January 3

January 3 is the 3rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. 362 days (363 during leap years) remain in the year after this day.

Recurring events

Under the terms of the Twentieth Amendment to the United States Constitution, congressional terms begin at noon on January 3 of every odd-numbered year. As such all members of the U.S. House of Representatives and one-third of all U.S. Senators are sworn in on January 3 every two years. A Congress lasts until January 3rd of the next odd-numbered year. Therefore the 110th Congress will begin on January 3, 2007 and end on January 3, 2009. The Twentieth Amendment became effective in January 1934, during the 73rd Congress. Thus the first session of the 73rd Congress convened in March 1933, but the second session convened in January 1934.

Events

• 1431 - Joan of Arc is handed over to the Bishop Pierre Cauchon.
• 1496 - Leonardo da Vinci unsuccessfully tests a flying machine.
• 1521 - Pope Leo X excommunicates Martin Luther in the papal bull Decet Romanum Pontificem.
• 1749 - Benning Wentworth issues the first of the New Hampshire Grants, leading to the establishment of Vermont.
• 1777 - American general George Washington defeats British general Charles Cornwallis at the Battle of Princeton.
• 1815 - Austria, Britain, and France form a secret defensive alliance treaty against Prussia and Russia.
• 1823 - Stephen F. Austin receives a grant of land in Texas from the government of Mexico.
• 1825 - Rensselaer School, the first engineering college in the U.S. is opened in Troy, New York. It is now known as Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
• 1833 - Britain seizes control of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic.
• 1834 - The government of Mexico imprisons Stephen F. Austin in Mexico City.
• 1848 - Joseph Jenkins Roberts is sworn in as the first president of the independent African Republic of Liberia.
• 1861 - American Civil War: Delaware votes not to secede from the United States.
• 1868 - Meiji Restoration in Japan: The Tokugawa shogunate is abolished; agents of Satsuma and Chōshū seize power.
• 1871 - Henry W. Bradley patents oleomargarine.
• 1888 - The 91 cm refracting telescope at Lick Observatory is used for the first time. It was the largest telescope in the world at the time.
• 1888 - Marvin C. Stone patents the drinking straw.
• 1899 - The first known use of the word automobile, in an editorial in The New York Times.
• 1920 - Curse of the Bambino: The Boston Red Sox sell Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees for a sum of $125,000 and a loan of more than $300,000.
• 1921 - Turkey makes peace with Armenia.
• 1924 - English explorer Howard Carter discovers the sarcophagus of Tutankhamen in the Valley of the Kings, near Luxor, Egypt.
• 1925 - Benito Mussolini announces he is taking dictatorial powers over Italy.
• 1932 - Martial law declared in Honduras to stop revolt by banana workers fired by United Fruit.
• 1938 - The March of Dimes is established by Franklin D. Roosevelt.
• 1938 - Woman in White is first broadcast on the NBC Red network. The program remains on the radio for the next ten years.
• 1947 - Proceedings of the U.S. Congress are televised for the first time.
• 1951 - Dragnet is first broadcast on NBC-TV.
• 1953 - Frances Bolton and her son, Oliver from Ohio, become the first mother and son to serve simultaneously in the U.S. Congress.
• 1957 - Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch.
• 1958 - The West Indies Federation is formed.
• 1959 - Alaska is admitted as the 49th U.S. state.
• 1961 - The United States severs diplomatic relations with Cuba.
• 1961 - The SL-1, a government-run reactor near Idaho Falls, Idaho, leaks radiation, killing three workers.
• 1962 - Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro.
• 1966 - The first Acid Test at the Fillmore, San Francisco, California.
• 1966 - The Psychedelic Shop, the world's first Head shop, opened on Haight Street near Ashbury in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco.
• 1973 - Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) sells the New York Yankees for $12 million to a 12-person syndicate led by George Steinbrenner.
• 1983 - Tony Dorsett of the Dallas Cowboys makes the longest run from scrimmage (99 yards) in NFL history.
• 1983 - CiTV launches on ITV1 in the UK.
• 1987 - Aretha Franklin becomes the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
• 1988 - Margaret Thatcher becomes the longest-serving British Prime Minister in the 20th Century.
• 1990 - Former leader of Panama Manuel Noriega surrenders to American forces.
• 1991 - Hockey Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky scores his 700th goal.
• 1991 - Gulf War: The British government announces the expulsion of 75 Iraqis from the country.
• 1993 - In Moscow, George H. W. Bush and Boris Yeltsin sign the second Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START).
• 1993 - In an AFC Wild Card game, the Buffalo Bills comeback from a 35-3 deficit against the Houston Oilers and win the game in overtime 41-38, the largest comeback in NFL history.
• 1994 - An Aeroflot Tupolev TU-154 crashes and explodes after takeoff from Irkhutsk, Russia, killing 125 people including one on the ground.
• 1997 - The People's Republic of China announces it will spend $27.7 billion to fight erosion and pollution in the Yangtze and Yellow river valleys.
• 1999 - The Mars Polar Lander launches.
• 1999 - Israel detains, later to expel, 14 members of Concerned Christians.
• 2000 - The last "Peanuts" comic strip is created by Charles Schulz.
• 2003 - Ohio State University becomes the first NCAA Division I football team to complete a season 14-0 by winning the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl over the University of Miami 31-24, and is crowned BCS National Champion.
• 2004 - Flight 604, a Boeing 737 owned by Flash Airlines, an Egyptian airliner, plunges into the Red Sea, killing all 148 people aboard.

