Events on May 3
- 1294John II becomes Duke of Brabant / Limburg
- 1342Count Hartmann II becomes ruler of Vaduz (Liechtenstein)
- 1382Battle on Beverhoutsfield near Brugge
- 1455Jews flee Spain
- 1494Columbus discovers Jamaica
- 1494Jamaica discovered by Columbus; he names it "St Iago"
- 15125th Lateran Council (18th ecumenical council) opens in Rome
- 1515Persian Gulf: Portugese fleet occupies Ormuz
- 1616Treaty of Loudun kills French civil war
- 1621Francis Bacon accused of bribery
- 1624Spanish silver fleet sails to Panama
- 1629French huguenot leader Duke De Rohan signs accord with Spain
- 1640English Upper house accept Act of Attainder
- 1654Bridge at Rowley Mass begins charging tolls for animals
- 1660Sweden, Poland, Brandenburg and Austria sign Peace of Oliva
- 1661Johannes Hevelius observes 3rd transit of Mercury ever to be seen
- 1662Royal charter granted Connecticut
- 1678French conquering fleet at Curacao, 1200 die
- 1747Willem IV appointed Viceroy of Holland / Utrecht
- 17651st US medical college opens in Philadelphia
- 1802Washington DC incorporates as a city
- 1810Lord Byron swims Hellespont
- 1815Battle at Tolentino: Austria beats King Joachim of Naples
- 1822Society for Propagation of Faith starts (Lyon, France)
- 18301st regular steam train passenger service starts
- 18451st black lawyer (Macon B Allen) admitted to bar (Mass)
- 1845Fire kills 1,600 in popular theater in Canton China
- 1846Mexican army surrounds fort in Texas
- 1851Most of SF destroyed by fire; 30 die
- 1855Antwerp-Rotterdam railway opens
Born on May 3
- 1446Margaretha: English Princess / Duchess of Bourgondie
- 1514Bartholomaeus a Martyribus [Fernandez]: Primate of Portugal
- 1535Alessandro "Agnolo" Allori: Italian painter / carpet designer
- 1647John A "Joannes" Antonides van der Goes: Poet (Bellone aen bant)
- 1649Johann Valentin Meder: Composer
- 1692Jan J Mauricius: Dutch Governor-General of Suriname (1742-51)
- 1708Johann Adolph Scheibe: German music theroist / composer
- 1729Florian Leopold Gassmann: Composer
- 1737Friedrich Schwindl: Composer
- 1742Jean-Baptiste Krumphultz: Composer
- 1744Freidrich Wilhelm Weis: Composer
- 1752Braz Francisco de Lima: Composer
- 1764Elisabeth PMH: Princess of France / Son of King Louis XVI
- 1773Giuseppe Acerbi: Italian traveller / nature investigator / diplomat
- 1815Hermanus W Witteveen: Dutch theologist
- 1816Montgomery Cunningham Meigs: Bvt Major General (Union Army), died in 1892
- 1819Nicola De Giosa: Composer
- 1826Charles XV Louis E: King of Sweden / Norway (1859-72) / poet
- 1844Edouard A Drumont: French anti-semitic journalist
- 1849Jacob Riis: Denmark -- Reporter (NY Tribune, New York Evening Sun)
- 1859Andy Adams: US writer (Log of a Cowboy)
- 1873[Nicoline] Magdalene Anchor-Roll: Norwegian author (Kvinnen og Den)
- 1874Francois Coty: Corsica -- Corsican senator / perfume maker
- 1890B Traven: Writer
- 1892George Thomson: Demonstrated electron diffraction (Nobel 1937)
- 1893Hope Landin: Minneapolis, Minnesota
- 1895Earnest Kantorowicz: German / US historian (Laudes regiae)
- 1895Zoltan Korda: Hungarian / British director (Jungle Book, 4 Feathers)
- 1897V K Krishna Menon: India -- Minister of Defense
- 1898Golda Meir [Meyerson]: Kiev, Ukraine -- 4th Israeli Prime Minister (1969-74)
Died on May 3
- 1010Ansfried: 9th Bishop of Utrecht (995-1010) / saint, dies at about 69
- 1294Jan I: Duke of Brabant / Limburg / poet
- 1442Engelbert I: Earl of Nassau-Dillenburg
- 1567Leonhard Paminger: Composer, dies at 72
- 1614Sasbout Vosmeer: RC Theologist / apostole vicar, dies at 66
- 1654Francois van Kinschot: Treasurer-General / chancellor of Brabant, dies at 77
- 1703Eglon van de Down: Still-life painter
- 1704Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber: Austrian violist / composer, dies at 59
- 1707Michiel de Swaen: South Netherlands Physician / poet, dies at 53
