Today In History [3rd January, 2017]

A chronological timetable of historical events that occurred on this day in history. Historical facts of the day in the areas of military, politics, science, music, sports, arts, entertainment and more. Discover what happened today in history.

1521

		Martin Luther is excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church.
1777		General George Washington defeats the British led by British General Lord Charles Cornwallis, at Princeton, New Jersey.
1861		Delaware rejects a proposal that it join the South in seceding from the Union.
1903		The Bulgarian government renounces the Treaty of Commerce tying it to the Austro-Hungarian empire.
1910		The Social Democratic Congress in Germany demands universal suffrage.
1912		Plans are announced for a new $150,000 Brooklyn stadium for the Trolley Dodgers baseball team.
1916		Three armored Japanese cruisers are ordered to guard the Suez Canal.
1920		The last of the U.S. troops depart France.
1921		Italy halts the issuing of passports to those emigrating to the United States.
1924		King Tutankhamen’s sarcophagus is uncovered near Luxor, Egypt.
1930		The second conference on Germany’s war reparations begins at the Hague, in the Netherlands.
1931		Hundreds of farmers storm a small town in depression-plagued Arkansas demanding food.
1933		The Japanese take Shuangyashan, China, killing 500 Chinese.
1946		President Harry S. Truman calls on Americans to spur Congress to act on the on-going labor crisis.
1958		The British create the West Indies Federation with Lord Hailes as governor general.
1959		Alaska is admitted into the Union as the 49th and largest state.
1959		Fidel Castro takes command of the Cuban army.
1961		The United States breaks diplomatic relations with Cuba.
1966		Cambodia warns the United Nations of retaliation unless the United States and South Vietnam end intrusions.
1977		Apple Computers incorporates.
1978		North Vietnamese troops reportedly occupy 400 square miles in Cambodia. North Vietnamese Army (NVA) troops were using Laos and Cambodia as staging areas for attacks against allied forces.
1985		President Ronald Reagan condemns a rash of arson attacks on abortion clinics.
1990		Manuel Noriega, former leader of Panama, surrenders to US forces.
1993		George H. W. Bush and Boris Yeltsin sign the second Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START).
1994		More than 7 million people receive South African citizenship that had previously been denied under Apartheid policies.
1996		The first mobile flip phone, the Motorola StarTAC, goes on sale.
1999		Mars Polar Lander launched.
2000		The last original weekday Peanuts comic strip is published after a 50-year run, following the death of the strip’s creator, Charles Schultz.
Born on January 3
106 BC		Marcus Cicero, Roman statesman and author.
1621		William Tucker, believed to be first African-American born in the New World.
1793		Lucretia Coffin Mott, women’s rights advocate and founder of the first Women’s Rights Convention.
1901		Ngo Dinh Diem, South Vietnamese president assassinated by his own generals.
1907		Ray Milland, Welsh actor and director; won Academy Award for his role in The Lost Weekend.
1909		Victor Borge, pianist, comedian, conductor.
1911		John Sturges, director (The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape).
1917		Vernon A. Walters, US Army lieutenant general, diplomat, deputy director of Central Intelligence; member of Military Intelligence Hall of Fame.
1923		Bud Adams, owner of Houston Oilers (later Tennessee Titans) football team; instrumental in founding the former American Football League.
1929		Sergio Leone, Italian director, instrumental in creating the “Spaghetti Western” genre (A Fistful of Dollars, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly).
1956		Mel Gibson, actor, director, producer, screenwriter (Mad Max, Passion of the Christ).