September 3 in history — What Happened Today in History

Qatar becomes an independent state.

Dagen H in Sweden: Traffic changes from driving on the left to driving on the right overnight.

The People's Liberation Army begins shelling the Republic of China-controlled islands of Quemoy, starting the First Taiwan Strait Crisis.

"Nino" Farina becomes the first Formula One Drivers' champion after winning the 1950 Italian Grand Prix.

A three-day celebration begins in China, following the Victory over Japan Day on September 2.

Holocaust: Diarist Anne Frank and her family are placed on the last transport train from the Westerbork transit camp to the Auschwitz concentration camp, arriving three days later.

World War II: British and Canadian troops land on the Italian mainland. On the same day, Walter Bedell Smith and Giuseppe Castellano sign the Armistice of Cassibile, although it is not announced for another five days.

World War II: In response to news of its coming liquidation, Dov Lopatyn leads an uprising in the Ghetto of Lakhva (present-day Belarus).

The Holocaust: Karl Fritzsch, deputy camp commandant of the Auschwitz concentration camp, experiments with the use of Zyklon B in the gassing of Soviet POWs.

World War II: France, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia declare war on Germany after the invasion of Poland, forming the Allied nations. The Viceroy of India also declares war, but without consulting the provincial legislatures.

World War II: The United Kingdom and France begin a naval blockade of Germany that lasts until the end of the war. This also marks the beginning of the Battle of the Atlantic.

Sir Malcolm Campbell reaches a speed of 304.331 miles per hour on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, becoming the first person to drive an automobile over 300 mph.

Yevgeniy Abalakov is the first man to reach the highest point in the Soviet Union, Communism Peak (now called Ismoil Somoni Peak and situated in Tajikistan) (7495 m).

USS Shenandoah, the United States' first American-built rigid airship, is destroyed in a squall line over Noble County, Ohio. Fourteen of her 42-man crew perished, including her commander, Zachary Lansdowne.

World War I: Leefe Robinson destroys the German airship Schütte-Lanz SL 11 over Cuffley, north of London; this is the first German airship to be shot down on British soil.

Wilhelm, Prince of Albania leaves the country after just six months due to opposition to his rule.

French composer Albéric Magnard is killed defending his estate against invading German soldiers.

World War I: Start of the Battle of Grand Couronné, a German assault against French positions on high ground near the city of Nancy.

A fire that started on Fraser's Million Dollar Pier destroys six to eight square blocks of Ocean Park, California.

John Brallier becomes the first openly paid professional American football player, when he was paid US$10 by David Berry, to play for the Latrobe Athletic Association in a 12–0 win over the Jeanette Athletic Association.

Siege of the British Residency in Kabul: British envoy Sir Louis Cavagnari and 72 men of the Guides are massacred by Afghan troops while defending the British Residency in Kabul. Their heroism and loyalty became famous and revered throughout the British Empire.

Over 640 die when the crowded pleasure boat Princess Alice collides with the Bywell Castle in the River Thames.

Franco-Prussian War: The Siege of Metz begins, resulting in a decisive Prussian victory on October 23.

American Civil War: Confederate General Leonidas Polk invades neutral Kentucky, prompting the state legislature to ask for Union assistance.

American Indian Wars: In Nebraska, 700 soldiers under United States General William S. Harney avenge the Grattan massacre by attacking a Sioux village and killing 100 men, women and children.

King Otto of Greece is forced to grant a constitution following an uprising in Athens.

Future abolitionist Frederick Douglass escapes from slavery.

Twenty-four settlers are killed in the Pigeon Roost Massacre in Indiana.

Abrahm DeVine, American swimmer

William Eskelinen, Swedish footballer

Nanda Kyaw, Burmese footballer

Florian Maitre, French cyclist

Callum Moore, Australian footballer

Neilson Powless, American cyclist

Yoane Wissa, French-Congolese footballer

Myles Jack, American football player

Niklas Süle, German footballer

Francis Molo, New Zealand rugby league player

Glen Rea, English-Irish footballer

Lee So-jung, South Korean singer

Dominic Thiem, Austrian tennis player

A. P. Venkateswaran, Indian soldier and politician, 14th Foreign Secretary of India (born 1930)

Ralph M. Holman, American lawyer and judge (born 1914)

Pedro Ferriz Santacruz, Mexican-American journalist (born 1921)

José Ramón Larraz, Spanish director and screenwriter (born 1929)

Janet Lembke, American author and scholar (born 1933)

Don Meineke, American basketball player (born 1930)

Lewis Morley, Hong Kong-Australian photographer (born 1925)

Griselda Blanco, Colombian drug lord (born 1943)

Harold Dunaway, American race car driver and pilot (born 1933)

Michael Clarke Duncan, American actor (born 1957)

Siegfried Jamrowski, Russian-German soldier and pilot (born 1917)

Sun Myung Moon, Korean religious leader and businessman, founded the Unification Church (born 1920)

Charlie Rose, American lawyer and politician (born 1939)