April 3

Template:This date in recent years/validate

Events

Pre-1600

• 686 – Maya king Yuknoom Yich'aak K'ahk' assumes the crown of Calakmul.
• 1043 – Edward the Confessor is crowned King of England.
• 1077 – The Patriarchate of Friûl, the first Friulian state, is created.
• 1559 – The second of two treaties making up the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis is signed, ending the Italian Wars.
• 1589 – The janissaries revolt in response to the debasement of coins.

1601–1900

• 1721 – Robert Walpole becomes, in effect, the first Prime Minister of Great Britain, though he himself denied that title.
• 1851 – Rama IV is crowned King of Thailand after the death of his half-brother, Rama III.
• 1860 – The first successful United States Pony Express run from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, begins.
• 1865 – American Civil War: Union forces capture Richmond, Virginia, the capital of the Confederate States of America.
• 1882 – American Old West: Robert Ford kills Jesse James.
• 1885 – Gottlieb Daimler is granted a German patent for a light, high-speed, four-stroke engine, which he uses seven months later to create the world's first motorcycle, the Daimler Reitwagen.
• 1888 – Jack the Ripper: The first of 11 unsolved brutal murders of women committed in or near the impoverished Whitechapel district in the East End of London, occurs.
• 1895 – The trial in the libel case brought by Oscar Wilde begins, eventually resulting in his imprisonment on charges of homosexuality.

1901–present

• 1905 – Association football club Boca Juniors is founded in Buenos Aires, Argentina
• 1920 – Attempts are made to carry out the failed assassination attempt on General Mannerheim, led by Aleksander Weckman by order of Eino Rahja, during the White Guard parade in Tampere, Finland.
• 1922 – Joseph Stalin becomes the first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
• 1933 – First flight over Mount Everest, the British Houston-Mount Everest Flight Expedition, led by the Marquis of Clydesdale and funded by Lucy, Lady Houston.
• 1936 – Bruno Richard Hauptmann is executed for the kidnapping and death of Charles Augustus Lindbergh Jr., the infant son of pilot Charles Lindbergh.
• 1942 – World War II: Japanese forces begin an assault on the United States and Filipino troops on the Bataan Peninsula.
• 1946 – Japanese Lt. General Masaharu Homma is executed in the Philippines for leading the Bataan Death March.
• 1948 – Cold War: U.S. President Harry S. Truman signs the Marshall Plan, authorizing $5 billion in aid for 16 countries.
• 1948 – In Jeju Province, South Korea, a civil-war-like period of violence and human rights abuses known as the Jeju uprising begins.
• 1955 – The American Civil Liberties Union announces it will defend Allen Ginsberg's book Howl against obscenity charges.
• 1956 – Hudsonville–Standale tornado: The western half of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan is struck by a deadly F5 tornado.
• 1961 – LAN-Chile Flight 621 crashes in the Andes mountains, killing 21 people, including Argentinian football player Eliseo Mouriño.
• 1968 – Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech; he was assassinated the next day.