Births

• 106 BC - Cicero, Roman statesman and philosopher (d. 43 BC)
• 1196 - Emperor Tsuchimikado of Japan (d. 1231)
• 1710 - Richard Gridley, American Revolutionary soldier (d. 1796)
• 1719 - Francisco José Freire, Portuguese historian (d. 1773)
• 1722 - Fredric Hasselquist, Swedish naturalist (d. 1752)
• 1778 - Antoni Melchior Fijałkowski, Polish bishop (d. 1861)
• 1793 - Lucretia Mott, American women's rights activist (d. 1880)
• 1802 - Charles Pelham Villiers (d. 1898), longest-serving MP in the British House of Commons
• 1803 - Douglas William Jerrold, British playwright (d. 1857)
• 1836 - Sakamoto Ryoma, Japanese revolutionary (d. 1867)
• 1840 - Father Damien, Belgian missionary (d. 1889)
• 1855 - Hubert Bland, English socialist (d. 1914)
• 1879 - Grace Coolidge, First Lady of the United States (d. 1957)
• 1883 - Clement Attlee, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1967)
• 1887 - August Macke, German painter (d. 1914)
• 1892 - J. R. R. Tolkien, British writer (d. 1973)
• 1894 - ZaSu Pitts, American actress (d. 1963)
• 1897 - Marion Davies, American actress (d. 1961)
• 1898 - Carlos Keller, Chilean fascist politician (d. 1974)
• 1901 - Ngo Dinh Diem, President of South Vietnam (d. 1963)
• 1905 - Anna May Wong, American actress (d. 1961)
• 1907 - Ray Milland, Welsh actor (d. 1986)
• 1909 - Victor Borge, Danish entertainer (d. 2000)
• 1910 - Frenchy Bordagaray, baseball player (d. 2000)
• 1911 - John Sturges, American director (d. 1982)
• 1912 - Armand Lohikoski, Finnish director (d. 2005)
• 1916 - Betty Furness, American actress (d. 1994)
• 1917 - Roger W. Straus, Jr., American publisher (d. 2004)
• 1920 - Renato Carosone, Italian musician (d. 2001)
• 1924 - Nell Rankin, American singer (d. 2005)
• 1924 - Hank Stram, American football coach (d. 2005)
• 1926 - George Martin, British producer
• 1929 - Sergio Leone, Italian director (d. 1989)
• 1929 - Ernst Mahle, Brazilian composer
• 1930 - Robert Loggia, American actor
• 1932 - Dabney Coleman, American actor
• 1932 - Coo Coo Marlin, American race car driver (d. 2005)
• 1936 - Georgina Spelvin, American pornographic actress
• 1939 - Bobby Hull, Canadian hockey player
• 1941 - Van Dyke Parks, American musician
• 1942 - John Thaw, British actor (d. 2002)
• 1945 - Stephen Stills, American musician
• 1946 - John Paul Jones, British musician (Led Zeppelin)
• 1946 - Cissy King, American entertainer
• 1946 - Victoria Principal, American actress
• 1949 - Sylvia Likens, American torture victim
• 1950 - Jim Ross, American wrestling announcer
• 1954 - Dean Hart, Canadian wrestler (d. 1990)
• 1954 - Ned Lamont, American businessman
• 1956 - Mel Gibson, American actor
• 1957 - Bojan Križ, Slovenian skier
• 1958 - Shim Hyung-rae, South Korean filmmaker
• 1959 - Rafael Arráiz Lucca Venezuelan writer
• 1960 - Joan Chen, Chinese actress
• 1966 - Martin Galway, Northern Ireland composer
• 1969 - Michael Schumacher, German race car driver
• 1974 - Alessandro Petacchi, Italian cyclist
• 1975 - Jason Marsden, American actor
• 1975 - Danica McKellar, American actress
• 1975 - Thomas Bangalter, French DJ (Daft Punk)
• 1976 - Nicholas Gonzalez, American actor
• 1977 - Lee Bowyer, English footballer
• 1977 - Mayumi Iizuka, Japanese voice actress (seiyū)
• 1978 - Park Sol-mi, South Korean actress
• 1978 - Mike York, American ice hockey player
• 1978 - Kimberley Locke, American Singer
• 1979 - Francesco Bellissimo, Italian mangaka
• 1980 - David Tyree, American football player
• 1980 - Liya Kebede, Ethiopian model
• 1980 - Rob Arnold, American guitarist (Chimaira)
• 1981 - Eli Manning, American football player
• 1989 - Alex D. Linz, American actor

