April 3 is the 93rd day of the year (94th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 272 days remaining until the end of the year.
1901 – 2000
- 1905 – Boca Juniors football club is founded in Buenos Aires.
- 1922 – Joseph Stalin succeeds Vladimir Lenin as leader of the Soviet Union.
- 1926 - Honduras introduces the Lempira as its currency.
- 1933 - The first flight over Mount Everest occurs, as part of a British expedition led by Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 14th Duke of Hamilton, and funded by Lucy, Lady Houston.
- 1941 – Hungarian and German troops march into Yugoslavia.
- 1942 – World War II: Japanese forces begin an all-out assault on the United States and Filipino troops on the Bataan Peninsula. Bataan fell on April 9 and the Bataan Death March began.
- 1944 - A mine explosion in Heessen, Westphalia, Germany, kills 169 miners.
- 1946 – Japanese Lt. General Masaharu Homma is executed outside Manila in the Philippines for leading the Bataan Death March.
- 1948 – President Harry Truman signs the Marshall Plan which authorizes $5 billion in aid for 16 countries.
- 1948 - In Jeju, South Korea, a civil war-like period of violence and human rights abuses begins.
- 1954 - Oxford University wins the 100th Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race.
- 1956 - A deadly Force 5 tornado hits the western half of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan.
- 1961 - Leadbeater's Possum is re-discovered in Australia, after 72 years.
- 1968 – Elvis Presley sings Heartbreak Hotel on the Milton Berle Show with an estimated 25% of the United States population viewing.
- 1968 – Martin Luther King, Jr. delivers his "mountaintop" speech.
- 1973 – The first ever Mobile phone call is placed by Martin Cooper, in New York City
- 1974 – The Super Outbreak occurred. 148 tornadoes affected 13 states and 1 Canadian province in 18 hours. It was the biggest tornado outbreak in the planet's recorded history. 315 people die, nearly 5,500 are injured.
- 1975 - Bobby Fischer refuses to play a chess match against Anatoly Karpov, who wins the world championship by default as a result.
- 1979 - Spain holds its first local elections since the death of Francisco Franco.
- 1981 - Osborne 1, the first-ever portable computer, is unveiled in San Francisco.
- 1984 - Lansana Conté comes to power in Guinea through a military coup.
- 1986 – IBM unveils the PC Convertible, their first laptop computer.
- 1991 - Miguel Trovoada becomes President of São Tomé and Príncipe.
- 1992 – Albania's last Communist leader Ramiz Alia resigns.
- 1996 – Suspected "Unabomber" Theodore Kaczynski is arrested at his Montana cabin.
- 1997 – Thalit massacre begins in Algeria; all but 1 of the 53 people living in Thalit are killed by guerrillas.
- 2000 – Microsoft is ruled to have violated United States antitrust laws by keeping "an oppressive thumb" on its competitors.
Up to 1900
- 1151 - Igor Svyatoslavich, Kievan Rus Prince (d. 1202)
- 1245 – King Philip III of France (d. 1285)
- 1367 – King Henry IV of England (d. 1413)
- 1529 – Michael Neander, German mathematician and astronomer (d. 1581)
- 1593 - George Herbert, Welsh-born English poet (d. 1633)
- 1639 – Alessandro Stradella, Italian composer (d. 1682)
- 1643 - Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (d. 1690)
- 1683 – Mark Catesby, English naturalist (d. 1749)
- 1715 - William Watson, English physician and scientist (d. 1787)
- 1764 - John Abernethy, English surgeon (d. 1831)
- 1769 - Christian Gunther von Bernstorff, Danish-Prussian statesman and diplomat (d. 1835)
- 1770 - Theodoros Kolokstronis, Greek general (d. 1843)
- 1781 - Swaminarayan, Indian religious leader (d. 1830)
- 1783 – Washington Irving, American writer (d. 1859)
- 1798 – Charles Wilkes, American navy officer and polar explorer (d. 1877)
- 1806 – Ivan Kireevsky, Russian literary critic and philosopher (d. 1856)
- 1807 - Jane Digby, English aristocrat and adventuress (d. 1881)
