Historical events on January 3

JANUARY 3, 1777

American Revolutionary War: American forces commanded by George Washington defeated British troops at the Battle of Princeton (depicted).

The American Revolutionary War, also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the Read More

JANUARY 3, 1973

CBS announced the sale of the New York Yankees professional baseball team to a group of investors headed by American businessman George Steinbrenner.

CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of Read More

JANUARY 3, 1990

United States invasion of Panama: Manuel Noriega, the deposed strongman of Panama, surrendered to American forces outside the apostolic nunciature in Panama City.

The United States invaded Panama in mid-December 1989 during the presidency of George H. W. Bush. The purpose of the invasion was Read More

JANUARY 3, 250

Decius ordered all people in the Roman Empire (except Jews) to perform a sacrifice to the Roman gods, resulting in widespread persecution of Christians.

Gaius Messius Quintus Trajanus Decius, known as Trajan Decius or simply Decius, was Roman emperor from 249 to 251. (Image Credits)

JANUARY 3, 1911

An earthquake registering 7.7 Mw destroyed Almaty in Russian Turkestan.

The 1911 Kebin earthquake, or Chon-Kemin earthquake, struck Russian Turkestan on 3 January. Registering at a moment magnitude of 8.0, it killed Read More

JANUARY 3, 1957

The Hamilton Watch Company introduced the world's first electric watch.

The Hamilton Watch Company is a Swiss manufacturer of wristwatches based in Bienne, Switzerland. Founded in 1892 as an American firm, the Read More

JANUARY 3, 1888

The 36-inch (91 cm) refracting telescope (pictured) at the Lick Observatory near San Jose, California, the largest in the world until 1897, was used for the first time.

The James Lick Telescope is a refracting telescope built in 1888. It has a lens, which is 91 centimetres (36 in) in diameter—a Read More

JANUARY 3, 1521

Pope Leo X issued the papal bull Decet Romanum Pontificem, excommunicating Martin Luther for refusing to retract 41 alleged errors found in his 95 Theses and other writings.

Pope Leo X was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521.

JANUARY 3, 1976

The multilateral International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, part of the International Bill of Human Rights, came into effect.

The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) is a multilateral treaty adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (GA) Read More

JANUARY 3, 1961

All 25 people on board Aero Flight 311 died in Finland's worst civilian air accident when the aircraft crashed near Kvevlax.

Aero Flight 311, often referred to as the Kvevlax air disaster, was a scheduled domestic passenger flight operated by Aero O/Y between Read More

JANUARY 3, 1911

A gun battle in the East End of London left two dead and sparked a political row over the operational involvement of Winston Churchill, then Home Secretary.

The siege of Sidney Street of January 1911, also known as the Battle of Stepney, was a gunfight in the East End Read More

JANUARY 3, 2009

The cryptocurrency network of bitcoin was created when Satoshi Nakamoto mined the first block of the chain.

A cryptocurrency is a digital currency designed to work through a computer network that is not reliant on any central authority, such Read More

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Historical events on January 3

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