King of England, the last king of the House of Wessex.
- 1860 – The Pony Express, a mail service that became the most direct means of long distance communication to the American West, began operation.
- 1895 – The libel trial instigated by Irish author Oscar Wilde (pictured) began, eventually resulting in Wilde's arrest, trial and imprisonment on charges of gross indecency.
- 1922 – Joseph Stalin became the first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
- 1946 – Imperial Japanese Army officer Masaharu Homma was executed for war crimes relating to the Bataan Death March.
- 1996 – A US Air Force CT-43 crashed into a mountainside while attempting an instrument approach to Dubrovnik Airport in Dubrovnik, Croatia, killing Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown and all the other 34 people on board.