Deaths

• 722 - Empress Gemmei of Japan (b. 661)
• 1098 - Walkelin, first Norman bishop of Winchester (b. unknown)
• 1322 - King Philip V of France (b. 1293)
• 1437 - Catherine of Valois, wife of Henry V of England (b. 1401)
• 1543 - Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, Portuguese explorer (b. 1499)
• 1641 - Jeremiah Horrocks, English astronomer (bc. 1618)
• 1656 - Mathieu Molé, French statesman (b. 1584)
• 1670 - George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle, English soldier (b. 1608)
• 1690 - Hillel ben Naphtali Zevi, Lithuanian rabbi (b. 1615)
• 1743 - Ferdinando Galli-Bibiena, Italian architect/designer (b. 1657)
• 1779 - Claude Bourgelat, French veterinary surgeon (b. 1712)
• 1785 - Baldassare Galuppi, Italian composer (b. 1706)
• 1795 - Josiah Wedgwood, English potter (b. 1730)
• 1826 - Louis Gabriel Suchet, French marshal (b. 1770)
• 1875 - Pierre Larousse, French editor (b. 1817)
• 1903 - Alois Hitler, Adolf Hilter's father (b. 1837)
• 1923 - Jaroslav Hasek, Czech novelist (b. 1883)
• 1927 - Carle David Tolmé Runge, German physicist (b. 1856)
• 1933 - Wilhelm Cuno, 6th Chancellor of the Weimar Republic (Germany) (b. 1876)
• 1933 - Jack Pickford, Canadian actor (b. 1896)
• 1944 - Jurgis Baltrušaitis, Lithuanian poet (b. 1873)
• 1945 - Edgar Cayce, American psychic (b. 1877)
• 1945 - Ferdynand Antoni Ossendowski, Polish writer (b. 1879)
• 1946 - William Joyce, American Nazi propagandist (executed) (b. 1906)
• 1950 - Emil Jannings, Swiss actor (b. 1884)
• 1956 - Alexander Gretchaninov, Russian composer (b. 1864)
• 1956 - Joseph Wirth, 5th Chancellor of the Weimar Republic (Germany) (b. 1876)
• 1963 - Jack Carson, Canadian actor (b. 1910)
• 1967 - Mary Garden, Scottish singer (b. 1874)
• 1967 - Jack Ruby, American killer of Lee Harvey Oswald (b. 1911)
• 1979 - Conrad Hilton, American hotelier (b. 1887)
• 1980 - Joy Adamson, Czech conservationist (b. 1910)
• 1980 - Lucien Buysse, Belgian cyclist (b. 1892)
• 1981 - Princess Alice of Albany (b. 1883)
• 1988 - Rose Ausländer, German poet (b. 1901)
• 1989 - Sergei Lvovich Sobolev, Russian mathematician (b. 1909)
• 1992 - Dame Judith Anderson, Australian actress (b. 1897)
• 1993 - Johnny Most, American sports announcer (b. 1923)
• 2001 - José Greco, Italian-born dancer (b. 1918)
• 2002 - Esquivel, Mexican band leader (b. 1918)
• 2002 - Freddy Heineken, Dutch beer executive (b. 1923)
• 2003 - Sid Gillman, American football coach (b. 1911)
• 2004 - Leon Wagner, baseball player (b. 1934)
• 2005 - Koo Chen-fu, Chinese negotiator (b. 1917)
• 2005 - JN Dixit, Indian government official (b. 1936)
• 2005 - Will Eisner, American comic book artist (b. 1917)
• 2006 - Steve Rogers, Australian rugby league player (b. 1954)
• 2006 - Bill Skate, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea (b. 1954)

Do not add people without Wikipedia articles to this listDo not trust “this year in history” websites for accurate date informationDo not link multiple occurrences of the same year, just link the first occurrence.--

Holidays and observances

• Feast day of St Genevieve
• Roman Empire - Festival in honour of Pax
• The tenth night and ninth day of Christmas in Western Christianity
• In astronomy the best date to view the Quadrantids meteor shower.
• In astronomy the approximate date of Earth's perihelion.

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• NY Times: On this day
• On This Day in Canada

January 2 - January 4 - December 3 - February 3 — listing of all days

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