Today: April 3, 2025

On this day: April 3

Events that happened on April 3.

• April 3, 1882: American outlaw Jesse James is shot dead in St. Joseph, Missouri.
• April 3, 1888: Jack the Ripper kills his first victim.
• April 3, 1954: Diplomat Vladimir Petrov defects from the Soviet Union.
• April 3, 1958: Fidel Castro's army begins its attacks on on the Cuban capital of Havana.
• April 3, 1961: Western musician and TV personality Spade Cooley murders his wife Ella Mae.
• April 3, 1968: The sci-fi film "Planet of the Apes" is released.
• April 3, 1970: The final episode of "The Flying Nun" is aired on television.
• April 3, 1971: Color television is launched in Ireland.
• April 3, 1973: Alphabet murders: The body of missing 11-year-old girl Wanda Walkowicz is discovered close to State Route 104 in Webster, New York.
• April 3, 1974:
  • Kidnap victim Patty Hearst announces via audiotape that she has joined the Symbionese Liberation Army.
  • Super Outbreak: 319 people are killed when a violent tornado outbreak occurs in central parts of the United States.
  
• April 3, 1992: The comedy movie Beethoven (1992) is released in cinemas.
• April 3, 1993: The 1993 Grand National ends in shambles after 30 of the 39 runners carry on racing after a false start.
• April 3, 1996:
  • The film Primal Fear (1996), starring Richard Gere and Edward Norton, is released in movie theaters.
  • Rapper M.C. Hammer files for bankruptcy.
  • United States Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown dies in a plane crash in Croatia.
  • Unabomber Ted Kaczynski is arrested.
  
• April 3, 1998: German singer Rob Pilatus dies from an overdose.
• April 3, 1999: NBA player Darryl Strawberry is arrested for attempting to solicit sex from an undercover policewoman.
• April 3, 2000: Dot-com bubble: News that Microsoft has been found guilty of monopolization causes the Nasdaq to drop by 8%. .
• April 3, 2003: Iraq War: Coalition forces reach the capital Baghdad.
• April 3, 2005:
  • WrestleMania 21: Batista defeats Triple H at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
  • WrestleMania 21: John Cena wins the WWE Championship after defeating John "Bradshaw" Layfield.
  
• April 3, 2006: The first episode of the comedy show "Yo Momma" is broadcast on MTV.
• April 3, 2010: The first iPad is released.
• April 3, 2012:
  • The social media website "LADbible" is founded.
  • Instagram releases its first Android version of the app.
  
• April 3, 2014: A 17-year-old Scottish teenager releases screenshots of actor James Franco trying to pick her up on Instagram.
• April 3, 2015: The film "Furious 7" is released in movie theaters.
• April 3, 2016: WrestleMania 32: Roman Reigns defeats Triple H to win the WWE Championship.
• April 3, 2017: Wrestling: Kurt Angle returns to the WWE for the first time in over 10 years.
• April 3, 2018: Three people are injured after a woman opens fire at the YouTube headquarters in San Bruno, California.
• April 3, 2020:
  • The James Bond movie "No Time to Die (2020)" is released.
  • Irish politics: Alan Kelly becomes the new leader of the Labour Party.
  • Resident Evil 3 - a remake of Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (1999) - is released.
  
• April 3, 2022:
  • "Leave the Door Open" by Silk Sonic wins Record of the Year at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards.
  • Roman Reigns defeats Brock Lesnar on the second night of WrestleMania 38.
  • Six people are killed during a gang shooting in Sacramento, California.
  • Netherlands manager Louis van Gaal reveals that he has prostate cancer.
  
• April 3, 2023:
  • The Russian paramilitary group Wagner claims that it has captured the city hall in Bakhmut.
  • Donald Trump flies to New York to face criminal charges for alleged hush money payments.
  • The WWE and the UFC's parent company, Endeavor, agree to merge.
  
• April 3, 2024: 10 people die after a 7.4 earthquake strikes the eastern coast of Taiwan.

Is it that long ago already?

One month has passed since March 3, 2025:

• 31 people are killed after a truck rams into a bus in southern Bolivia.
• Two people are killed after a car drives into a crowd in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
• It is reported that Pope Francis has been diagnosed with "acute respiratory distress".

Half a year has passed since October 3, 2024:

• Dockworkers agree to suspend the 2024 United States port strike after their contracts are extended to January 2025.

Nine months have passed since July 3, 2024:

• Despicable Me 4 is released.