June 3rd in History

Michael Dobson | June 3

Illustration from “Casey at the Bat,” by Ernest Lawrence Thayer, 1912.
Poem first published in The San Francisco Examiner, June 3, 1888.

Today in History

  • Hernando de Soto claims Florida for Spain (1539)
  • The last military engagement fought on Canadian soil is fought when Cree leader Big Bear escapes the North-West Mounted Police (1885)
  • The poem “Casey at the Bat” is published (1888)
  • The Canadian transcontinental railway is completed (1889)
  • The Duke of Windsor marries Wallis Simpson (1937)
  • World War II: The Battle of Dunkirk ends (1940)
  • The Zoot Suit Riots between US Navy and Marine soldiers and Latino youth begin in Los Angeles (1943)
  • Gemini 4 is launched (1965)
  • Valerie Solanas attempts to assassinate Andy Warhol (1968)

Birthdays

  • Jefferson Davis, Confederate president (1808)
  • Ransom E. Olds, carmaker (1864)
  • George V, British monarch (1865)
  • Barney Oldfield, racer (1878)
  • Josephine Baker, actress, singer, and dancer (1906)
  • Paulette Goddard, actress and singer (1910)
  • Leo Gorcey, actor (1916)
  • Lily St. Cyr, ecdysiast (1918)
  • Colleen Dewhurst, actress (1924)
  • Jimmy Rogers, blues musician (1924)
  • Tony Curtis, actor (1925)
  • Allen Ginsburg, poet (1926)
  • Boots Randolph, saxophonist (1927)
  • Chuck Barris, game show host and producer (1929)
  • Marion Zimmer Bradley, science fiction and fantasy writer (1930)
  • John Norman, author (1931)
  • Curtis Mayfield, singer-songwriter (1942)
  • John Dykstra, special effects artist (1947)
  • Suzi Quatro, musician (1950)
  • Lawrence Lessig, founder of the Creative Commons (1961)
  • Anderson Cooper, television journalist (1967)

Deaths

  • Stephen A. Douglas, presidential candidate (1861)
  • Georges Bizet, composer (1875)
  • Johann Strauss II, waltz king (1899)
  • Franz Kafka, author (1924)
  • John XXIII, pontiff (1963)
  • Ozzie Nelson, performer and bandleader (1975)
  • Roberto Rossellini, filmmaker (1977)
  • Ruhollah Khomeini, Iranian ayatollah (1989)
  • Robert Morley, actor (1992)
  • Dennis James, game show host (1997)
  • Anthony Quinn, actor (2001)
  • Lew Wasserman, talent agent (2002)
  • David Carradine, actor (2009)
  • Rue McClanahan, actress (2010)
  • James Arness, actor (2011)
  • Jack Kevorkian, right-to-die activist (2011)
  • Deacon Jones, football player (2013)

Holidays and Celebrations

  • Chimborazo Day
  • Confederate Memorial Day (Kentucky, Louisiana, and Tennessee)
  • Economist Day (Buenos Aires)
  • Festival to Bellona (Roman Empire)
  • Mabo Day (Australia)
  • Martyr’s Day (Uganda)
  • Opium Suppression Movement Day (Taiwan)
June 3 is the 154th day of the year (155th in leap years). There are 211 days remaining until the end of the year.