What Happened On
Chimp Beats Brokers
September 3, 1993
After a month long contest in which a Swedish newspaper pitted a chimpanzee against five stock analysts to see who could earn the most on a $1,250 investment, the chimp had earned $190, as compared the stockbrokers best of $130. The chimp picked his stocks by throwing darts.
Search for Tomorrow
September 3, 1951
The soap opera Search for Tomorrow debuts on CBS TV. It was initially broadcast as 15-minute live episodes. It ran for 35 years, switching to NBC in 1982.
World War II - Britain and France Declare War
September 3, 1939
Great Britain and France declare war on Germany after the German invasion of Poland two days earlier.
Photo Credit: State Archives of Florida
Photo Credit: State Archives of Florida
300 mph Land Speed Record Set
September 3, 1935
Sir Malcolm Campbell drives his 2,227 cu. in. 2,500-hp V-12 engine "Bluebird" for two runs over a one-mile course averaging 301.129 mph (484.955 km/h). The record was set at the Bonneville Salt Flats of Utah.
Ed Schieffelin and Tombstone c. 1880
Ed Schieffelin and Tombstone c. 1880
Tombstone, Arizona
September 3, 1877
Ed Schieffelin files his first mining claim, which he named Tombstone.
When Schieffelin first started looking for ore, he was told by a friend, "The only rock you will find out there will be your own tombstone". Schieffelin discovered a vein of silver he estimated it to be fifty feet long and twelve inches wide.
Other miners and settlers moved into the area and in 1879 the town of Tombstone, Arizona was founded, taking its name from his claim.
Tombstone got the nickname Helldorado (a variation of El Dorado) after a disgruntled miner wrote a letter in July 1881 to the Tombstone Nugget newspaper complaining about trying to find his fortune and ending up washing dishes.
Benjamin West's painting
Benjamin West's painting
American Revolution Ends
September 3, 1783
The war between Great Britain and the 13 U.S. colonies ends with the signing of the Treaty of Paris, granting the United States its independence.
Benjamin West made a painting of the Treaty of Paris featuring the U.S. delegates John Jay, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Henry Laurens, and William Temple Franklin. The British delegation refused to pose, and the painting was never completed.
Australia's Naughtiest Home Videos
September 3, 1992
The TV show Australia's Naughtiest Home Videos debuts. It featured home videos that included genitalia, people having sex, and animals having sex. It was canceled by the head of the network after 34 minutes. He later fired many of the people involved in creating it and banned the program's host from the station headquarters for life.
Mark Spitz
September 3, 1972
Swimmer Mark Spitz wins his sixth 1972 Olympic gold medal, the record for any one Olympiad. He went on to win a seventh. Seven was the most Olympic gold medals ever won by a single athlete in a single Olympiad up to that time. That record was broken by Michael Phelps in 2008.
Right-Hand Drive
September 3, 1967
At 6:00 a.m., Swedish drivers stop driving on the left-hand side of the road and begin driving on the right.
Youngest Person to Swim the English Channel
September 3, 1964
Fourteen-year-old Lenore Modell from the U.S. becomes the youngest person to swim the English Channel.
Early football game (1902)
Early football game (1902)
First Professional Football Game
September 3, 1895
The first professional football game is played in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. The Latrobe Athletic Association beats the Jeannette Athletic Club 12-0.
New York Sun
September 3, 1833
The first issue of New York's first penny paper is published.
Birthdays
Charlie Sheen (Carlos Irwin Estévez)
Born September 3, 1965
American actor. An advocate of the "9/11 Truth Movement," he has publicly questioned the truth of the government's account of the 9/11 Attacks. Film: Platoon (1986) and Wall Street (1987). TV: Spin City (2000-02, Charlie Crawford) and Two and a Half Men (2003-11, Charlie Harper for which he was paid over $1 million per episode).
Valerie Perrine
Born September 3, 1943
American actress. Film: Slaughterhouse Five (1972) and Lenny (1974, Lenny's wife).
Al Jardine
Born September 3, 1942
American singer, with The Beach Boys. Music: Surfin' USA (1963), I Get Around (1964, #1), Help Me Rhonda, (1965, #1), and Good Vibrations (1966, #1).
Eileen Brennan
Born September 3, 1932 d. 2013
American Emmy-winning actress. TV: Private Benjamin (1981-83, and film version 1980, Capt. Doreen Lewis).
Boston Strangler
Albert DeSalvo
Born September 3, 1931 d. 1973
American criminal. He confessed to being the "Boston Strangler" and murdering 13 women in the Boston area from 1962-64, although he was never tried due to lack of evidence, with many doubting his confessions. He was convicted on rape charges unrelated to the murders and sentenced to life imprisonment, and was stabbed to death in prison. However, in 2013, 40 years after his death, DNA evidence linked DeSalvo to the 1964 rape and the murder 19-year-old Mary Sullivan, who was the last-known victim of the Boston Strangler.
Wally Albright (Walton Algernon Albright, Jr.)
