October 3

Pre-1600

• 2457 BC – Gaecheonjeol, Hwanung (환웅) purportedly descended from heaven. South Korea's National Foundation Day.
• 52 BC – Gallic Wars: Vercingetorix, leader of the Gauls, surrenders to the Romans under Julius Caesar, ending the siege and battle of Alesia.
• 42 BC – Liberators' civil war: Triumvirs Mark Antony and Octavian fight to a draw Caesar's assassins Brutus and Cassius in the first part of the Battle of Philippi, where Cassius commits suicide believing the battle is lost.^[1]
• 382 – Roman Emperor Theodosius I concludes a peace treaty with the Goths and settles them in the Balkans.
• 1392 – Muhammed VII becomes the twelfth sultan of the Emirate of Granada.
• 1574 – The Siege of Leiden is lifted by the Watergeuzen.

1601–1900

• 1683 – Qing dynasty naval commander Shi Lang receives the surrender of the Tungning kingdom on Taiwan after the Battle of Penghu.
• 1712 – The Duke of Montrose issues a warrant for the arrest of Rob Roy MacGregor.^[2]
• 1739 – The Treaty of Niš is signed by the Ottoman Empire and Russia ending the Russian–Turkish War.
• 1789 – George Washington proclaims Thursday November 26, 1789 a Thanksgiving Day.
• 1792 – A militia departs from the Spanish stronghold of Valdivia to quell a Huilliche uprising in southern Chile.^[3]
• 1863 – The last Thursday in November is declared as Thanksgiving Day by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln.
• 1873 – Chief Kintpuash and companions are hanged for their part in the Modoc War of northern California.

1901–present

• 1912 – U.S. forces defeat Nicaraguan rebels at the Battle of Coyotepe Hill.
• 1918 – Tsar Boris III of Bulgaria accedes to the throne.
• 1919 – Cincinnati Reds pitcher Adolfo Luque becomes the first Latin American player to appear in a World Series.
• 1929 – The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes is renamed to Yugoslavia by King Alexander I.
• 1932 – The Kingdom of Iraq gains independence from the United Kingdom.
• 1935 – Second Italo-Abyssinian War: Italy invades Ethiopia.
• 1942 – A German V-2 rocket reaches a record 85 km (46 nm) in altitude.
• 1943 – World War II: German forces murder 92 civilians in Lingiades, Greece.
• 1946 – An American Overseas Airlines Douglas DC-4 crashes near Ernest Harmon Air Force Base in Stephenville, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, killing 39.^[4]
• 1949 – WERD, the first black-owned radio station in the United States, opens in Atlanta.
• 1951 – Korean War: The First Battle of Maryang San pits Commonwealth troops against communist Chinese troops.
• 1952 – The United Kingdom successfully tests a nuclear weapon in the Montebello Islands, Western Australia, to become the world's third nuclear power.
• 1957 – The California State Superior Court rules that the book Howl and Other Poems is not obscene.
• 1962 – Project Mercury: US astronaut Wally Schirra, in Sigma 7, is launched from Cape Canaveral for a six-orbit flight.
• 1963 – A violent coup in Honduras begins two decades of military rule.
• 1981 – The hunger strike at the Maze Prison in Northern Ireland ends after seven months and ten deaths.
• 1985 – The Space Shuttle Atlantis makes its maiden flight, carrying two DSCS-III Satellites on STS-51-J.
• 1986 – TASCC, a superconducting cyclotron at the Chalk River Laboratories in Canada, is officially opened.
• 1989 – A coup in Panama City is suppressed and 11 participants are executed.
• 1990 – The German Democratic Republic is abolished and becomes part of the Federal Republic of Germany; the event is afterwards celebrated as German Unity Day.^[5]
• 1991 – Nadine Gordimer is announced as the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature.^[6]
• 1993 – An American attack against a warlord in Mogadishu fails; eighteen US soldiers and over 350 Somalis die.
• 1995 – O. J. Simpson murder case: O. J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman.
• 2008 – The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 for the U.S. financial system is signed by President George W. Bush.
• 2009 – Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkey join in the Turkic Council.
• 2013 – At least 360 migrants are killed when their boat sinks near the Italian island of Lampedusa.
• 2015 – Forty-two people are killed and 33 go missing in the Kunduz hospital airstrike in Afghanistan.^[7]
• 2021 – Eight people are killed in an airplane crash near Milan, Italy.^[8]
• 2022 – Svante Pääbo is awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. ^[9]