- 1814 – Lorenzo Snow, American Mormon leader (d. 1901)
- 1822 - Edward Everett Hale, American writer (d. 1909)
- 1823 - William M. Tweed, American politician (d. 1878)
- 1843 – Knut Ekvall, Swedish artist (d. 1912)
- 1848 - Arturo Prat, Chilean lawyer and naval officer (d. 1879)
- 1861 - Frederik van Eeden, Dutch writer and psychiatrist (d. 1932)
- 1863 - Henry van de Velde, Belgian architect and designer (d. 1957)
- 1876 - Margaret Anglin, Canadian Broadway actress (d. 1958)
- 1876 - Celso Constantini, Italian cardinal (d. 1958)
- 1880 - Jorge Brown, Argentine footballer and cricketer (d. 1936)
- 1880 – Otto Weininger, Austrian philosopher (d. 1903)
- 1881 – Alcide De Gasperi, Prime Minister of Italy (d. 1954)
- 1882 - Philippe Desranleau, Canadian archbishop (d. 1952)
- 1883 - Ikki Kita, Japanese philosopher and writer (d. 1937)
- 1885 - Bud Fisher, American cartoonist (d. 1954)
- 1885 - Allan Dwan, American director, producer and screenwriter (d. 1981)
- 1887 - Otori Tanigoro, Japanese sumo wrestler (d. 1956)
- 1889 - Grigoras Dinicu, Romanian composer and violinist (d. 1949)
- 1893 - Leslie Howard, British actor (d. 1943)
- 1895 – Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Italian composer (d. 1968)
- 1898 – Henry Luce, American publisher (d. 1967)
- 1898 - George Jessel, American actor, singer and producer (d. 1981)
- 1899 – David Jack, English footballer (d. 1958)
- 1899 - Maria Redaelli, Italian supercentenarian (d. 2013)
- 1900 - Camille Chamoun, President of Lebanon (d. 1987)
1901 – 1950
- 1903 - Lili Kraus, Hungarian-American pianist (d. 1986)
- 1904 - Sally Rand, American Burlesque dancer (d. 1979)
- 1905 - Robert Sink, American military officer (d. 1965)
- 1907 - Iron Eyes Cody, American actor (d. 1999)
- 1911 – Stanislawa Walasiewicz, Polish athlete (d. 1980)
- 1912 - Grigoris Lambrakis, Greek politician, physician and athlete (d. 1963)
- 1913 – Per Borten, Prime Minister of Norway (d. 2005)
- 1915 – Piet de Jong, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 2016)
- 1918 - Mary Anderson, American actress (d. 2014)
- 1919 - Ervin Drake, American songwriter and composer (d. 2015)
- 1920 – Stan Freeman, American composer and lyricist (d. 2001)
- 1920 – John Demjanjuk, Ukrainian convicted Nazi war criminal (d. 2012)
- 1920 - Yoshibayama Junnosuke, Japanese sumo wrestler (d. 1977)
- 1922 - Doris Day, American actress (d. 2019)
- 1922 - José Hierro, Spanish poet (d. 2002)
- 1922 - Carlo Lizzani, Italian movie director, screenwriter and actor (d. 2013)
- 1924 – Marlon Brando, American actor (d. 2004)
- 1925 – Tony Benn, British politician (d. 2014)
- 1926 – Gus Grissom, American astronaut (d. 1967)
- 1926 - Timothy Bateson, English actor (d. 2009)
- 1928 - Earl Lloyd, American basketball player (d. 2015)
- 1928 - Cheikh Hamidou Kane, Senegalese writer
- 1929 - Miyoshi Umeki, Japanese actress (d. 2007)
- 1929 - Poul Schlüter, former Prime Minister of Denmark
- 1930 – Helmut Kohl, former Chancellor of Germany (d. 2017)
- 1930 - Lawton Chiles, 41st Governor of Florida (d. 1998)
- 1930 - Mario Menéndez, Argentine general and politician (d. 2015)
- 1933 - Bob Dornan, American politician
- 1933 - Fu Da-ren, Taiwanese sports broadcaster and assisted suicide activist (d. 2018)
- 1934 – Jane Goodall, English zoologist
- 1935 - Salvatore Senese, Italian magistrate and politician (d. 2019)
- 1936 – Reginald Hill, English crime fiction writer (d. 2012)
- 1936 - Harold Vick, American jazz saxophonist and flautist (d. 1987)
- 1942 - Wayne Newton, American singer and actor
- 1942 - Billy Joe Royal, American singer (d. 2015)
- 1942 - Marsha Mason, American actress
- 1943 - Mario Lavista, Mexican composer
- 1943 - Jonathan Lynn, English actor, director and screenwriter
- 1945 - Bernie Parent, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1945 - Catherine Spaak, French actress
- 1946 - Dee Murphy, English musician (d. 1992)
- 1946 - Marisa Paredes, Spanish actress
