Discover what happened on May 3 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

May 3

Discover what happened on May 3 with HISTORY&#8217;s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

What Happened on May 3 | HISTORY

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In 1954, a year of breakthroughs, the first successful polio vaccine rolled out and the U.S. Supreme Court ruled school segregation unconstitutional. In England, Roger Bannister became the first man to run a mile in under four minutes. Two pop-culture titans, movie star Marilyn Monroe and baseball slugger Joe DiMaggio, tied the knot. And Bill Haley and His Comets released “Rock Around the Clock,” one of the earliest and most successful rock ‘n’ roll records.

1954

2007

1946

The turbulence of 1968 began on New Year’s Day with the Tet Offensive, shocking Americans with the unwinnable realities of the Vietnam War. The assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy darkened the national mood and deepened domestic unrest. Mass protests erupted around the globe, from Chicago to Prague to France, Mexico and beyond. In space, Apollo 8 orbited the moon, while back on earth, “Laugh-In” topped TV ratings, “Hair” premiered on Broadway and McDonald’s debuted the iconic Big Mac.

1968

In 1947, both India and Pakistan won independence from Great Britain. America launched the Marshall Plan to help war-torn Europe rebuild, and the U.N. partitioned Palestine, creating the state of Israel. In the U.S., Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball and test pilot Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier in the X-1 rocket plane. And in Roswell, New Mexico, a mysterious object crashed in the desert, driving speculation about extraterrestrial life.

1947

1952

As the Great Depression continued worldwide, Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany. Nazis declared a national boycott of Jewish-owned businesses and opened their first concentration camp, Dachau. In the U.S., after President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt narrowly escaped assassination, he inaugurated his New Deal programs, ended Prohibition and began speaking directly to Americans with radio fireside chats. A “monster” appeared in Scotland’s Loch Ness, King Kong loomed large on movie screens and the first drive-in theater opened in New Jersey.

1933

1810

A new world order began to emerge in 1948. The U.S. announced the Marshall Plan to help rebuild Europe, while a group of European nations formed an alliance that would evolve into NATO. The Berlin Blockade escalated tensions between the emerging superpowers. Israel became a Jewish state, and Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated less than a year after his country won independence from Great Britain. President Truman desegregated America’s military, while 42-year-old Negro League star Satchel Paige became Major League Baseball’s oldest rookie.

1948

1962

After a devastating Windsor Castle fire and assorted family crises, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II called 1992 her “annus horribilis,” or horrible year. The police beating of Rodney King in Los Angeles sparked one of the worst riots in U.S. history, while exploding sewers in Mexico killed hundreds. On the brighter side, South Africa ended apartheid, the U.S. and Russia declared the Cold War over, Mae Jemison became the first Black woman in space and a big purple dinosaur named Barney hit TV, singing about love, kindness and cleaning up.

1992

1951

1980

In 1942, the U.S. Navy defeated the Japanese Navy in the Battle of Midway, a turning point of the war in the Pacific, while in Germany, Nazi officials met to plan the “Final Solution” and Anne Frank’s family went into hiding. As FDR ordered Japanese Americans into wartime incarceration camps, false reports of a Japanese attack set California skies ablaze with anti-aircraft fire in the “Battle of Los Angeles.” Americans supported the war effort with scrap drives and victory gardens.

1942

The continent of Asia, home to the majority of the world's population and countries as diverse as China, South Korea and India, has thousands of years of rich history.

Asian History

In the 15th century, Europeans began to sail west across the Atlantic Ocean in search of new routes to China and the East, but in the process they discovered what they labeled a "New World," although Indigenous people had lived there for centuries. Other explorers have pushed the limits of flight and seafaring, and traversed the frozen Continent of Antarctica.

Exploration

Crime has been a dark and powerful undercurrent in human society throughout history. Uncover the facts behind some of the most daring robberies, brazen scams and brutal murders ever committed.

Crime

Hispanic Heritage Month is an annual celebration of the history and culture of the U.S. Latin and Hispanic communities. The event, which spans from September 15 to October 15, commemorates how those communities have influenced and contributed to American society at large.

Hispanic History

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History.com Editors

Art history tells the complex story of human civilization through art, literature and design. It ranges from prehistoric art of the Neolithic period through Renaissance masterpieces, Impressionism, Modernism, the Bauhaus and contemporary art.

Art, Literature and Film History

World War II was the biggest and deadliest war in history, involving more than 30 countries. Sparked by the 1939 Nazi invasion of Poland, the war dragged on for six bloody years until the Allies defeated the Axis powers of Nazi Germany, Japan and Italy in 1945. Explore the battles, leaders and atrocities from the war and its impact on geopolitics and humankind.

World War II

Inventions from the telephone to the Model T and the computer have defined human history, and inventors like Leonardo da Vinci, Nikola Tesla, Thomas Edison, Eli Whitney and Alexander Graham Bell have transformed our society.

Inventions & Science

The Cold War rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union lasted for decades and resulted in anti-communist suspicions and international incidents that led two superpowers to the brink of nuclear disaster.

Cold War

Explore the wars, battles, leaders, civilizations, regimes, prominent figures and major events from the continent that encompasses 2 percent of the Earth’s surface. From Stonehenge to the Great Awakening to the French Revolution to the rise and fall of Communism in Russia, see how Europe’s often tumultuous history unfolded.

European History

During the 1980s, conservative politics and Reaganomics held sway as the Berlin Wall crumbled, new computer technologies emerged, AIDS ravaged the United States, especially the gay male community, and blockbuster movies and MTV reshaped pop culture.

This Day In History: May 3

Italian philosopher and writer Niccolo Machiavelli born

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Supreme Court rules in Hernandez v. Texas, broadening civil rights laws

This Day in History Video: What Happened on May 3

Three‑year‑old Madeleine McCann goes missing in Portugal

Japanese war crimes trial begins

Students protest at the Sorbonne in Paris, kicking off month of unrest

New Japanese constitution goes into effect

Joseph Fletcher lands first aircraft on the North Pole

Funk master James Brown is born

Lord Byron swims across tumultuous Hellespont strait in Turkey

U.S. Supreme Court decides Paramount antitrust case

Trains collide near Tokyo, killing more than 160 people

Kidnapped Exxon executive dies in a wooden box

Congressional hearings on General MacArthur begin

MADD founder’s daughter killed by drunk driver

The Battle of the Coral Sea begins

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