Pre-1600

• 85 BC – Gaius Cassius Longinus, Roman politician (d. 42 BC)
• 1390 – Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester (d. 1447)^[10]
• 1458 – Saint Casimir, Prince of Poland and Duke of Lithuania (d. 1484)
• 1554 – Fulke Greville, 1st Baron Brooke, English poet (d. 1628)

1601–1900

• 1610 – Gabriel Lalemant, French-Canadian missionary and saint (d. 1649)^[11]
• 1631 – Sebastian Anton Scherer, German organist and composer (d. 1712)
• 1637 – George Gordon, 1st Earl of Aberdeen, Lord Chancellor of Scotland (d. 1720)
• 1713 – Antoine Dauvergne, French violinist and composer (d. 1797)
• 1716 – Giovanni Battista Beccaria, Italian physicist and academic (d. 1781)
• 1720 – Johann Uz, German poet and judge (d. 1796)^[12]
• 1790 – John Ross, American tribal chief (d. 1866)
• 1797 – Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1870)
• 1800 – George Bancroft, American historian and politician, 17th United States Secretary of the Navy (d. 1891)
• 1804 – Townsend Harris, American merchant, politician, and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Japan (d. 1878)
• 1804 – Allan Kardec, French author, translator, educator and founder of modern Spiritism (d. 1869)
• 1828 – Woldemar Bargiel, German composer and educator (d. 1897)
• 1837 – Nicolás Avellaneda, Argentinian journalist and politician, 8th President of Argentina (d. 1885)
• 1846 – James Jackson Putnam, American neurologist and academic (d. 1918)
• 1848 – Henry Lerolle, French painter and art collector (d. 1929)
• 1858 – Eleonora Duse, Italian actress (d. 1924)^[13]
• 1862 – Johnny Briggs, English cricketer and rugby player (d. 1902)
• 1863 – Pyotr Kozlov, Russian archaeologist and explorer (d. 1935)
• 1865 – Gustave Loiseau, French painter (d. 1935)
• 1866 – Josephine Sabel, American singer and comedian (d. 1945)
• 1867 – Joseph Beech, American Methodist missionary and educator (d. 1954)^[14]
• 1867 – Pierre Bonnard, French painter (d. 1947)
• 1869 – Alfred Flatow, German gymnast (d. 1942)
• 1875 – Dr. Atl, Mexican painter (d. 1964)
• 1879 – Warner Oland, Swedish-American actor and singer (d. 1938)
• 1882 – A. Y. Jackson, Canadian painter and academic (d. 1974)
• 1885 – Sophie Treadwell, American playwright and journalist (d. 1970)
• 1886 – Alain-Fournier, French soldier, author, and critic (d. 1914)
• 1888 – Wade Boteler, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1943)
• 1889 – Carl von Ossietzky, German journalist and activist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1938)
• 1890 – Emilio Portes Gil, Mexican politician, President of Mexico (d. 1978)
• 1894 – Elmer Robinson, American lawyer and politician, 33rd Mayor of San Francisco (d. 1982)
• 1894 – Walter Warlimont, German general (d. 1976)
• 1895 – Giovanni Comisso, Italian author and poet (d. 1969)
• 1895 – Sergei Yesenin, Russian poet (d. 1925)
• 1896 – Auvergne Doherty, Australian businesswoman (d. 1961)
• 1896 – Gerardo Diego, Spanish poet and critic (d. 1987)
• 1897 – Louis Aragon, French author and poet (d. 1982)
• 1898 – Leo McCarey, American director and screenwriter (d. 1969)
• 1898 – Adolf Reichwein, German economist and educator (d. 1944)
• 1899 – Gertrude Berg, American actress, screenwriter and producer (d. 1966)^[15]
• 1900 – Thomas Wolfe, American novelist (d. 1938)