• 1969 – Vietnam War: United States Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird announces that the United States will start to "Vietnamize" the war effort.
• 1973 – Martin Cooper of Motorola makes the first handheld mobile phone call to Joel S. Engel of Bell Labs.
• 1974 – The 1974 Super Outbreak occurs, the second largest tornado outbreak in recorded history (after the 2011 Super Outbreak). The death toll is 315, with nearly 5,500 injured.
• 1975 – Vietnam War: Operation Babylift, a mass evacuation of children in the closing stages of the war begins.
• 1975 – Bobby Fischer refuses to play in a chess match against Anatoly Karpov, giving Karpov the title of World Champion by default.
• 1980 – US Congress restores a federal trust relationship with the 501 members of the Shivwits, Kanosh, Koosharem, and the Indian Peaks and Cedar City bands of the Paiute people of Utah.
• 1981 – The Osborne 1, the first successful portable computer, is unveiled at the West Coast Computer Faire in San Francisco.
• 1989 – The US Supreme Court upholds the jurisdictional rights of tribal courts under the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 in Mississippi Choctaw Band v. Holyfield.
• 1993 – The outcome of the Grand National horse race is declared void for the first (and only) time.
• 1996 – Suspected "Unabomber" Theodore Kaczynski is captured at his Montana cabin in the United States.
• 1996 – A United States Air Force Boeing T-43 crashes near Dubrovnik Airport in Croatia, killing 35, including Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown.
• 1997 – The Thalit massacre begins in Algeria; all but one of the 53 inhabitants of Thalit are killed by guerrillas.
• 2000 – United States v. Microsoft Corp.: Microsoft is ruled to have violated United States antitrust law by keeping "an oppressive thumb" on its competitors.
• 2004 – Islamic terrorists involved in the 2004 Madrid train bombings are trapped by the police in their apartment and kill themselves.
• 2007 – Conventional-Train World Speed Record: A French TGV train on the LGV Est high speed line sets an official new world speed record of 574.8 km/h (159.6 m/s, 357.2 mph).
• 2008 – ATA Airlines, once one of the ten largest U.S. passenger airlines and largest charter airline, files for bankruptcy for the second time in five years and ceases all operations.
• 2008 – Texas law enforcement cordons off the FLDS's YFZ Ranch. Eventually 533 women and children will be taken into state custody.
• 2009 – Jiverly Antares Wong opens fire at the American Civic Association immigration center in Binghamton, New York, killing thirteen and wounding four before committing suicide.
• 2010 – Apple Inc. released the first generation iPad, a tablet computer.
• 2013 – More than 50 people die in floods resulting from record-breaking rainfall in La Plata and Buenos Aires, Argentina.
• 2016 – The Panama Papers, a leak of legal documents, reveals information on 214,488 offshore companies.
• 2017 – A bomb explodes in the St Petersburg metro system, killing 14 and injuring several more people.
• 2018 – YouTube headquarters shooting: A 38-year-old gunwoman opens fire at YouTube Headquarters in San Bruno, California, injuring three people before committing suicide.

Births

Pre-1600

• 1016 – Xing Zong, Chinese emperor (died 1055)
• 1151 – Igor Svyatoslavich, Kievan Rus' prince (died 1202)
• 1395 – George of Trebizond, Greek philosopher, scholar and humanist (died 1486)
• 1438 – John III of Egmont, Dutch nobleman (died 1516)
• 1529 – Michael Neander, German mathematician and astronomer (died 1581)
• 1540 – Maria de' Medici, Italian noblewoman, the eldest daughter of Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany and Eleonora di Toledo. (died 1557)
• 1593 – George Herbert, English poet (died 1633)

1601–1900

• 1643 – Charles V, duke of Lorraine (died 1690)
• 1682 – Valentin Rathgeber, German organist and composer (died 1750)
• 1693 – George Edwards, English ornithologist and entomologist (died 1773)
• 1715 – William Watson, English physician, physicist, and botanist (died 1787)
• 1764 – John Abernethy, English surgeon and anatomist (died 1831)
• 1769 – Christian Günther von Bernstorff, Danish-Prussian politician and diplomat (died 1835)
• 1770 – Theodoros Kolokotronis, Greek general (died 1843)
• 1778 – Pierre Bretonneau, French doctor who performed the first successful tracheotomy (died 1862)
• 1781 – Swaminarayan, Indian religious leader (died 1830)
• 1782 – Alexander Macomb, American general (died 1841)
• 1783 – Washington Irving, American short story writer, essayist, biographer, historian (died 1859)
• 1791 – Anne Lister, English diarist, mountaineer, and traveller (died 1840)
• 1798 – Charles Wilkes, American admiral, geographer, and explorer (died 1877)
• 1807 – Mary Carpenter, English educational and social reformer (died 1877)
• 1814 – Lorenzo Snow, American religious leader, 5th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (died 1901)
• 1822 – Edward Everett Hale, American minister, historian, and author (died 1909)
• 1823 – George Derby, American lieutenant and journalist (died 1861)
• 1823 – William M. Tweed, American politician (died 1878)
• 1826 – Cyrus K. Holliday, American businessman (died 1900)
• 1837 – John Burroughs, American botanist and author (died 1921)
• 1842 – Ulric Dahlgren, American colonel (died 1864)
• 1848 – Arturo Prat, Chilean lawyer and captain (died 1879)
• 1852 – Talbot Baines Reed, English author (died 1893)
• 1858 – Jacob Gaudaur, Canadian rower (died 1937)
• 1860 – Frederik van Eeden, Dutch psychiatrist and author (died 1932)
• 1864 – Emil Kellenberger, Swiss target shooter (died 1943)
• 1875 – Mistinguett, French actress and singer (died 1956)
• 1876 – Margaret Anglin, Canadian actress, director, and producer (died 1958)
• 1876 – Tomáš Baťa, Czech businessman, founded Bata Shoes (died 1932)
• 1880 – Otto Weininger, Jewish-Austrian philosopher and author (died 1903)
• 1881 – Alcide De Gasperi, Italian journalist and politician, 30th Prime Minister of Italy (died 1954)
• 1882 – Philippe Desranleau, Canadian archbishop (died 1952)
• 1883 – Ikki Kita, Japanese philosopher and author (died 1937)
• 1885 – Allan Dwan, Canadian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (died 1981)
• 1885 – Bud Fisher, American cartoonist (died 1954)
• 1885 – Marie-Victorin Kirouac, Canadian botanist and academic (died 1944)
• 1885 – St John Philby, English colonial and explorer (died 1960)
• 1886 – Dooley Wilson, American actor and singer (died 1953)
• 1887 – Ōtori Tanigorō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 24th Yokozuna (died 1956)
• 1887 – Nishizō Tsukahara, Japanese admiral (died 1966)
• 1888 – Thomas C. Kinkaid, American admiral (died 1972)
• 1889 – Grigoraș Dinicu, Romanian violinist and composer (died 1949)
• 1893 – Leslie Howard, English actor (died 1943)
• 1895 – Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Italian-American composer and educator (died 1968)
• 1895 – Zez Confrey, American pianist and composer (died 1971)
• 1897 – Joe Kirkwood Sr., Australian golfer (died 1970)
• 1897 – Thrasyvoulos Tsakalotos, Greek general (died 1989)
• 1898 – David Jack, English footballer and manager (died 1958)
• 1898 – George Jessel, American actor, singer, and producer (died 1981)
• 1898 – Henry Luce, American publisher, co-founded Time magazine (died 1967)
• 1900 – Camille Chamoun, Lebanese lawyer and politician, 7th President of Lebanon (died 1987)
• 1900 – Albert Walsh, Canadian lawyer and politician, 1st Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland (died 1958)

1901–present

• 1903 – Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, Indian social reformer and freedom fighter (died 1988)
• 1904 – Iron Eyes Cody, American actor and stuntman (died 1999)
• 1904 – Sally Rand, American dancer (died 1979)
• 1904 – Russel Wright, American furniture designer (died 1976)
• 1905 – Robert Sink, American general (died 1965)
• 1910 – Ted Hook, Australian public servant (died 1990)
• 1911 – Nanette Bordeaux, Canadian-American actress (died 1956)
• 1911 – Michael Woodruff, English-Scottish surgeon and academic (died 2001)
• 1911 – Stanisława Walasiewicz, Polish-American runner (died 1980)
• 1912 – Dorothy Eden, New Zealand-English author (died 1982)
• 1912 – Grigoris Lambrakis, Greek physician and politician (died 1963)
• 1913 – Per Borten, Norwegian politician, 18th Prime Minister of Norway (died 2005)
• 1914 – Ray Getliffe, Canadian ice hockey player (died 2008)
• 1914 – Sam Manekshaw, Indian field marshal (died 2008)
• 1915 – Piet de Jong, Dutch politician and naval officer, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (died 2016)
• 1915 – İhsan Doğramacı, Turkish physician and academic (died 2010)
• 1916 – Herb Caen, American journalist and author (died 1997)
• 1916 – Cliff Gladwin, English cricketer (died 1988)
• 1916 – Louis Guglielmi, Catalan composer (died 1991)
• 1918 – Mary Anderson, American actress (died 2014)
• 1918 – Louis Applebaum, Canadian composer and conductor (died 2000)
• 1919 – Ervin Drake, American songwriter and composer (died 2015)
• 1919 – Clairette Oddera, French-Canadian actress and singer (died 2008)
• 1920 – Stan Freeman, American composer and conductor (died 2001)
• 1920 – Yoshibayama Junnosuke, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 43rd Yokozuna (died 1977)
• 1921 – Robert Karvelas, American actor (died 1991)
• 1921 – Jan Sterling, American actress (died 2004)
• 1922 – Yevhen Bulanchyk, Ukrainian hurdler (died 1996)
• 1922 – Doris Day, American singer and actress (died 2019)
• 1923 – Daniel Hoffman, American poet and academic (died 2013)
• 1924 – Marlon Brando, American actor and director (died 2004)
• 1924 – Roza Shanina, Russian sergeant and sniper (died 1945)
• 1925 – Tony Benn, English pilot and politician, Secretary of State for Industry (died 2014)
• 1926 – Alex Grammas, American baseball player, manager, and coach (died 2019)
• 1926 – Gus Grissom, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (died 1967)
• 1927 – Wesley A. Brown, American general and engineer (died 2012)
• 1928 – Don Gibson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2003)
• 1928 – Emmett Johns, Canadian priest, founded Dans la Rue (died 2018)
• 1928 – Earl Lloyd, American basketball player and coach (died 2015)
• 1928 – Jennifer Paterson, English chef and television personality (died 1999)
• 1929 – Fazlur Rahman Khan, Bangladeshi engineer and architect, co-designed the Willis Tower and John Hancock Center (died 1982)
• 1929 – Poul Schlüter, Danish lawyer and politician, 37th Prime Minister of Denmark (died 2021)
• 1930 – Lawton Chiles, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 41st Governor of Florida (died 1998)
• 1930 – Helmut Kohl, German politician, Chancellor of Germany (died 2017)
• 1930 – Mario Benjamín Menéndez, Argentinian general and politician (died 2015)
• 1930 – Wally Moon, American baseball player and coach (died 2018)
• 1931 – William Bast, American screenwriter and author (died 2015)
• 1933 – Bob Dornan, American politician
• 1933 – Rod Funseth, American golfer (died 1985)
• 1934 – Pamela Allen, New Zealand children's writer and illustrator
• 1934 – Jane Goodall, English primatologist and anthropologist (died 2025)
• 1934 – Jim Parker, American football player (died 2005)
• 1935 – Harold Kushner, American rabbi and author (died 2023)
• 1936 – Jimmy McGriff, American organist and bandleader (died 2008)
• 1936 – Harold Vick, American saxophonist and flute player (died 1987)
• 1938 – Jeff Barry, American singer-songwriter, and producer
• 1938 – Phil Rodgers, American golfer (died 2018)
• 1939 – François de Roubaix, French composer (died 1975)
• 1939 – Hawk Taylor, American baseball player and coach (died 2012)
• 1939 – Paul Craig Roberts, American economist and politician
• 1941 – Jan Berry, American singer-songwriter (died 2004)
• 1941 – Philippé Wynne, American soul singer (died 1984)
• 1942 – Marsha Mason, American actress
• 1942 – Wayne Newton, American singer
• 1942 – Billy Joe Royal, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2015)
• 1943 – Mario Lavista, Mexican composer (died 2021)
• 1943 – Jonathan Lynn, English actor, director, and screenwriter
• 1943 – Richard Manuel, Canadian singer-songwriter and pianist (died 1986)
• 1943 – Hikaru Saeki, Japanese admiral, the first female star officer of the Japan Self-Defense Forces
• 1944 – Peter Colman, Australian biologist and academic
• 1944 – Tony Orlando, American singer
• 1945 – Doon Arbus, American author and journalist
• 1945 – Bernie Parent, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (died 2025)
• 1945 – Catherine Spaak, French actress (died 2022)
• 1946 – Nicholas Jones, English actor
• 1946 – Dee Murray, English bass player (died 1992)
• 1946 – Marisa Paredes, Spanish film actress (died 2024)
• 1946 – Hanna Suchocka, Polish politician, Prime Minister of Poland
• 1947 – Anders Eliasson, Swedish composer (died 2013)
• 1948 – Arlette Cousture, Canadian author and screenwriter
• 1948 – Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, Dutch academic, politician, and diplomat, 11th Secretary General of NATO
• 1948 – Hans-Georg Schwarzenbeck, German footballer
• 1948 – Carlos Salinas de Gortari, Mexican economist and politician, 53rd President of Mexico
• 1949 – Lyle Alzado, American football player and actor (died 1992)
• 1949 – A. C. Grayling, English philosopher and academic
• 1949 – Richard Thompson, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1950 – Indrajit Coomaraswamy, Sri Lankan cricketer and economist
• 1951 – Brendan Barber, English trade union leader
• 1951 – Annette Dolphin, British academician and educator
• 1951 – Mitch Woods, American singer-songwriter and pianist
• 1952 – Mike Moore, American lawyer and politician
• 1953 – Sandra Boynton, American author and illustrator
• 1953 – Wakanohana Kanji II, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 56th Yokozuna (died 2022)
• 1953 – James Smith, American boxer
• 1954 – Elisabetta Brusa, Italian composer
• 1954 – K. Krishnasamy, Indian physician and politician
• 1956 – Kalle Kulbok, Estonian politician
• 1956 – Boris Miljković, Serbian director and producer
• 1956 – Miguel Bosé, Spanish musician and actor
• 1956 – Ray Combs, American game show host (died 1996)
• 1958 – Alec Baldwin, American actor, comedian, producer and television host
• 1958 – Adam Gussow, American scholar, musician, and memoirist
• 1958 – Francesca Woodman, American photographer (died 1981)
• 1959 – David Hyde Pierce, American actor and activist
• 1960 – Arjen Anthony Lucassen, Dutch singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
• 1961 – Tim Crews, American baseball player (died 1993)
• 1961 – Eddie Murphy, American actor and comedian
• 1962 – Dave Miley, American baseball player and manager
• 1962 – Mike Ness, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1962 – Jaya Prada, Indian actress and politician
• 1963 – Les Davidson, Australian rugby league player
• 1963 – Ricky Nixon, Australian footballer and manager
• 1963 – Criss Oliva, American guitarist and songwriter (died 1993)
• 1964 – Marco Ballotta, Italian footballer and manager
• 1964 – Nigel Farage, English politician
• 1964 – Claire Perry, English banker and politician
• 1964 – Bjarne Riis, Danish cyclist and manager
• 1964 – Andy Robinson, English rugby player and coach
• 1964 – Jay Weatherill, Australian politician, 45th Premier of South Australia
• 1965 – Nazia Hassan, Pakistani pop singer-songwriter, lawyer and social activist (died 2000)
• 1966 – John de Vries, Australian race car driver
• 1967 – Cat Cora, American chef and author
• 1967 – Pervis Ellison, American basketball player
• 1967 – Brent Gilchrist, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1967 – Cristi Puiu, Romanian director and screenwriter
• 1967 – Mark Skaife, Australian race car driver and sportscaster
• 1968 – Sebastian Bach, Bahamian-Canadian singer-songwriter and actor
• 1968 – Charlotte Coleman, English actress (died 2001)
• 1968 – Jamie Hewlett, English director and performer
• 1968 – Tomoaki Kanemoto, Japanese baseball player
• 1969 – Rodney Hampton, American football player
• 1969 – Peter Matera, Australian footballer and coach
• 1969 – Ben Mendelsohn, Australian actor
• 1969 – Lance Storm, Canadian wrestler and trainer
• 1971 – Vitālijs Astafjevs, Latvian footballer and manager
• 1971 – Emmanuel Collard, French race car driver
• 1971 – Picabo Street, American skier
• 1972 – Jennie Garth, American actress and director
• 1972 – Catherine McCormack, English actress
• 1972 – Sandrine Testud, French tennis player
• 1973 – Nilesh Kulkarni, Indian cricketer
• 1973 – Adam Scott, American actor
• 1974 – Marcus Brown, American basketball player
• 1974 – Lee Williams, Welsh model and actor
• 1975 – Shawn Bates, American ice hockey player
• 1975 – Michael Olowokandi, Nigerian-American basketball player
• 1975 – Aries Spears, American comedian and actor
• 1975 – Yoshinobu Takahashi, Japanese baseball player
• 1975 – Koji Uehara, Japanese baseball player
• 1976 – Nicolas Escudé, French tennis player
• 1978 – Matthew Goode, English actor
• 1978 – Tommy Haas, German-American tennis player
• 1978 – John Smit, South African rugby player
• 1979 – Simon Black, Australian footballer and coach
• 1980 – Andrei Lodis, Belarusian footballer
• 1980 – Megan Rohrer, American pastor and transgender activist
• 1981 – Aaron Bertram, American trumpet player
• 1981 – DeShawn Stevenson, American basketball player
• 1982 – Jared Allen, American football player
• 1982 – Iain Fyfe, Australian footballer
• 1982 – Cobie Smulders, Canadian actress
• 1983 – Ben Foster, English footballer
• 1983 – Stephen Weiss, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1984 – Jonathan Blondel, Belgian footballer
• 1984 – Maxi López, Argentinian footballer
• 1985 – Jari-Matti Latvala, Finnish race car driver
• 1985 – Leona Lewis, English singer-songwriter and producer
• 1986 – Amanda Bynes, American actress
• 1986 – Stephanie Cox, American soccer player
• 1986 – Annalisa Cucinotta, Italian cyclist
• 1986 – Sergio Sánchez Ortega, Spanish footballer
• 1987 – Rachel Bloom, American actress, writer, and producer
• 1987 – Jay Bruce, American baseball player
• 1987 – Yileen Gordon, Australian rugby league player
• 1987 – Jason Kipnis, American baseball player
• 1987 – Martyn Rooney, English sprinter
• 1987 – Julie Sokolow, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1987 – Yuval Spungin, Israeli footballer
• 1988 – Kam Chancellor, American football player
• 1988 – Brandon Graham, American football player
• 1988 – Peter Hartley, English footballer
• 1988 – Tim Krul, Dutch footballer
• 1989 – Romain Alessandrini, French footballer
• 1989 – Israel Folau, Australian rugby player and footballer
• 1989 – Joel Romelo, Australian rugby league player
• 1989 – Thisara Perera, Sri Lankan cricketer
• 1990 – Karim Ansarifard, Iranian footballer
• 1990 – Madison Brengle, American tennis player
• 1990 – Sotiris Ninis, Greek footballer
• 1990 – Natasha Negovanlis, Canadian actress and singer
• 1991 – Hayley Kiyoko, American actress and singer
• 1992 – Simone Benedetti, Italian footballer
• 1992 – Yuliya Yefimova, Russian swimmer
• 1993 – Pape Moussa Konaté, Senegalese footballer
• 1994 – Kodi Nikorima, New Zealand rugby league player
• 1994 – Dylann Roof, American mass murderer
• 1996 – Mayo Hibi, Japanese tennis player
• 1997 – Gabriel Jesus, Brazilian footballer
• 1997 – Zhao Xintong, Chinese snooker player
• 1998 – Paris Jackson, American actress, model and singer
• 1999 – Chanel Harris-Tavita, New Zealand-Samoan rugby league player