- 1946 - Hanna Suchocka, 5th Prime Minister of Poland
- 1948 – Carlos Salinas de Gortari, former President of Mexico
- 1948 – Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, Dutch politician and former NATO Secretary-General
- 1948 - Hans-Georg Schwarzenbeck, German footballer
- 1949 – Daniel Catan, Mexican composer (d. 2011)
- 1949 - A. C. Grayling, British philosopher
- 1950 - Sally Thomsett, English actress
1951 – 1975
- 1953 - Wakanohana Kanji II, Japanese sumo wrestler
- 1956 - Miguel Bosé, Spanish singer and actor
- 1957 - Yves Chaland, French cartoonist (d. 1990)
- 1958 - Francesca Woodman, American photographer (d. 1981)
- 1958 – Alec Baldwin, American actor
- 1959 – David Hyde Pierce, American actor
- 1960 - Elizabeth Gracen, American actress and model
- 1960 - Arjen Anthony Lucassen, Dutch singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer
- 1961 – Eddie Murphy, American actor and comedian
- 1962 – Jennifer Rubin, American actress
- 1964 – Bjarne Riis, Danish cyclist
- 1964 – Andy Robinson, English rugby player and coach
- 1964 - Nigel Farage, English politician, former leader of UKIP
- 1965 - Katsumi Oenoki, Japanese footballer
- 1966 – Mina Tominaga, Japanese voice actress
- 1966 - Michael Mittermeier, German comedian
- 1968 – Sebastian Bach, Canadian singer
- 1968 - Charlotte Coleman, English actress (d. 2001)
- 1968 - Jamie Hewlett, English comic creator
- 1970 - Donald-Olivier Sié, Ivorian footballer
- 1971 - Robert da Silva Almeida, Brazilian footballer
- 1971 – Vitalijs Astafjevs, Latvian footballer
- 1971 - Picabo Street, American skier
- 1972 – Kenny Logan, Scottish rugby player
- 1972 - Lola Pagnani, Italian movie actress
- 1972 - Jennie Garth, American actress
- 1972 - Leigh-Allyn Baker, American actress
- 1972 - Catherine McCormack, English actress
- 1973 - Prabhu Deva, Indian dancer, choreographer, movie director and actor
- 1973 – Jamie Bamber, English actor
- 1975 - Shawn Bates, American ice hockey player
From 1976
- 1976 – Drew Shirley, American musician
- 1976 – Will Mellor, English actor
- 1978 – Matthew Goode, English actor
- 1978 – Tommy Haas, German tennis player
- 1978 – John Smit, South African rugby player
- 1980 – Suella Braverman, English politician
- 1981 – Aaron Bertram, American trumpeter (Suburban Legends)
- 1982 – Cobie Smulders, Canadian actress
- 1983 – Ben Foster, English footballer
- 1985 – Leona Lewis, English singer
- 1986 – Amanda Bynes, American actress
- 1986 – Coleen Rooney, English celebrity
- 1987 – Park Jung-min, South Korean singer, dancer and actor
- 1987 – Martyn Rooney, English sprinter
- 1988 – Tim Krul, Dutch footballer
- 1989 – Israel Folau, Australian rugby player
- 1990 – Sotiris Ninis, Greek footballer
- 1990 – Karim Ansarifard, Iranian footballer
- 1991 – Hayley Kiyoko, American singer, dancer and actress
- 1992 – Simone Benedetti, Italian footballer
- 1992 – Yuliya Yefimova, Russian swimmer
- 1992 – Juan Cazares, Ecuadorean footballer
- 1993 – Pape Moussa Konaté, Senegalese footballer
- 1994 – Dylann Roof, American murderer, perpetrator of the Charleston church shooting
- 1995 – William de Asevedo Furtado, Brazilian footballer
- 1997 – Gabriel Jesus, Brazilian footballer
Up to 1900
- 963 – William III, Duke of Aquitaine (b. 915)
- 1203 - Arthur I, Duke of Brittany (b. 1196)
- 1287 - Pope Honorius IV (b. 1240)
- 1350 - Eudes IV, Duke of Burgundy (b. 1295)
- 1617 – John Napier, Scottish mathematician (b. 1550)
- 1680 - Shivaji, Indian founder of the Maratha Empire (b. 1608)
- 1682 – Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, Spanish painter (b. 1618)
- 1691 - Jean Petitot, French-Swiss painter (b. 1608)
- 1717 - Jacques Ozanam, French mathematician (b. 1640)
- 1849 – Juliusz Slowacki, Polish poet (b. 1809)
- 1857 - Federico de Roncali, 1st Count of Alcoy, Prime Minister of Spain (b. 1809)
- 1868 – Franz Berwald, Swedish composer and inventor (b. 1796)
- 1882 – Jesse James, American outlaw (b. 1847)