1901–present

• 1901 – Jean Grémillon, French director, composer, and screenwriter (d. 1959)
• 1904 – Ernst-Günther Schenck, German colonel and physician (d. 1998)
• 1905 – Tekin Arıburun, Turkish soldier and politician, President of Turkey (d. 1993)
• 1906 – Natalie Savage Carlson, American author (d. 1997)
• 1908 – Johnny Burke, American songwriter (d. 1964)
• 1911 – Michael Hordern, English actor (d. 1995)
• 1912 – Charles Wood, 2nd Earl of Halifax, British peer, Conservative politician (d. 1980)
• 1915 – Ray Stark, American film producer (d. 2004)
• 1916 – James Herriot, English veterinarian and author (d. 1995)
• 1919 – James M. Buchanan, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2013)
• 1921 – Ray Lindwall, Australian cricketer and soldier (d. 1996)
• 1923 – Edward Oliver LeBlanc, Dominican lawyer and politician, 1st Premier of Dominica (d. 2004)
• 1924 – Harvey Kurtzman, American cartoonist (d. 1993)
• 1924 – Arkady Vorobyov, Russian weightlifter and coach (d. 2012)
• 1925 – Simone Segouin (also known as Nicole Minet), French Resistance fighter and partisan (d. 2023)^[16]
• 1925 – Gore Vidal, American novelist, screenwriter, and critic (d. 2012)^[17]
• 1925 – George Wein, American pianist and producer, co-founded the Newport Folk Festival (d. 2021)
• 1926 – Gerardo P. Cabochan, Filipino politician (d. 2014)^[18]
• 1928 – Erik Bruhn, Danish dancer and choreographer (d. 1986)
• 1928 – Shridath Ramphal, Guyanese academic and politician, 2nd Commonwealth Secretary-General
• 1931 – Glenn Hall, Canadian ice hockey player and coach^[17]
• 1933 – Neale Fraser, Australian tennis player
• 1934 – Benjamin Boretz, American composer and theorist
• 1934 – Miguel-Ángel Cárdenas, Colombian-Dutch painter and illustrator (d. 2015)
• 1934 – Harold Henning, South African golfer (d. 2004)
• 1934 – Simon Nicholson, English sculptor and painter (d. 1990)
• 1935 – Charles Duke, American general, pilot, and astronaut^[19]
• 1935 – Armen Dzhigarkhanyan, Soviet Russian-Armenian actor (d. 2020)^[20]
• 1936 – Steve Reich, American composer^[21]
• 1938 – Eddie Cochran, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (d. 1960)
• 1938 – David Hart Dyke, English captain
• 1938 – Jack Hodgins, Canadian author and academic
• 1938 – Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, Peruvian entrepreneur and politician, 66th President of Peru^[22]
• 1939 – Bob Armstrong, American wrestler and trainer (d. 2020)
• 1940 – Alan O'Day, American singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
• 1940 – Jean Ratelle, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1940 – Mike Troy, American swimmer (d. 2019)
• 1941 – Chubby Checker, American singer-songwriter^[21]
• 1941 – Andrea de Adamich, Italian racing driver and sportscaster
• 1941 – John Elliott, Australian businessman (d. 2021)
• 1941 – Nicolae Șerban Tanașoca, Romanian historian and philologist (d. 2017)^[23]
• 1942 – Alan Rachins, American actor^[21]
• 1943 – Jeff Bingaman, American soldier and politician, 25th Attorney General of New Mexico
• 1943 – Baki İlkin, Turkish civil servant and diplomat
• 1944 – Pierre Deligne, Belgian mathematician and academic
• 1944 – Bob Riley, American politician, 52nd Governor of Alabama^[24]
• 1945 – Tony Brown, English footballer and sportscaster
• 1945 – Christopher Bruce, English dancer and choreographer
• 1945 – Jo Ritzen, Dutch economist and politician, Dutch Minister of Education
• 1946 – P. P. Arnold, American soul singer
• 1947 – John Perry Barlow, American poet, songwriter, blogger, and activist (d. 2018)
• 1947 – Ben Cauley, American trumpet player and songwriter (d. 2015)
• 1947 – Fred DeLuca, American businessman (d. 2015)
• 1947 – Anne Dorte of Rosenborg (d. 2014)