Deaths

Pre-1600

• 33 – Jesus of Nazareth
• 963 – William III, Duke of Aquitaine (born 915)
• 1153 – al-Adil ibn al-Sallar, vizier of the Fatimid Caliphate
• 1171 – Philip of Milly, seventh Grand Master of the Knights Templar (born Template:Circa)
• 1203 – Arthur I, Duke of Brittany (born 1187)
• 1253 – Saint Richard of Chichester
• 1287 – Pope Honorius IV (born 1210)
• 1325 – Nizamuddin Auliya, Sufi saint (born 1238)
• 1350 – Odo IV, Duke of Burgundy (born 1295)
• 1538 – Elizabeth Boleyn, Countess of Wiltshire (born 1480)
• 1545 – Antonio de Guevara, Spanish chronicler and moralist (born 1481)

1601–1900

• 1606 – Charles Blount, 8th Baron Mountjoy, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (born 1563)
• 1630 – Christopher Villiers, 1st Earl of Anglesey, English noble (born c.  1593)
• 1637 – Joseph Yuspa Nördlinger Hahn, German rabbi
• 1680 – Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Indian emperor, founded the Maratha Empire (born 1630)
• 1682 – Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, Spanish painter and educator (born 1618)
• 1691 – Jean Petitot, French-Swiss painter (born 1608)
• 1695 – Melchior d'Hondecoeter, Dutch painter (born 1636)
• 1717 – Jacques Ozanam, French mathematician and academic (born 1640)
• 1728 – James Anderson, Scottish lawyer and historian (born 1662)
• 1792 – George Pocock, English admiral (born 1706)
• 1804 – Jędrzej Kitowicz, Polish priest, historian, and author (born 1727)
• 1826 – Reginald Heber, English priest (born 1783)
• 1827 – Ernst Chladni, German physicist and academic (born 1756)
• 1838 – François Carlo Antommarchi, French physician and author (born 1780)
• 1844 – Edward Bigge, English cleric, 1st Archdeacon of Lindisfarne (born 1807)
• 1846 – William Braine, English soldier and explorer (born 1814)
• 1849 – Juliusz Słowacki, Polish-French poet and playwright (born 1809)
• 1868 – Franz Berwald, Swedish composer and surgeon (born 1796)
• 1880 – Felicita Vestvali, German actress and opera singer (born 1831)
• 1882 – Jesse James, American criminal and outlaw (born 1847)
• 1897 – Johannes Brahms, German pianist and composer (born 1833)

