03 April History
- 628 - In Persia, Kavadh sues for peace with the Byzantines.
- 1367 - John of Gaunt and Edward the Black Prince win the Battle of Najara, in Spain.
- 1559 - Philip II of Spain and Henry II of France sign the peace of Cateau-Cambresis, ending a long series of wars between the Hapsburg and Valois dynasties.
- 1860 - The Pony Express connects St. Joseph, Missouri and Sacramento, California.
- 1862 - Slavery is abolished in Washington, D.C.
- 1865 - Union forces occupy the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia.
- 1882 - The American outlaw Jesse James is shot in the back and killed by his cousin, Bob Ford.
- 1910 - Alaska's Mount McKinley, the highest mountain in North America is climbed.
- 1920 - F. Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda Sayre are married at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City.
- 1936 - Bruno Hauptmann, killer of the Lindbergh baby, is executed.
- 1942 - The Japanese begin their all-out assault on the U.S. and Filipino troops at Bataan.
- 1944 - The U.S. Supreme Court rules that black citizens are eligible to vote in all elections, including primaries.
- 1948 - President Harry Truman signs Marshall Plan, it will revive war-torn Europe.
- 1966 - Three-thousand South Vietnamese Army troops lead a protest against the Ky regime in Saigon.
- 1972 - Charlie Chaplin returns to the United States after a twenty-year absence.
- 1984 - Coach John Thompson of Georgetown University becomes the first African-American coach to win an NCAA basketball tournament.
03 April Birthdays
- 1783 - Washington Irving, American writer (The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Rip Van Winkle).
- 1822 - Edward Everett Hale, American clergyman and author (Man without a Country).
- 1823 - William Macy "Boss" Tweed, New York City political boss.
- 1837 - John Burroughs, nature writer.
- 1842 - Hermann Karl Vogel, German astonomer.
- 1888 - Gertrude Bridget "Ma" Rainey, American singer, "the mother of the blues."
- 1898 - Henry R. Luce, magazine publisher, founder of Time, Fortune and Life.
- 1924 - Marlon Brando, actor (On the Waterfront, The Godfather).
- 1924 - Doris Von Kappelhoff [Doris Day], American singer and actress.
- 1930 - Helmut Kohl, chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany.