October 3
October 3 is the 277th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 89 days remain until the year's end. It falls in autumn (northern hemisphere) and under the astrological sign of Libra.
External references
Curated jump-off points to the major almanacs, encyclopaedias and primary sources for this date.
Astronomy
On October 3 the Sun's declination is approximately -5.4°. At this latitude the Sun is south of the celestial equator, giving the Northern Hemisphere shorter days than nights.
For specific rise/set times at your location, see the U.S. Naval Observatory, or the NASA APOD archive for any imagery published on a October 3.
Position in the year
Holidays & observances
- Christian feast day: Abd-al-Masih
- Christian feast day: Adalgott
- Christian feast day: Blessed Szilárd Bogdánffy
- Christian feast day: Dionysius the Areopagite
- Christian feast day: Ewald the Black and Ewald the Fair
Events
A selection of widely-documented historical events that took place on this date. Years marked BCE follow standard astronomical convention.
2024 — Bengali, Assamese, Marathi, Pali and Prakrit are accorded the Classical language status by the Government of India ↗(2 years ago)more
Bengali, also known by its endonym Bangla, is a classical Indo-Aryan language belonging to the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family. It is primarily spoken by the Bengali people, native to the Bengal region as well as Tripura in South Asia.
2023 — Wab Kinew is elected to be the first First Nations Premier of a Canadian province in the 2023 Manitoba general election ↗(3 years ago)more
Wabanakwut Kinew is a Canadian politician who has served as the 25th premier of Manitoba since 2023 and the leader of the Manitoba New Democratic Party (NDP) since 2017. Kinew represents Fort Rouge in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba and was the leader of the Opposition from 2017 until his party's victory in the 2023 provincial election.
2022 — Svante Pääbo is awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. ↗(4 years ago)more
Svante Pääbo is a Swedish geneticist and Nobel Laureate who specialises in the field of evolutionary genetics. As one of the founders of paleogenetics, he has worked extensively on the Neanderthal genome. In 1997, he became founding director of the Department of Genetics at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany.
2021 — Eight people are killed in an airplane crash near Milan, Italy. ↗(5 years ago)more
On 3 October 2021, a Romanian private plane crashed into a building in Milan, Lombardy, Italy. All eight occupants of the aircraft were killed, including the Romanian businessman and billionaire Dan Petrescu, who owned and piloted the plane.
2015 — Forty-two people are killed and 33 go missing in the Kunduz hospital airstrike in Afghanistan. ↗(11 years ago)more
On 3 October 2015, a United States Air Force AC-130U gunship attacked the Kunduz Trauma Centre operated by Médecins Sans Frontières in the city of Kunduz, in the eponymous province in northern Afghanistan. 42 people were killed and over 30 were injured.
- 2013 — At least 360 migrants are killed when their boat sinks near the Italian island of Lampedusa. ↗(13 years ago)
more
On 3 October 2013, a boat carrying migrants from Libya to Italy sank off the Italian island of Lampedusa. It was reported that the boat had sailed from Misrata, Libya, but that many of the migrants were originally from Eritrea, Somalia and Ghana. An emergency response involving the Italian Coast Guard resulted in the rescue of 155 survivors.
2009 — Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkey join in the Turkic Council. ↗(17 years ago)more
Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a transcontinental landlocked country at the boundary of Western Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia's republic of Dagestan to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Turkey, via the exclave of Nakhchivan, and Armenia to ...
- 2008 — The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 for the U.S. financial system is signed by President George W. Bush. ↗(18 years ago)
more
The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, also known as the "bank bailout of 2008" or the "Wall Street bailout", was a United States federal law enacted during the Great Recession, which created federal programs to "bail out" failing financial institutions and banks.
1995 — O. J. Simpson murder case: O. J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. ↗(31 years ago)more
The People of the State of California v. Orenthal James Simpson was a criminal trial in Los Angeles County Superior Court, in which former NFL player and actor O. J. Simpson was tried and acquitted for the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman, who were stabbed to death outside Brown's home in Los Angeles on June 12, 1994.
1993 — An American attack against a warlord in Mogadishu fails; eighteen US soldiers and over 350 Somalis die. ↗(33 years ago)more
The Battle of Mogadishu, also known as the Black Hawk Down Incident, was part of Operation Gothic Serpent. It was fought on 3–4 October 1993, in Mogadishu, Somalia, between forces of the United States—supported by UNOSOM II—against Somali National Alliance (SNA) fighters and other insurgents in south Mogadishu.
