What Happened On June 3

10 odd things that happened on June 3

• 
  1770 First ever

  Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo, a historic Catholic mission church in present-day Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, and the site of the first Christian confirmation in Alta California, was established.

  Read more →

  Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

• 
  1658 First ever

  Pope Alexander VII appointed François de Laval as the first apostolic vicar of New France.

  Read more →

  Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

• 
  1885 Oddly true

  In the last military engagement fought on Canadian soil, the Cree leader, Big Bear, escapes the North-West Mounted Police.

  Read more →

  Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

• 
  1844 Oddly true

  The last known pair of great auks (one pictured), the only modern species in the genus Pinguinus of flightless birds, were killed on Eldey, Iceland.

  Read more →

  Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

• 
  1889 First ever

  The first long-distance electric power transmission line in the United States is completed, running 14 miles (23 km) between a generator at Willamette Falls and downtown Portland, Oregon.

  Read more →

  Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

• 
  1844 Oddly true

  The last pair of great auks is killed.

  Read more →

  Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

• 
  1839 First ever

  In Humen, China, Lin Zexu destroys 1.2 million kilograms of opium confiscated from British merchants, providing Britain with a casus belli to open hostilities, resulting in the First Opium War.

  Read more →

  Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

• 
  1658 Oddly true

  Pope Alexander VII appoints François de Laval vicar apostolic in New France.

  Read more →

  Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

• 
  1098 First ever

  After a five-month siege during the First Crusade, the Crusaders seize Antioch.

  Read more →

  Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

• 
  1982 Oddly true

  A failed assassination attempt was made on Shlomo Argov, the Israeli ambassador to the United Kingdom, triggering an Israeli decision to invade Lebanon three days later.

  Read more →

  Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Observed today

• Christian feast day: Charles Lwanga and Companions (Roman Catholic Church), and its related observances: Martyrs' Day (Uganda)
• Christian feast day: Clotilde
• Christian feast day: Blessed Francis Ingleby
• Christian feast day: Juan Grande Román
• Christian feast day: Kevin of Glendalough
• Christian feast day: Ovidius
• Christian feast day: Vladimirskaya (Russian Orthodox)
• Christian feast day: June 3 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Confederate Memorial Day (Kentucky, and Tennessee, United States)
• Economist day (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
• Mabo Day (Australia)
• Opium Suppression Movement Day (Taiwan)
• World Bicycle Day

