May 3 in History
1715 — A total solar eclipse is experienced across northern Europe and northern Asia, as predicted by Edmond Halley to within four minutes accuracy.
1791 — The Constitution of May 3 is proclaimed by the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth parliament, becoming the first modern constitution in Europe. 1898 — Golda Meir, first woman prime minister of Israel (1969-1974), is born in Kiev, Russian Empire. 1903 — Bing Crosby, singer and actor, is born in Tacoma, Washington. He is a leader in record sales, radio ratings and movie grosses from 1931 to 1954. 1913 — “Raja Harishchandra”, the first full-length Indian feature film, is released, marking the beginning of the Indian film industry. The silent movie, directed and produced by Dadasaheb Phalke, is based on the legend of King Harishchandra of the Ikshvaku dynasty. 1921 — Sugar Ray Robinson, American boxer (world welterweight and middleweight champion), is born Walker Smith jnr in Ailey, Georgia.
1924 — Ken Tyrrell, English racing driver and founder of Tyrrell Racing, is born in East Horsley, Surrey.
1937 — Margaret Mitchell wins the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her novel “Gone with the Wind”.
1946 — Silvino Francisco, South African snooker player, is born in Cape Town.
1978 — The first unsolicited bulk commercial e-mail (“spam”) is sent by Gary Thuerk to 393 recipients on ARPANET, advertising a new model of Digital Equipment Corporation computers. Reaction from the net community is fiercely negative, but the spam does generate some sales. “Spam” dates back to the late 19th century when Western Union allowed telegraphic messages on its network to be sent to multiple destinations. The first recorded instance of a mass unsolicited commercial telegram is from May 1864, when some British politicians received an unsolicited telegram advertising a dentist.
1979 — The Conservative Party wins the UK general election. Party leader Margaret Thatcher takes office on the 4th as Britain’s first woman prime minister. 1989 — Katinka Hosszú, Hungarian swimmer (threetime Olympic champion and a nine-time long-course world champion), is born in Pécs.
1990 — Brooks Koepka, American golfer (winner of the US Open, 2017 and 2018; PGA Championship, 2018 and 2019), is born in West Palm Beach, Florida. 2000 — The outdoor recreational activity of geocaching begins, with the first cache placed and the co-ordinates from a GPS posted on Usenet. 2007 — Madeleine (Maddie) McCann, 3, a British girl, disappears from her bed in a holiday apartment at a Portuguese resort while her parents dine nearby.