April 3 is the 93rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 272 days remain until the end of the year.
We have some interesting facts & historic events all about April 3rd, including areas in religion, crime, health and more.
Keep reading for more interesting facts about April 3rd in history!
Table of Contents
Global Celebrations
- World Party Day
- National Find A Rainbow Day
- National Tweed Day
- National Chocolate Mousse Day
Historic Events
What Happened On This Day – April 3
1996: The Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski, is arrested
The mathematician who was driven by anarchist ideas sent out 16 letter bombs between 1978 and 1995, killing 3 people and injuring 23.
1973: The first public mobile telephone call is placed on a Manhattan sidewalk
Motorola’s Martin Cooper called Joel Engel of Bell Labs. He later told the BBC that his first words were “Joel, I’m calling you from a ‘real’ cellular telephone. A portable handheld telephone.”
1948: Harry S. Truman signs the Marshall Plan
$12.4 billion was allocated to help rebuild European economies after the end of World War II and prevent communists from seizing control.
1940: Soviet troops massacre about 22,000 Polish nationals
The Katyn massacre is considered the worst massacre of prisoners of war in history. The order to execute all captive members of the Polish Officer Corps was signed by Joseph Stalin.
1885: Gottlieb Daimler patents his engine design
The German engineer’s so-called “grandfather clock engine” was lighter than previous four-stroke engines and is considered a milestone for the invention of the automobile.
1990: The first two Germans to travel into outer space, Sigmund Jahn (East Germany) and Ulf Merbold (West Germany) meet years later in 1990

1973: 1st mobile phone call is made in downtown Manhattan, NYC by Motorola employee Martin Cooper to the Bell Labs headquarters in New Jersey in 1973.
1960: Elvis Presley records ‘It’s Now Or Never’, ‘Fever’ and ‘Are You Lonesome Tonight’ at RCA studios in Nashville, Tennessee in 1960.
1945: 15-year-old German soldier Hans-Georg Henke cries after being captured by the US 9th Army in Rechtenbach, Hesse, Germany, Tuesday, 3 April 1945

1922: Joseph Stalin is appointed General Secretary of the Russian Communist Party by an ailing Vladimir Lenin in 1922.
1867: The US $7.2 million check was used to pay for Alaska Purchase To Russia in 1867.

Famous Birthdays
Births On This Day, April 3
1961: Eddie Murphy, American actor, director, screenwriter
1958: Francesca Woodman, American photographer
1958: Alec Baldwin, American actor, producer
1930: Helmut Kohl, German politician, Chancellor of Germany
1924: Marlon Brando, American actor
Eddie Murphy was born
Prabhu Deva was born
Adam Scott was born
Heartbreaking Deaths
Deaths On This Day, April 3
1991: Graham Greene, English author, playwright, critic
1990: Sarah Vaughan, American singer
1950: Kurt Weill, German/American composer
1897: Johannes Brahms, German pianist, composer
1882: Jesse James, American criminal, murderer
Shivaji Died
Nizamuddin Auliya died
James Clark Ross died