September 3 is the 246th day of the year (247th in leap years). There are 119 days remaining.

Events

• 301 - San Marino, one of the smallest nations in the world and the world's oldest republic still in existence, was founded by Saint Marinus.
• 590 - St. Gregory I becomes Pope.
• 1189 - Richard I of England is crowned in Westminster.
• 1260 - The Mongols are defeated by the Mameluks at the Battle of Ain Jalut.
• 1651 - English Civil War: Battle of Worcester - Charles II of England is defeated in the last main battle of the war.
• 1777 - The Flag of the United States flies in battle for the first time, at Cooch's Bridge in Maryland.
• 1783 - American Revolutionary War ends: Treaty of Paris _ A treaty between the United States and the Kingdom of Great Britain is signed in Paris, ending the war.
• 1826 - The USS Vincennes commanded by William Finch, leaves New York City to become first United States warship to circumnavigate globe.
• 1838 - Dressed in a sailor's uniform and carrying identification papers provided by a free Black seaman, future abolitionist Frederick Douglass boards a train in Maryland on his way to freedom from slavery.
• 1855 - Indian Wars: In Nebraska, 700 soldiers under American General William Harney avenge the Grattan Massacre by attacking a Sioux village killing 100 men, women, and children.
• 1861 - American Civil War: Confederate General Leonidas Polk invades neutral Kentucky, prompting the state legislature to ask for Union assistance.
• 1878 - Over 640 die when the crowded pleasure boat Princess Alice collides with the Bywell Castle in the River Thames.
• 1895 - The first professional football game is played, in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, between the Latrobe YMCA and the Jeannette Athletic Club. (Latrobe won the contest 12-0).
• 1902 - Popular author Sarah Orne Jewett is thrown out of a carriage, virtually ending her writing career.
• 1935 - Sir Malcolm Campbell reaches 304.331 miles per hour on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, becoming the first person to drive an automobile over 300 MPH.
• 1939 - World War II: France, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Australia declare war on Germany.
• 1943 - World War II: Mainland Italy is invaded by Allied forces for the first time in the war.
• 1951 - The first long-running American television soap opera, Search for Tomorrow, airs its first episode on the CBS network.
• 1954 - The last new episode of the radio after 2,956 episodes over a period of 21 years.
• 1954 - The People's Liberation Army begins shelling the ROC_controlled islands of Quemoy and Matsu.
• 1966 - The last new episode of the television series The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet airs.
• 1967 - The last telecast of the television game show What's My Line? airs on CBS after a 17 year run.
• 1967 - Nguyen Van Thieu is elected President of South Vietnam.
• 1967 - Dagen H in Sweden: traffic changes from driving on the left to driving on the right
• 1971 - Qatar regains independence from the United Kingdom.
• 1976 - Viking program: The Viking 2 spacecraft lands at Utopia Planitia on Mars takes the first close-up, color photos of the planet's surface.
• 1991 - In Hamlet, North Carolina, a grease fire breaks out at the Imperial Foods chicken processing plant, killing 25 people.
• 1994 - Sino-Soviet Split: Russia and the People's Republic of China agree to de_target their nuclear weapons against each other.
• 1997 - Arizona Governor Fife Symington is convicted for various crimes tied to his real estate business, effectively forcing him out of office.
• 1997 - A Vietnamese Airlines Tupolev TU-134 crashes on approach into Phnom Penh airport, killing 64.
• 2004 - The Beslan school massacre results in the deaths of approximately 344 teachers and children.
• 2004 - Jennifer Hawkins, Miss Universe, experiences a wardrobe malfunction while modelling at Westfield Shopping Mall, Parrammatta, Australia