- 1737Abraham Patras: Governor-General of East-Indies (1735-37), dies at 65
- 1758Benedict XIV [Prospero L Lambertini]: Pope (1740-58), dies at 83
- 1764Francesco Algarotti: Italian Earl / encyclopedist, dies at 53
- 1783Pieter Valckx: South Netherlands sculptor, dies at 49
- 1792Carlo Zuccari: Composer, dies at 87
- 1839Ferdinando Paer: Composer, dies at 67
- 1841Cornelis T Elout: Dutch Minister of Finance / Navy / Colonies, dies at 74
- 1854William Beale: Composer, dies at 70
- 1856Adolfo Fumagalli: Composer, dies at 27
- 1856Adolphe Charles Adam: French Composer / critic (Giselle), dies at 52
- 1861Anthony Philip Heinrich: Composer, dies at 80
- 1863Elisha Franklin "Bull" Paxton: US Confederate Brigadier General, dies at 35
- 1868Olof Wilhelm Udden: Composer, dies at 68
- 1881Josip Jurcic: Slovic writer (Schone Vida)
- 1893Josef Rudolf Zavrtal: Composer, dies at 73
- 1902David R Capriles: Curacaos Director of Psychiatric, dies at 64
- 1910Artie Shaw: Bandleader
- 1926Napoleon V Bonaparte: French pretender to the throne, dies at 63
- 1931Frank Hoyt Losey: Composer, dies at 59
- 1931Otto Winter-Hjelm: Composer, dies at 93
- 1932Anton Wildgans: Austr writer (Dies Irae) / director Burgtheater, dies at 51
Historical events on May 4
- 1303Flemings conquers Middelburg
- 1471Battle of Tewkesbury - King Edward IV vs. Ex-queen Margaretha
- 1493Spanish Pope Alexander VI divides America between Spain and Portugal
- 1494Christopher Columbus lands in Jamaica
- 1540Venice and Turkey sign Treaty of Constantinople
- 1572Veere sides with Geuzen
- 1626Indians sell Manhattan Island for $24 in cloth and buttons
- 1626Peter Minuit becomes Director-General of New Netherlands
- 1634Johan van Walbeecks fleet departs to West-Indies
- 1652Battle at Etampes: French army under Turenne beats Fronde rebels
- 1715French manufacturer debuts 1st folding umbrella (Paris)
- 1747Willem IV appointed Viceroy of Overijssel
- 1776Rhode Island declares independence from England
- 1780American Academy of Arts and Science founded
- 1780Charles Bunbury on Diomed wins 1st Epsom Derby
- 1783Herschel reports seeing a red glow near lunar crater Aristarchus
- 1805Henry C Overing buys 80 acres of Throggs Neck in Bronx
- 1814Bourbon reign restored in France
- 1818Netherlands and England sign treaty against illegal slave handling
- 1839The Cunard Steamship Company Ltd forms San Bonifacio
- 1843Great-Britain annexes Natal
- 1846US state Michigan ends death penalty
- 1847New York State creates a Board of Commissioners of Emigration
- 18511st major SF fire
- 1861At Gretna LA, one of 1st guns of Rebel navy is cast
- 1862Yorktown, VA - McClellan halted his troop before town as it is full of armed torpedoes left by CS Brigadier General Gabrial Rains
- 1863Battle of Chancellorsville-action at Salem Church
- 1863End of Chancellorsville - Beaten Union army withdraws
- 1864Ulysses S Grant crosses Rapidan and begins his duel with Robert E Lee
- 1865Battle of Citronville, AL; Richard Taylor surrenders
Born on May 4
- 1006Abd-Allah Ansari: Persian mystic / poet (Monadjat)
- 1611Carlo Rainaldi: Composer
- 1631Mary I Henriette Stuart: Daughter of Charles I / Queen of England
- 1635Willem van Outhoorn: Dutch Governor-General (Dutch East Indies)
- 1655Bartolomeo di Francesco Cristofori: Italy -- Piano builder
- 1738Josef Kohaut: Composer
- 1744Marianne von Martinez: Composer
- 1763Franz Stanislaus Spindler: Composer
- 1769Charles Hague: Composer
- 1776Johann Friedrich Herbart: Germany -- Philosopher / psychologist
- 1777Charles-Louis-Joseph Hanssens: Composer
- 1796Horace Mann: United States -- Educator / author / editor (pioneered public schools)
- 1796Joseph Pannell Taylor: Brigadier General (Union Army), died in 1864
- 1820Julia Gardiner Tyler: 2nd Wife of President John Tyler (1841-45)
- 1825Thomas Henry Huxley: Scientist / humanist / Darwinist
