2026 Kwara State attacks
Islamist militants massacred at least 162 while injuring and kidnapping dozens in two villages in Kwara State, Nigeria.
What happened on February 3
37 events · 20 births · 20 deaths · 7 observances. From 1047 to 2026.
Standout on February 3
2023
East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment
A freight train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, releasing hazardous materials into the surrounding area.
About February 3
February 3 is the 34th day of the year. These facts are computed from the calendar, not copied from anywhere.
- Day of the year
- Day 34 of 365 (34 in leap years)331 days left in the year (332 in leap years)
- Falls on
- Tuesday in 2026, Wednesday in 2027, Thursday in 2028, Saturday in 2029, Sunday in 2030
- Week
- ISO week 6 of 2026 · Q1
- Zodiac sign
- ♒ Aquarius (January 20 – February 18)
- Season
- Winter in the north · Summer in the south
- February birthstone
- Amethystcalm, clarity and courage
- February birth flower
- Violet / Primrosefaithfulness and young love
- Next occurrence
- In 99 days
- Roman numerals
- III.IIday.month — see the Roman numeral date tool
Anniversaries in 2026
- 60thSoviet Union1966
- 40thKanako Yanagihara1986
- 40thMathieu Giroux1986
- 40thSteve Jobs1986
- 25thRhys Williams (footballer, born 2001)2001
- 25thTre Mann2001
- 20thAl-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen2006
- 10thBalram Jakhar2016
February 3 through the years
- 10 years ago2016
- Balram Jakhar · József Kasza · Joe Alaskey
- 25 years ago2001
- Rhys Williams (footballer, born 2001) · Tre Mann
- 50 years ago1976
- Nothing recorded
- 100 years ago1926
- Nothing recorded
- 200 years ago1826
- Nothing recorded
Born on February 3 — ages this year
- 2004Rei (singer)turns 22
- 2004Scoot Hendersonturns 22
- 2001Rhys Williams (footballer, born 2001)turns 25
- 2001Tre Mannturns 25
- 1999Kanna Hashimototurns 27
- 1998Aurélien Giraudturns 28
Historical events 37
A dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment
A freight train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, releasing hazardous materials into the surrounding area.
2014 Moscow school shooting
A school shooting in Moscow, Russia leaves two people dead and one wounded.
School shooting
Russia's first school shooting took place when a student opened fire at School No. 263 in Moscow, resulting in the deaths of a teacher and a police officer.
L'Homme qui marche I
An edition of L'Homme qui marche I, a bronze sculpture by Swiss sculptor Alberto Giacometti, was sold for £65 million, setting the record for the most expensive sculpture sold at auction.
February 2007 Al-Saydiya market bombing
A Baghdad market bombing kills at least 135 people and injures a further 339.
Al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen
Al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen: 23 convicts, including several militants associated with al-Qaeda, escaped from a prison administered by the Political Security Organization in Sanaa, Yemen.
Kam Air Flight 904
One hundred five people are killed when Kam Air Flight 904 crashes in the Pamir Mountains in Afghanistan.
1998 Cavalese cable car crash
Cavalese cable car disaster: A United States military pilot causes the death of 20 people when his low-flying plane cuts the cable of a cable-car near Trento, Italy.
Commutation (law)
Despite a large international movement advocating the commutation of her sentence to life imprisonment, Karla Faye Tucker became the first woman to be executed in the United States since 1984.
Eileen Collins
Astronaut Eileen Collins becomes the first woman to pilot the Space Shuttle as mission STS-63 gets underway from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
STS-63
In mission STS-63, astronaut Eileen Collins (pictured) became the first woman to pilot the Space Shuttle.
Space Shuttle program
Space Shuttle program: STS-60 is launched, carrying Sergei Krikalev, the first Russian cosmonaut to fly aboard the Shuttle.
1989 Paraguayan coup d'état
A military coup overthrows Alfredo Stroessner, dictator of Paraguay since 1954.
Stroke
After a stroke two weeks previously, South African President P. W. Botha resigns as leader of the National Party, but stays on as president for six more months.
Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs purchased Pixar from Lucasfilm and launched it as an independent computer-animation studio.
John Buster
Doctor John Buster and a research team at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in the United States announce history's first embryo transfer, from one woman to another resulting in a live birth.
Space Shuttle program
Space Shuttle program: STS-41-B is launched using Space Shuttle Challenger.
1972 Iran blizzard
The deadliest blizzard in history began in Iran and continued for a week leaving more than 4,000 people dead.
Frank Serpico
New York Police Officer Frank Serpico is shot during a drug bust in Brooklyn and survives to later testify against police corruption.
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union's Luna 9 becomes the first spacecraft to make a soft landing on the Moon, and the first spacecraft to take pictures from the surface of the Moon.
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force begins Operation Looking Glass, and over the next 30 years, a "Doomsday Plane" is always in the air, with the capability of taking direct control of the United States' bombers and missiles in the event of the destruction of the SAC's command post.
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan speaks of "a wind of change", signalling that his Government is likely to support decolonisation.
