03 May History
- 495 - Pope Gelasius asserts that his authority is superior to Emperor Enanstasius.
- 1568 - French forces in Florida slaughter hundreds of Spanish.
- 1855 - Macon B. Allen becomes the first African American to be admitted to the Bar in Massachusetts.
- 1859 - France declares war on Austria.
- 1863 - The Battle of Chancellorsville rages for a second day.
- 1865 - President Lincoln's funeral train arrives in Springfield, Illinois.
- 1926 - U.S. Marines land in Nicaragua.
- 1952 - The first airplane lands at the geographic North Pole.
- 1968 - After three days of battle, the U.S. Marines retake Dai Do complex in Vietnam, only to find the North Vietnamese have evacuated the area.
- 1971 - James Earl Ray, Martin Luther King's assassin, is caught in a jail break attempt.
- 1979 - Margaret Thatcher becomes the first woman prime minister of Great Britain.
- 1982 - A British submarine sinks Argentina's only cruiser during the Falkland Islands War.
03 May Birthdays
- 1469 - Niccol Machiavelli, political advisor and writer (The Prince).
- 1849 - Jacob Riis, American reformer (How the Other Half Lives).
- 1898 - Golda Mier, Fourth Prime Minister of Israel (1969-1974).
- 1903 - Bing [Harry Lillis] Crosby, singer and actor. Various dates given for his birth date.
- 1912 - May Sarton, poet and writer.
- 1913 - William Inge, American playwright (Picnic, Bus Stop).
- 1919 - Betty Compden, lyricist.
- 1919 - Pete Seeger, folksinger and songwriter.
- 1920 - John Lewis, jazz pianist.
- 1920 - Walker Smith, Jr. (Sugar Ray Robinson), champion middleweight boxer.
- 1933 - James Brown, American singer and songwriter.