Browse Historical Events by Day: What Happened on May 3rd?

The Battle of Beverhoutsveld takes place between Louis II, Count of Flanders, leading the forces of the town of Brugesakes, against the Ghent forces led by Philip van Artevelde. The battle takes place near Bruges in modern-day Belgium, on a field located between the towns of Beernem, Oostkamp and Assebroek, resulting on the defeat of the Count of Flanders. The Ghent forces occupied the town of Bruges that same day but the Count Louis II managed to escape and fled to the town of Rijssel. The Battle of Beverhoutsveld  marked an important phase in the rebellion of Ghent. More

The first modern written constitution in Europe is adopted by the Great Sejm (Parliament) of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The groundbreaking document aimed to strengthen the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth by introducing a constitutional monarchy, addressing political inequalities, and providing for a separation of powers but came as too little and too late. Still, the document became the world's second-oldest codified national constitution (after the US Constitution of 1789) 

The Territory of Arizona is created by Congress with Prescott as capital.

The sinking of the SS Cap Arcona and the Thielbek - Believing they were transporting troops, the British Royal Air Force mistakenly attacks Luebeck harbor, a major port in Northern Germany, where the SS Cap Arcona, an ocean liner carrying some 8,000 concentration camp prisoners and the freighter Thielbek were. Both ships were hit by bombs, caught fire, and capsized. Only about 600 prisoners survived. The attack, is considered one of the largest maritime disasters of World War II.

Japan's postwar constitution goes into effect. This constitution, drafted by the Allied occupation authorities, established a democratic government, granted universal suffrage, and renounced Japan's right to make war. It also stipulated a bill of rights, abolished peerage, and limited the Emperor's power to a symbolic role. More

The U.S. Supreme Court decides in the United States v. Paramount et al. case that the studios had violated anti-trust laws, Concerns about the studios violating the Sherman Anti-Trust Act went back to 1921. More 

The Supreme Court unanimously rules in the case of Hernandez v. Texas,  that the Fourteen amendment applies to all racial and ethnic groups facing discrimination. The defendant, Peter Hernandez, was a Mexican American agricultural worker that had come to Texas during and after World War II. Hernandez was convicted of killing a man in cold blood in Jackson County, Texas. His legal team, went through the records of jury selections in Jackson County, an area with a substantial Hispanic population, and found that not one of the roughly 6,000 jurors selected over the previous 25 years had a Hispanic last name. Hernandez received a new trial with a jury that included Mexican Americans and he was again found guilty of murder. More

Margaret Thatcher, a member of the Conservative Party is elected Prime Minister of Britain, becoming the first woman in Europe to hold that post. Thatcher went on to serve three terms as Prime Minister and held the office consecutively for eleven and a half years, becoming the longest continuously serving British premier since 1827. More

A wildfire fueled by dry conditions and high winds forces the evacuation of Fort McMurray, Alberta, the capital of Canada's tar sand industry—and the surrounding area; prompting the evacuation of more than 88,000 residents, destroying 1600 structures, shutting down the over a million barrels per day of oil production and causing billions of dollars in losses. More