- 1826Frederick Church: US romantic landscape painter (Hudson River Sch)
- 1835Edmund Hart Turpin: Composer
- 1860Emil Nikolaus Von Reznicek: Vienna, Austria -- Composer (Donna Diana)
- 1867Dynam-Victor Fumet: Composer
- 1871Mynona: Writer
- 1875Ramiro de Maeztu y Whitney: Spanish writer (Don Quixote & Celestine)
- 1877Arthur Lang: United States -- Boxer / businessman (Died August 8, 1992 at 115)
- 1881Aleksandr F Kerenski: Russian Premier (1917-Prelude to Bolshevism)
- 1882Wilhelm Lehmann: Writer
- 1889Francis J Spellman: US Cardinal
- 1891Frederick Jacobi: Composer
- 1891Johan W F Werumeus Buning: Dutch poet (Daily Bread)
- 1893Edgar Dearing: Ceres, California -- Actor (Abraham Lincoln, Free & Easy)
- 1893Royal Butler [Edwin Richey]: Atlanta, Georgia -- Actor
- 1902Cola [Nicolas] Debrot: Bonaire Governor (Netherlands Antilles) / author
Died on May 4
- 1594Paul Buys: Grand Pensionary of Holland, dies at 62
- 1605Ulisse Aldrovandi: Italian biologist / medical, dies at 82
- 1752Pieter Snyers: Flemish Painter / engraver, dies at 71
- 1770Christian Gottfried Krause: Composer, dies at 51
- 1832Jan van Speyck: Dutch Admiral, buried in New Church
- 1855Camille Pleyel: Austria piano builder / composer, dies at 66
- 1879William Froude: British Civil Engineer / shipbuilder (F Integer), dies at 68
- 1885Aleksandar I Karadjordjevic: Monarch of Serbia (1842-58), dies at 78
- 1891Sherlock Holmes: "dies" at Reichenbach Falls
- 1893George Washington Hewitt: Composer, dies at 82
- 1928Barry E Odell Pain: English writer (Punch), dies at 63
- 1929Henry Morton Dunham: Composer, dies at 75
- 1938Carl von Ossietzky: German pacifist / writer (Nobel 1935), dies at 48
- 1953Edward B B Shanks: British Poet / critic, dies at 60
- 1953Thomas Tertius Noble: Composer, dies at 85
- 1955Georges Enescu: Romanian / French violist / Composer (Oedipe), dies at 73
- 1955Louis Breguet: French aviation pioneer, dies at 75
- 1961Anita Stewart: Dies of heart attack at 66
- 1965Norman Brokenshire: TV moderator (Four Square Court), dies at 66
- 1966Juan Maria Thomas Sabater: Composer, dies at 69
- 1967Bengt Axel von Torne: Composer, dies at 75
- 1969F Osbert S Sitwell: English Poet (Who Killed Cock Robin?), dies at 76
- 19704 students at Kent State University killed by Ohio National Guard
- 1971Donald Dexter Van Slyke: US chemist (Cyanosis), dies at 88
- 1971Joseph Csaky: Hungarian / French sculptor, dies at 83
- 1971Louis de Bree [Louis C Davids]: Dutch actor (Bluejackets), dies at 87
- 1973Jane Bowles: Writer, dies at 56
- 1974Israel Citkowitz: Composer, dies at 65
- 1974John Wengraf: Actor (Pride & Passion, 12 to the Moon), dies at 77
- 1975Moe Howard [Moses Horowitz]: Comedian (3 Stooges), dies at 77
Events on May 5
- 05532nd Council of Constantinople (5th ecumenical council) opens
- 1382Battle of Beverhoutsveld - population beats drunken army
- 1430Jews are expelled from Speyer Germany
- 1494On 2nd voyage to New World, Christopher Columbus sights Jamaica
- 1640English Short Parliament unites
- 1646King Charles I surrenders at Scotland
- 1665Nicolaas Witsen visits patriarch Nikon in Moscow
- 1764Smolny-institution forms in St. Petersburg for noble girls
- 17802nd oldest learned society in US (American Academy of Arts & Sciences) forms (Boston)
- 1789French States-General for It first since 1614 together
- 1809Citizenship is denied to Jews of Canton of Aargau Switzerland
- 1809Mary Kies is 1st woman issued a US patent (weaving straw)
- 1814British attack Ft Ontario, Oswego, New York
- 1816American Bible Society organized (NY)
- 1835King Leopold opens Brussels-Mechelen railway
- 1842City-wide fire burns for over 100 hours (Hamburg Germany)
- 1847American Medical Association organized (Philadelphia)
- 1854English pirate Plumridge robs along pro-English Finnish coast
- 1855New York City regains Castle Clinton, to be used for immigration
- 1861Alexandria, VA - CS troops abandon city