• 2025Reconstitution of the Academy of the Distrustful in the Sala Dalmases of the Historical Archive of the City of Barcelona in Barcelona. Wikipedia →
• 2019Khartoum massacre: In Sudan, over 100 people are killed when security forces accompanied by Janjaweed militiamen storm and open fire on a sit-in protest. Wikipedia →
• 2013The trial of United States Army private Chelsea Manning for leaking classified material to WikiLeaks begins in Fort Meade, Maryland. Wikipedia →
• 2013At least 119 people are killed in a fire at a poultry farm in Jilin Province in northeastern China. Wikipedia →
• 2012A plane carrying 153 people crashes in a residential neighborhood in Lagos, Nigeria, killing everyone on board plus six people on the ground. Wikipedia →
• 2012The pageant for the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II takes place on the River Thames. Wikipedia →
• 2006The union of Serbia and Montenegro comes to an end with Montenegro's formal declaration of independence. Wikipedia →
• 1998After suffering a mechanical failure, a high speed train derails at Eschede, Germany, killing 101 people. Wikipedia →
• 1992Australian Aboriginal land rights are recognised in Mabo v Queensland (No 2), a case brought by Torres Strait Islander Eddie Mabo which led to the Native Title Act 1993 overturning the long-held colonial assumption of terra nullius. Wikipedia →
• 1991Mount Unzen erupts in Kyūshū, Japan, killing 43 people, all of them either researchers or journalists. Wikipedia →
• 1989The government of China sends troops to force protesters out of Tiananmen Square after seven weeks of occupation. Wikipedia →
• 1984Operation Blue Star, a military offensive, is launched by the Indian government at Harmandir Sahib, also known as the Golden Temple, the holiest shrine for Sikhs, in Amritsar. The operation continues until June 6, with casualties, most of them civilians, in excess of 5,000. Wikipedia →
• 1982The Israeli ambassador to the United Kingdom, Shlomo Argov, is shot on a London street; he survives but is left paralysed. Wikipedia →
• 1980The 1980 Grand Island tornado outbreak hits Nebraska, United States, causing five deaths and $300 million (equivalent to $1172 million in 2025) worth of damage. Wikipedia →
• 1979A blowout at the Ixtoc I oil well in the southern Gulf of Mexico causes at least 3,000,000 barrels (480,000 m3) of oil to be spilled into the waters, the second-worst accidental oil spill ever recorded. Wikipedia →
• 1973A Soviet supersonic Tupolev Tu-144 crashes near Goussainville, France, killing 14, the first crash of a supersonic passenger aircraft. Wikipedia →
• 1969Melbourne-Evans collision: Off the coast of South Vietnam, the Australian aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne cuts the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Frank E. Evans in half, resulting in 74 deaths. Wikipedia →
• 1965The launch of Gemini 4, the first multi-day space mission by a NASA crew. Ed White, a crew member, performs the first American spacewalk. Wikipedia →
• 1963Soldiers of the South Vietnamese Army attack protesting Buddhists in Huế with liquid chemicals from tear-gas grenades, causing 67 people to be hospitalized for blistering of the skin and respiratory ailments. Wikipedia →
• 1962At Paris Orly Airport, Air France Flight 007 overruns the runway and explodes when the crew attempts to abort takeoff, killing 130. Wikipedia →
• 1950Herzog and Lachenal of the French Annapurna expedition become the first climbers to reach the summit of an 8,000-metre peak. Wikipedia →
• 1943In Los Angeles, California, white U.S. Navy sailors and Marines attack Latino youths in the five-day Zoot Suit Riots. Wikipedia →
• 1942World War II: Japan begins the Aleutian Islands Campaign by bombing Unalaska Island. Wikipedia →
• 1941World War II: The Wehrmacht razes the Greek village of Kandanos to the ground and murders 180 of its inhabitants. Wikipedia →
• 1940World War II: During the Battle of France, the Luftwaffe bombs Paris. Wikipedia →
• 1940Franz Rademacher proposes plans to make Madagascar the "Jewish homeland", an idea that had first been considered by 19th century journalist Theodor Herzl. Wikipedia →
• 1937The Duke of Windsor (the former King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom) marries Wallis Simpson. Wikipedia →
• 1935One thousand unemployed Canadian workers board freight cars in Vancouver, beginning a protest trek to Ottawa. Wikipedia →
• 1916The National Defense Act is signed into law, increasing the size of the United States National Guard by 450,000 men. Wikipedia →
• 1892Liverpool F.C. is founded by John Houlding. Wikipedia →
• 1889The first long-distance electric power transmission line in the United States is completed, running 14 miles (23 km) between a generator at Willamette Falls and downtown Portland, Oregon. Wikipedia →
• 1885In the last military engagement fought on Canadian soil, the Cree leader, Big Bear, escapes the North-West Mounted Police. Wikipedia →
• 1864American Civil War: Union forces under Ulysses S. Grant sustain heavy casualties attacking Confederate troops under Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Cold Harbor in Hanover County, Virginia. Wikipedia →
• 1863American Civil War: Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia begin marching to invade the North for a second time, starting the Gettysburg campaign. Wikipedia →
• 1861American Civil War: Battle of Philippi (also called the Philippi Races): Union forces rout Confederate troops in Barbour County, Virginia, now West Virginia. Wikipedia →
• 1844The last pair of great auks is killed. Wikipedia →
• 1839In Humen, China, Lin Zexu destroys 1.2 million kilograms of opium confiscated from British merchants, providing Britain with a casus belli to open hostilities, resulting in the First Opium War. Wikipedia →
• 1781Jack Jouett begins his midnight ride to warn Thomas Jefferson and the Virginia legislature of an impending British raid. Wikipedia →
• 1700Foundation of the Academy of the Distrustful in the library room of the Palau Dalmases in Barcelona. Wikipedia →
• 1665James Stuart, Duke of York (later to become King James II of England), defeats the Dutch fleet off the coast of Lowestoft. Wikipedia →
• 1658Pope Alexander VII appoints François de Laval vicar apostolic in New France. Wikipedia →
• 1621The Dutch West India Company receives a charter for New Netherland. Wikipedia →
• 1608Samuel de Champlain lands at Tadoussac, Quebec, in the course of his third voyage to New France, and begins erecting fortifications. Wikipedia →
• 1602An English naval force defeats a fleet of Spanish galleys, and captures a large Portuguese carrack at the Battle of Sesimbra Bay. Wikipedia →
• 1539Hernando de Soto claims Florida for Spain. Wikipedia →
• 1326The Treaty of Novgorod delineates borders between Russia and Norway in Finnmark. Wikipedia →
• 1140The French scholar Peter Abelard is found guilty of heresy. Wikipedia →
• 1098After a five-month siege during the First Crusade, the Crusaders seize Antioch. Wikipedia →
• 713The Byzantine emperor Philippicus is blinded, deposed and sent into exile by conspirators of the Opsikion army in Thrace. He is succeeded by Anastasios II, who begins the reorganization of the Byzantine army. Wikipedia →
• 350The Roman usurper Nepotianus, of the Constantinian dynasty, proclaims himself Roman emperor, entering Rome at the head of a group of gladiators. Wikipedia →