November 3rd in History

Original Japanese movie poster for ゴジラ (Gojira), 1954

On This Day in History

  • George Washington issues his Farewell Order and the American Continental Army is disbanded following the end of the Revolutionary War. A standing US Army will not come into existence for another 13 years (1783)
  • African-American John Willis Menard is elected to the US House of Representatives from Louisiana, but the House refuses to seat him after an electoral challenge (1868)
  • The Old West outlaw Black Bart the Poet commits his last stagecoach robbery (1883)
  • Panama (with help and encouragement from the US) separates from Colombia (1903)
  • Chevrolet Motor Car Company is founded (1911)
  • Poland declares independence from Russia (1918)
  • The German Revolution begins, leading to the overthrow of the imperial government and establishment of the Weimar republic (1918)
  • The first Godzilla film (ゴジラ, Gojira) is released by Toho Studio, beginning the kaiju (怪獣) film genre (1954)
  • The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 2 (Спутник-2), carrying Laika the dog, the first animal to enter Earth orbit (1957)
  • Washington, DC, residents are permitted to vote for US President for the first time (1964)
  • NASA launches Mariner 10, the first space probe to reach Mercury (1973)
  • Dominica becomes independent from the UK (1978)
  • Micronesia becomes independent from the US (1986)

Birthdays

  • Benvenuto Cellini, sculptor and painter (1500)
  • Thomas Kyd, author (1558)
  • Aurangzeb, Mughal emperor (1618)
  • Daniel Rutherford, chemist who isolated nitrogen (1749)
  • Samuel F. Austin, American empresario, “Father of Texas” (1793)
  • Karl Baedeker, guidebook publisher (1801)
  • Jubal Early, Civil War general (1816)
  • Edward Douglass White, 9th US Supreme Court Chief Justice (1845)
  • Meiji (明治天皇), emperor of Japan (1852)
  • Jim McCormick, baseball pitcher (1856)
  • Adolf Dassler, founded Adidas (1900)
  • André Malraux, author (1901)
  • Walker Evans, photographer (1903)
  • Bronko Nagurski, football player (1908)
  • James Reston, journalist (1909)
  • Alfredo Stroessner, Paraguayan ruler (1912)
  • Hal Jackson, African-American radio personality (1915)
  • Bob Feller, baseball player (1918)
  • Russell B. Long, American politician (1918)
  • Charles Bronson, actor (1921)
  • Peggy McCay, soap opera star (1927)
  • Osamu Tezuka (手塚 治虫), animator, “Godfather of Anime” (1928)
  • D. James Kennedy, televangelist (1930)
  • Michael Dukakis, Massachusetts governor and US presidential candidate (1993)
  • Martin Cruz Smith, author (1942)
  • Ken Holtzman, baseball player (1945)
  • Lulu, singer (1948)
  • Larry Holmes, boxer (1949)
  • Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of Vogue (1949)
  • Joe Queenan, author (1950)
  • Dwight Evans, baseball player (1951)
  • Roseanne Barr, comedienne (1952)
  • Kate Capshaw, actress (1953)
  • Dennis Miller, SNL cast member (1953)
  • Adam Ant (Stuart Goddard), singer-songwriter (1954)
  • Phil Simms, football player (1955)
  • Kevin Murphy, puppeteer, “Tom Servo” on Mystery Science Theater 3000 (1956)
  • Dolph Lundgren, actor (1957)
  • David Armstrong-Jones, Viscount Linley, furniture maker and auctioneer (1961)
  • Colin Kaepernick, football player (1987)
  • Gemma Ward, model and actress (1987)

Deaths

  • Robert Lowth, bishop and grammarian, man who first claimed a preposition was a word you shouldn’t end a sentence with (1787)
  • Annie Oakley, target shooter (1926)
  • Solomon R. Guggenheim, art collector and museum namesake (1949)
  • Henri Matisse, painter and sculptor (1954)
  • Laika, space dog (1957)
  • Wilhelm Reich, psychotherapist (1957)
  • Mary Martin, actress (1990)
  • Léon Theremin (Ле́в Терме́н), musical instrument inventor (1993)
  • Bob Kane, Batman co-creator (1998)
  • Jonathan Harris, Lost in Space villain (2002)
  • Paul Mauriat, orchestra leader (2006)
  • Carl Ballantine, magician (2009)
  • Viktor Chernomyrdin (Виктор Черномырдин), Russian politician and business executive (2010)

Holidays

  • Bunka no Hi (文化の日), Culture Day (Japan)
  • Hakone Daimyō Gyōretsu (箱根大名行列) (Feudal Lord’s Parade) (Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan)
  • Housewife Day (International)
  • Independence Day (Panama, Dominica, Federated States of Micronesia)
  • National Cliché Day (US, informal)
  • National Sandwich Day (US)