- 1862French army intervenes in Puebla, Mexico: Cinco de Mayo
- 1862Peninsular Campaign-Battle of Williamsburg, Virginia
- 1863Battle of Tupelo, Mississippi
- 1863Joe Coburn KOs Mike McCoole for US boxing title in 63rd round
- 1864Atlanta Campaign-5 days fighting begins at Rocky Face Ridge
- 1864Battle between Confederate and Union ships at mouth of Roanoke
- 1864Battle of Wilderness, VA (Germanna Ford, Wilderness Tavern)
- 1864Campaign in Northern Georgia - Chattanooga to Atlanta
- 18651st US train robbery (North Bend Ohio)
- 1874Dutch 2nd Chamber passes child labor law
Born on May 5
- 1352Ruprecht: Roman Catholic German King
- 1557Emmanuel-Philibert van Lalaing: Baron of Montigny / Marquis of Renty
- 1657Jacques Danican Philidor: Composer
- 1680Giuseppe Porsile: Composer
- 1715Daniel Dal Barba: Composer
- 1749Jean-Frederic Edelmann: Composer
- 1800Louis Hachette: French publisher (Librairie Hachette)
- 1804Jacob Kats: Flemish writer (Earthly Paradise)
- 1817George Washington Julian: MC (Union), died in 1899
- 1819Stanislaw Moniuszko: Polish composer
- 1823James Allen Hardie: Bvt Major General (Union Army), died in 1876
- 1832H H Bancroft: Historian, publisher (History of Pacific States)
- 1833Ferdinand von Richthofen: German geographer / explorer
- 1842Johann Nepomuk Fuchs: Composer
- 1846Federico Chueca: Composer
- 1846Henryk Sienkiewicz: Poland -- Author (Quo Vadis, Nobel 1905)
- 1848Adalbert von Goldschmidt: Composer
- 1849Hambletonian: Chester, New York -- Greatest standardbred horse
- 1854Antonio Smareglia: Composer
- 1862Max Elskamp: Belgian author / poet (Lesson Joies Blondes, Maya)
- 1863Frederik A Stoett: Linguist (Dutch Proverbs)
- 1865Felicjan Szopski: Composer
- 1867Nellie Bly [Elizabeth Cochran Seaman]: Journalist
- 1867Thomas Tertius Noble: Composer
- 1871Alberto Cametti: Composer
- 1879Symon Petlyura: Leader Ukraine (pogroms)
- 1883Leopold Samuel: Composer
- 1883Petar Konjovic: Composer
- 1884Wang Tjing-Wei: Premier China (1932-35)
- 1885Henri Velge: 1st Chairman (Belgian Council of State)
Died on May 5
- 0311Gaius VM Galerius: Emperor of Rome, dies at about 50
- 1194Kazimierz II [the Justified]: Grand Duke of Poland (1177-94)
- 1309Charles II [the Lame]: King of Naples (1285-1309)
- 1504Anton of Burgundy [the Great Bastard]: Knight, dies at about 82
- 1525Frederik III [the Wise]: Ruler of Saxon (1486-1525), dies at 62
- 1582Charlotte de Bourbon: Princess of Orange
- 1613Johann Steuerlein: Composer, dies at 66
- 1678Anna M van Schurman: Dutch Poet / spoke 10 languages, dies at about 70
- 1702Jacob Hintze: Composer, dies at 79
- 1705Leopold I von Hapsburg: Emperor of Holy Roman Empire, dies at 64
- 1786Pedro III: King of Portugal
- 1801Philippe-Lambert-Joseph Spruyt: Flemish Painter / engraver, dies at 74
- 1821Napoleon I Bonaparte: Emperor France (1799-1815), dies in St Helena
- 1827Frederik Augustus I: Justified, King of Saxon (1806-27), dies at 76
- 1831Friedrich Ludwig Seidel: Composer, dies at 65
- 1837Niccolo Antonio Zingarelli: Italian Composer / bandmaster, dies at 85
- 1840Gottlob Benedikt Bierey: Composer, dies at 67
- 1840Matthaus Fischer: Composer, dies at 76
- 1859Peter G L Dirichlet: German mathematician, dies at 53
- 1864Alexander Hays: US Union General Major, dies in battle at 44
- 1864John Marshall Jones: Confederate Brigadier General, dies in battle at 43
- 1864Leroy A Stafford: US Confederate Brigadier General, dies in battle at 42
- 1875Jan A C A van Nispen tot Sevenaer: Dutch MP (1848-75), dies at 71
- 1885Lauro Rossi: Composer, dies at 73
- 1886Joseph Albert: German photographer (Albertotype), dies at 61
- 1892Jan Nepomuk Skroup: Composer, dies at 80
- 1902Bret Harte: Writer, dies at 65
- 1909Pauline Staegeman: German feminist
- 1921Alfred H Fried: Austrian / German pacifist (Nobel 1911)
- 1927Charles Boissevain: Editor in chief (General Trade 1885-1908)