Buddy Holly
Rock and roll musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson are killed in a plane crash along with the pilot near Clear Lake, Iowa, an event later known as The Day the Music Died.
Rock and roll
American rock and roll musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson died in a plane crash (wreckage pictured) shortly after takeoff from Mason City Municipal Airport in Iowa.
American Airlines Flight 320
Sixty-five people are killed when American Airlines Flight 320 crashes into the East River on approach to LaGuardia Airport in New York City.
Benelux
Founding of the Benelux Economic Union, creating a testing ground for a later European Economic Community.
Creole peoples
Hundreds of native creoles known as Forros were massacred on São Tomé Island by the colonial administration and Portuguese landowners.
World War II
World War II: Free French and British forces began the Battle of Keren to capture the strategic town of Keren in Italian East Africa.
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler announced that the conquest of Lebensraum in Eastern Europe, and its "ruthless Germanisation", were the geopolitical objectives of Reich foreign policy.
Communist Party of Indochina
The Communist Party of Indochina, the Communist Party of Annam and the Communist League of Indochina merged to form the Communist Party of Vietnam.
Reconstruction era
Reconstruction era: The Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified, formally prohibiting race-based disenfranchisement in the United States.
Moldavia
Moldavia and Wallachia formally united, creating the Romanian United Principalities.
Argentine Confederation
The Argentine Confederation was defeated in the Platine War by an alliance consisting of Brazil, Uruguay and the Argentine provinces of Entre Ríos and Corrientes.
Argentine War of Independence
Argentine War of Independence: José de San Martín and the Mounted Grenadiers Regiment defeated Spanish royalist forces in the Battle of San Lorenzo (depicted).
Mudéjar revolt of 1264–1266
Mudéjar revolt: King James I of Aragon entered the formerly Muslim-held city of Murcia following its surrender three days earlier.
Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor
Emperor Henry III declared Drogo of Hauteville to be count of all Apulian and Calabrian Normans.
Births 20
A notable person born on this day. Each links to a person page with their dates and story.
Deaths 20
A notable person who died on this day.
Kandiah Balendra
Kandiah Balendra, Sri Lankan corporate leader and executive (born 1940)
George Steiner
George Steiner, French-American philosopher, author, and critic (born 1929)
Balram Jakhar
Balram Jakhar, Indian lawyer and politician, 23rd Governor of Madhya Pradesh (born 1923)
Nasim Hasan Shah
Nasim Hasan Shah, Pakistani lawyer and judge, 12th Chief Justice of Pakistan (born 1929)
Jam Mohammad Yousaf
Jam Mohammad Yousaf, Pakistani politician, Chief Minister of Balochistan (born 1954)
Toh Chin Chye
Toh Chin Chye, Singaporean academic and politician, 1st Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore (born 1921)
Holidays & observances 7
A holiday, feast day, awareness day or national day observed every year on this date.
Saint Hadelin
Christian feast day: Hadelin
Claudine Thévenet
Christian feast day: Claudine Thévenet
Ansgar
Christian feast day: Ansgar
Saint Blaise
Christian feast day: Blaise
Martyrology of Rabban Sliba
Christian feast day: Aaron the Illustrious (Syriac Orthodox Church)
Berlinda of Meerbeke
Christian feast day: Berlinda of Meerbeke
Justo Takayama
Christian feast day: Dom Justo Takayama (Philippines and Japan)
Spread across the centuries
- 11th century1
- 13th century1
- 19th century4
- 20th century39
- 21st century32
Earliest: Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor (1047). Most recent: 2026 Kwara State attacks (2026).
What the categories mean, and how the standout is chosen
- Historical events
- A dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
- Births
- A notable person born on this day. Each links to a person page with their dates and story.
- Deaths
- A notable person who died on this day.
- Milestones
- A first, a founding or a turning point our editors flagged as a landmark moment.
- Holidays & observances
- A holiday, feast day, awareness day or national day observed every year on this date.
- Standout / notable
- Editor-written entries come first, then entries covered by the most Wikipedia language editions. For the standout tile we prefer an entry that has a picture.
Nearby and related
Questions about February 3
What day of the year is February 3?
February 3 is the 34th day of the year, with 331 days left after it.
What star sign is February 3?
February 3 falls under Aquarius (January 20 – February 18), a air sign ruled by Uranus (traditionally Saturn). The birthstone for the month is Amethyst.
How many things happened on February 3?
We record 84 entries for February 3: 37 events · 20 births · 20 deaths · 7 observances. From 1047 to 2026.
Who was born on February 3?
Rei (singer) (2004) is among the notable births on February 3. The births section lists the rest.
How often is the February 3 page updated?
The day is filled the first time anyone opens it and then re-checked for new entries about every 90 days. Computed facts such as the weekday and the anniversaries update every year.
Get a daily entry like February 3
One short email a day from this calendar. Kept for this site only.
Text adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0 and from Wikidata (CC0). Images come from Wikimedia Commons; credit and licence are shown with each image. Editorial entries are © What's On This Date. Sources & licensing · How this site works.