- 1897 – Johannes Brahms, German composer (b. 1833)
1901 – 2000
- 1901 - Richard D'Oyly Carte, British talent agent, impresario, composer and hotelier (b. 1844)
- 1936 – Bruno Hauptmann, German, convicted for the murder of Charles Lindbergh III (b. 1899)
- 1941 – Pal Teleki, Prime Minister of Hungary (b. 1879)
- 1941 - Tachiyama Mineemon, Japanese sumo wrestler (b. 1877)
- 1943 - Conrad Veidt, German-American actor (b. 1893)
- 1950 – Kurt Weill, German composer (b. 1900)
- 1950 - Carter G. Woodson, American historian, writer and journalist (b. 1875)
- 1952 – Miina Sillanpaa, Finnish politician (b. 1866)
- 1954 - Aristides de Sousa Mendes, Portuguese diplomat (b. 1885)
- 1975 - Mary Ure, Scottish actress (b. 1933)
- 1978 - Ray Noble, English bandleader, actor and composer (b. 1903)
- 1982 - Warren Oates, American actor (b. 1928)
- 1986 – Peter Pears, English tenor (b. 1910)
- 1990 – Sarah Vaughan, American jazz singer and pianist (b. 1924)
- 1991 – Graham Greene, English writer (b. 1904)
- 1994 – Frank Wells, American businessman, President of the Walt Disney Company (b. 1932)
- 1996 - Ron Brown, American politician (b. 1941)
- 1999 – Lionel Bart, English composer (b. 1930)
From 2001
- 2003 – Edwin Starr, American singer (b. 1942)
- 2004 - Gabriella Ferri, Italian singer (b. 1942)
- 2007 – Nina Wang, Asia's richest woman (b. 1937)
- 2008 – Hrvoje Custic, Croatian footballer (b. 1983)
- 2010 – Eugene Terre'Blanche, South African far-right politician (b. 1941)
- 2012 - Xenia Stade-de Jong, Dutch athlete (b. 1922)
- 2013 - Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, German-born novelist, short story writer and screenwriter (b. 1927)
- 2014 - Régine Deforges, French writer, playwright and director (b. 1935)
- 2014 - Fred Kida, American illustrator (b. 1920)
- 2014 - Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith, American guitarist, fiddler and composer (b. 1921)
- 2014 - Paul Salamunovich, American choral director and movie scorer (b. 1927)
- 2014 - Virginie Korte-van Hemel, Dutch politician (b. 1929)
- 2014 - Edvard Grimstad, Norwegian politician (b. 1933)
- 2014 - Tommy Lynn Sells, American serial killer (b. 1964)
- 2015 - Nigel Boocock, British speedway rider (b. 1937)
- 2015 - Shmuel Wosner, Austrian-Israeli rabbi (b. 1913)
- 2015 - Sarah Brady, American gun control campaigner (b. 1942)
- 2015 - Kayahan, Turkish pop singer (b. 1949)
- 2015 - Robert Rietti, British-Italian actor (b. 1923)
- 2015 - Vivian Nathan, American actress (b. 1916)
- 2015 - Bob Burns, American drummer (Lynyrd Skynyrd) (b. 1950)
- 2016 - Cesare Maldini, Italian footballer and manager (b. 1932)
- 2016 - Joe Medicine Crow, American historian (b. 1913)
- 2016 - Lars Gustafsson, Swedish writer (b. 1936)
- 2016 - Martin Lampkin, British motorcycle rider (b. 1950)
- 2016 - Lola Novakovic, Serbian singer (b. 1935)
- 2016 - Erik Bauersfeld, American radio dramatist and voice actor (b. 1922)
- 2016 - Don Francks, Canadian jazz singer and actor (b. 1932)
- 2016 - Rowley Habib, New Zealand writer (b. 1933)
- 2016 - Clarence Clifton Young, American politician (b. 1922)
- 2016 - Jules Schelvis, Dutch historian and Holocaust survivor (b. 1921)
- 2017 - John Chrispinsson, Swedish journalist (b. 1956)
- 2017 - Akbarzhan Jalilov, Kyrgyz-born Russian terrorist (b. 1995)
- 2017 - Roy Sievers, American baseball player (b. 1926)
- 2017 - Michel Arrivé, French linguist and novelist (b. 1936)
- 2017 - Stella Turk, British zoologist, naturalist and conservationist (b. 1925)
- 2018 - Lill-Babs, Swedish singer (b. 1938)
- 2018 - Nasim Najafi Aghdam, Iranian-American animal rights and internet personality (b. 1979)
- 2018 - Arrigo Petacco, Italian journalist and writer (b. 1929)
- 2018 - Jacques Tixier, French archaeologist and prehistorian
- 2019 - Maurice Pon, French lyricist (b. 1921)
- 2019 - Aleksey Buldakov, Russian actor (b. 1951)
- 2019 - Gabriel Piroird, French bishop (b. 1932)
- 2019 - Carmelita Pope, American actress (b. 1924)