1991 — Nadine Gordimer is announced as the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature. ↗(35 years ago)more
Nadine Gordimer was a South African writer and political activist. She received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1991, recognised as a writer "who through her magnificent epic writing has ... been of very great benefit to humanity".
1990 — The German Democratic Republic is abolished and becomes part of the Federal Republic of Germany; the event is afterwards celebrated as German Unity Day. ↗(36 years ago)more
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally viewed as a communist state and described itself as a socialist workers' and peasants' state.
Notable births
2004 — Noah Schnapp, American actor ↗(22 years ago)more
Noah Cameron Schnapp is an American actor. He made his acting debut in 2015 with his portrayal of Charlie Brown in the animated film The Peanuts Movie and his supporting role in Steven Spielberg's Bridge of Spies.
2001 — Anton Lundell, Finnish ice hockey player ↗(25 years ago)more
Anton Lundell is a Finnish professional ice hockey player who is a centre for the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Lundell was considered a top prospect for the 2020 NHL entry draft, where he was selected 12th overall by the Panthers. Lundell won back-to-back Stanley Cups with the Panthers in 2024 and 2025.
2001 — Max Plath, Australian rugby league player ↗(25 years ago)more
Max Plath is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a hooker, lock or second-row forward for the Dolphins in the National Rugby League (NRL).
2001 — C. J. Stroud, American football player ↗(25 years ago)more
Coleridge Bernard "C. J." Stroud IV is an American professional football quarterback for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes, where he holds several school records, including most passing yards in a single game with 573, as well as being the first player to throw for six touchdow...
2000 — CJ Abrams, American baseball player ↗(26 years ago)more
Paul Christopher Abrams Jr. is an American professional baseball shortstop for the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2022 with the San Diego Padres. Abrams was named an All-Star in 2024.
1997 — Jin Boyang, Chinese figure skater ↗(29 years ago)more
Jin Boyang is a Chinese figure skater. He is a two-time World bronze medalist (2016–2017), the 2018 Four Continents champion, a two-time Four Continents silver medalist, the 2017 Asian Winter Games silver medalist, a six-time Chinese national champion and a two-time Chinese national winter games champion.
Notable deaths
2025 — Patricia Routledge, English actress and singer (born 1929) ↗(1 years ago)more
Dame Katherine Patricia Routledge was an English actress and singer. She was best known for her role as Hyacinth Bucket in the BBC One comedy series Keeping Up Appearances (1990–1995), for which she was twice nominated for the BAFTA TV Award for Best Light Entertainment Performance.
2024 — Michel Blanc, French actor, writer and director (born 1952) ↗(2 years ago)more
Michel Blanc was a French actor, writer and director. He is noted for his roles of losers and hypochondriacs. He is frequently associated with Le Splendid, which he co-founded, along with Thierry Lhermitte, Josiane Balasko, Christian Clavier, Marie-Anne Chazel and Gérard Jugnot.
2024 — Cid Moreira, Brazilian journalist and television anchor (born 1927) ↗(2 years ago)more
Cid Moreira was a Brazilian journalist and television anchor who was active from 1947 onwards. He was born in Taubaté, São Paulo, and was mostly recognized for his work as the main anchor on Rede Globo's primetime news program Jornal Nacional between 1969 and 1996. He became widely known by his grave, resonating voice.
2024 — Mary O'Rourke, Irish politician (born 1937) ↗(2 years ago)more
Mary O'Rourke was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Leader of the Seanad and Leader of Fianna Fáil in the Seanad from 2002 to 2007, Deputy leader of Fianna Fáil from 1994 to 2002, Minister for Public Enterprise from 1997 to 2002, Minister for Health from 1991 to 1992 and Minister for Education from 1987 to 1991.
Numerical & calendrical curiosities
| Day-of-year (277) | 277 · prime |
|---|---|
| Days remaining (89) | 89 |
| Date code DDMMYYYY | 03102026 · no palindrome in next 200 years |
| Sun declination | -5.40° (Cooper approximation) |
| Distance from solstice | 78 days |