Born September 3, 1925 d. 1999
American actor, one of the Little Rascals, appeared in six Our Gang films (1934, Wally). Won the Men's National Track and Ski Championship (1957).
Mary Grace Canfield
Born September 3, 1924 d. 2014
American actress. TV: Green Acres (1965-71, Ralph Monroe the female half of the Monroe Brothers).
Mort Walker (Addison Morton Walker)
Born September 3, 1923 d. 2018
American cartoonist. Creator of Beetle Bailey (1950) and Hi and Lois (1954).
Alan Ladd
Born September 3, 1913 d. 1964
American actor. Film: This Gun for Hire (1942), The Great Gatsby (1949), and Shane (1953).
Kitty Carlisle (Catherine Conn)
Born September 3, 1910 d. 2007
American actress, singer. TV: To Tell the Truth (panelist). Film: A Night at the Opera (1935) and Six Degrees of Separation (1992).
Carl David Anderson
Born September 3, 1905 d. 1991
American physicist. He discovered the positron (1932) for which he shared the 1936 Nobel Prize. He and his graduate student, Seth Neddermeyer, discovered the muon (1936, originally called mu-meson).
Mantan Moreland
Born September 3, 1902 d. 1973
American actor. Film: The Charlie Chan movies (Chan's chauffeur Birmingham Brown).
Louis Henri Sullivan
Born September 3, 1856 d. 1924
American architect. Creator of the skyscraper.
Eugene Field
Born September 3, 1850 d. 1895
American author. Poems: Wynken, Blynken, and Nod (1888) and Little Boy Blue (1888).
Deaths
Photo Credit: Krish Dulal
Photo Credit: Krish Dulal
Chandra Bahadur Dangi
Died September 3, 2015 b. 1939
Napali little person. Measuring 54.6 cm (1 ft 9½ in) tall, he is the shortest man for whom there is irrefutable evidence. Dangi was a primordial dwarf. Source: Guinness World Records.
Johnny Marks
Died September 3, 1985 b. 1909
American Hall of Fame songwriter. Specialized in Christmas songs, even though he was Jewish.
Marks was the brother-in-law of Robert L. May, who created Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. May convinced Marks to write the song for his poem about Rudolph and the song become a hit for singing cowboy Gene Autry (1949, #1). The song was covered by many other artists and is the second-best selling Christmas song of all time (behind White Christmas). After Rudolph became a hit, the Jewish Marks went on to write a number of famous Christmas-themed songs.
Vince Lombardi (Vincent Thomas Lombardi)
Died September 3, 1970 b. 1913
American Hall of Fame football coach. He won the first two Super Bowls and led Greenbay to five NFL championships. The Super Bowl trophy is named in his honor. He is considered by many to be the greatest coach in football history.
Carol Lynley (Carole Ann Jones)
Died September 3, 2019 b. 1942
American actress, child model. Film: Return to Peyton Place (1961, Allison MacKenzie) and The Poseidon Adventure (1972, the ship's singer. Her character performed the Oscar-winning song "The Morning After", however, it was dubbed by Renee Armand).
At age 15, she appeared on the cover of Life magazine.
Carne (center) on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Carne (center) on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
"Sock It To Me" Girl
Judy Carne (Joyce Botterill)
Died September 3, 2015 b. 1939
English actress. TV: Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (1967-71, the "Sock it to me" girl). She was briefly married to Burt Reynolds (1963-65).
Sun Myung Moon
Died September 3, 2012 b. 1920
Korean evangelist. Founder of the Unification Church, whose members are known as "moonies." He claims that on Easter morning 1935 Jesus appeared to him and asked him to complete the task of establishing God's kingdom on earth and bringing peace to humankind.
Alan Dugan
Died September 3, 2003 b. 1923
American Pulitzer-winning poet (1962).
Frank Capra
Died September 3, 1991 b. 1897
Sicilian-born American Oscar-winning director. Film: It Happened One Night (1934) and It's a Wonderful Life (1946, although originally a box office flop, it has become a holiday classic). Quote: "Behind every successful man there stands an astonished woman."
First Health-Care Provider to Infect a Patient with AIDS
David Acer
Died September 3, 1990 b. 1949
American dentist. He is the first known health-care provider to infect a patient with AIDS. He is accused of infecting six people, including Kimberly Bergalis. Acer believed he had contracted HIV in 1986 through sexual contact, but didn't show symptoms until 1987. Bergalis won a $1,000,000 settlement from his insurer shortly before her death.
e.e. cummings (Edward Estlin Cummings)
Died September 3, 1962 b. 1894
American poet. Writings: The Enormous Room (1922) describing his imprisonment by the French after being mistaken for a spy.
Adam Willis Wagnalls
Died September 3, 1924 b. 1843
American publisher, co-founder of Funk & Wagnalls Company (1891), who first published their famous dictionary in 1912.
Oliver Cromwell
Died September 3, 1658 b. 1599
Lord Protector of England. He led "the curse of Cromwell," in which he massacred the Irish during an extensive expropriation of their land. He also outlawed Christmas celebrations in England, calling them an extreme forgetfulness to Christ.