1901–present

• 1901 – Richard D'Oyly Carte, English composer and talent agent (born 1844)
• 1902 – Esther Hobart Morris, American lawyer and judge (born 1814)
• 1930 – Emma Albani, Canadian-English operatic soprano (born 1847)
• 1936 – Richard Hauptmann, German-American murderer (born 1899)
• 1941 – Tachiyama Mineemon, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 22nd Yokozuna (born 1877)
• 1941 – Pál Teleki, Hungarian academic and politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Hungary (born 1879)
• 1943 – Conrad Veidt, German actor, director, and producer (born 1893)
• 1946 – Masaharu Homma, Japanese general (born 1887)
• 1950 – Kurt Weill, German-American composer and pianist (born 1900)
• 1950 – Carter G. Woodson, American historian, author, and journalist, founded Black History Month (born 1875)
• 1951 – Henrik Visnapuu, Estonian poet and playwright (born 1890)
• 1952 – Miina Sillanpää, Finnish minister and politician (born 1866)
• 1957 – Ned Sparks, Canadian-American actor (born 1883)
• 1958 – Jaan Kärner, Estonian poet and author (born 1891)
• 1962 – Manolis Kalomiris, Greek composer and educator (born 1883)
• 1970 – Avigdor Hameiri, Israeli author (born 1890)
• 1971 – Joseph Valachi, American gangster (born 1904)
• 1972 – Ferde Grofé, American pianist and composer (born 1892)
• 1975 – Mary Ure, Scottish-English actress (born 1933)
• 1976 – David M. Dennison, American physicist and academic (born 1900)
• 1976 – Claude-Henri Grignon, Canadian journalist and politician (born 1894)
• 1978 – Ray Noble, English bandleader, composer, and actor (born 1903)
• 1978 – Winston Sharples, American composer (born 1909)
• 1981 – Juan Trippe, American businessman, founded Pan American World Airways (born 1899)
• 1982 – Warren Oates, American actor (born 1928)
• 1983 – Jimmy Bloomfield, English footballer and manager (born 1934)
• 1986 – Peter Pears, English tenor and educator (born 1910)
• 1987 – Tom Sestak, American football player (born 1936)
• 1988 – Milton Caniff, American cartoonist (born 1907)
• 1990 – Sarah Vaughan, American singer (born 1924)
• 1991 – Charles Goren, American bridge player and author (born 1901)
• 1991 – Graham Greene, English novelist, playwright, and critic (born 1904)
• 1993 – Pinky Lee, American television host (born 1907)
• 1994 – Frank Wells, American businessman (born 1932)
• 1995 – Alfred J. Billes, Canadian businessman, co-founded Canadian Tire (born 1902)
• 1996 – Ron Brown, American captain and politician, 30th United States Secretary of Commerce (born 1941)
• 1997 – John Ugelstad, Norwegian chemical engineer and inventor (born 1921)
• 1998 – Mary Cartwright, English mathematician and academic (born 1900)
• 1999 – Lionel Bart, English composer (born 1930)
• 1999 – Geoffrey Walsh, Canadian general (born 1909)
• 2000 – Terence McKenna, American botanist and philosopher (born 1946)
• 2000 – Dina Abramowicz, Librarian and YIVO and Yiddish language expert (born 1909)
• 2005 – François Gérin, Canadian lawyer and politician (born 1944)
• 2007 – Nina Wang, Chinese businesswoman (born 1937)
• 2008 – Hrvoje Ćustić, Croatian footballer (born 1983)
• 2012 – Mingote, Spanish cartoonist and journalist (born 1919)
• 2012 – Richard Descoings, French civil servant (born 1958)
• 2012 – Govind Narain, Indian politician, 8th Governor of Karnataka (born 1917)
• 2012 – Chief Jay Strongbow, American wrestler (born 1928)
• 2012 – José María Zárraga, Spanish footballer and manager (born 1930)
• 2013 – Mariví Bilbao, Spanish actress (born 1930)
• 2013 – Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, German-American author and screenwriter (born 1927)
• 2014 – Régine Deforges, French author, playwright, and director (born 1935)
• 2014 – Fred Kida, American illustrator (born 1920)
• 2014 – Prince Michael of Prussia (born 1940)
• 2014 – Jovan Pavlović, Serbian metropolitan (born 1936)
• 2014 – Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith, American guitarist, fiddler, and composer (born 1921)
• 2015 – Sarah Brady, American activist and author (born 1942)
• 2015 – Bob Burns, American drummer and songwriter (born 1950)
• 2015 – Shmuel Wosner, Austrian-Israeli rabbi and author (born 1913)
• 2016 – Cesare Maldini, Italian footballer and manager (born 1932)
• 2016 – Joe Medicine Crow, American anthropologist, historian, and author (born 1913)
• 2016 – Koji Wada, Japanese singer and songwriter (born 1974)
• 2017 – Kishori Amonkar, Indian classical vocalist (born 1931)
• 2021 – Stan Stephens, Canadian-American politician, 20th Governor of Montana (born 1929)
• 2022 – June Brown, English actress (born 1927)
• 2024 – Bob Lanigan, Australian rugby league player (born 1942)
• 2024 – Gaetano Pesce, Italian architect and designer (born 1939)
• 2025 – Theodore McCarrick, American former cardinal (born 1930)
• 2025 – Mick O'Dwyer, Irish Gaelic footballer and manager (born 1936)

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day:
  • Agape, Chionia, and Irene
  • Burgundofara
  • Luigi Scrosoppi
  • Richard of Chichester
  • April 3 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• Template:NYT On this day
• Historical Events on April 3