• 1947 – Takis Michalos, Greek water polo player and coach (d. 2010)
• 1949 – Lindsey Buckingham, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer^[21]
• 1949 – J. P. Dutta, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1949 – Aleksandr Rogozhkin, Russian director and screenwriter
• 1949 – Laurie Simmons, American photographer and director
• 1950 – Ronnie Laws, American jazz, R&B, and funk saxophone player^[21]
• 1951 – Keb' Mo', American blues musician and songwriter^[21]
• 1951 – Kathryn D. Sullivan, American geologist and astronaut^[17]
• 1951 – Dave Winfield, American baseball player and sportscaster
• 1952 – Bruce Arians, American football coach
• 1952 – Gary Troup, New Zealand cricketer
• 1954 – Eddie DeGarmo, American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
• 1954 – Dennis Eckersley, American baseball player and sportscaster
• 1954 – Al Sharpton, American minister, talk show host, and political activist^[17]
• 1954 – Stevie Ray Vaughan, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 1990)^[17]
• 1955 – Moshe Kam, American engineering educator
• 1955 – John S. Lesmeister, American educator and politician, 30th North Dakota State Treasurer (d. 2006)
• 1955 – Allen Woody, American bass player and songwriter (d. 2000)
• 1955 – Buket Uzuner, Turkish author
• 1956 – Hart Bochner, Canadian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter^[21]
• 1957 – Roberto Azevêdo, Brazilian engineer and diplomat, 6th Director-General of the World Trade Organization
• 1957 – Tim Westwood, English radio and television host
• 1958 – Chen Yanyin, Chinese sculptor
• 1958 – Louise Lecavalier, Canadian dancer and choreographer
• 1959 – Craig Bellamy, Australian rugby league player and coach
• 1959 – Fred Couples, American golfer^[17]
• 1959 – Greg Proops, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter^[21]
• 1959 – Frank Stephenson, Italian automotive designer and blogger^[25]
• 1959 – Jack Wagner, American actor and singer^[21]
• 1961 – Rebecca Stephens, English journalist and mountaineer
• 1961 – Ludger Stühlmeyer, German cantor, composer, and musicologist
• 1962 – Tommy Lee, Greek-American singer-songwriter, drummer, and producer^[21]
• 1962 – Simon Scarrow, Nigerian-English novelist
• 1963 – Benny Anders, American basketball player
• 1963 – Dan Goldie, American tennis player
• 1964 – Clive Owen, English actor^[17]
• 1965 – Annemarie Verstappen, Dutch swimmer
• 1965 – Jan-Ove Waldner, Swedish table tennis player
• 1966 – Darrin Fletcher, American baseball player and sportscaster
• 1967 – Rob Liefeld, American author and illustrator
• 1967 – Chris Collingwood, English-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
• 1968 – Paul Crichton, English footballer and manager
• 1968 – Greg Foster, American basketball player and coach
• 1968 – Marko Rajamäki, Finnish footballer and manager
• 1968 – Donald Sild, Estonian javelin thrower
• 1969 – Garry Herbert, English rower and sportscaster
• 1969 – Janel Moloney, American actress^[21]
• 1969 – Gwen Stefani, American singer-songwriter, actress, and fashion designer^[21]
• 1969 – Tetsuya, Japanese singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer
• 1970 – Elmar Liitmaa, Estonian guitarist and songwriter
• 1970 – Jimmy Ray, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1971 – Wil Cordero, Puerto Rican-American baseball player and coach
• 1971 – Kevin Richardson, American singer-songwriter and actor^[21]
• 1972 – Komla Dumor, Ghanaian-English journalist (d. 2014)
• 1972 – G. Love, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and harmonica player^[21]
• 1972 – Michael Nylander, Swedish ice hockey player and coach^[26]
• 1972 – Guy Oseary, Israeli-American talent manager and businessman
• 1973 – Keiko Agena, American actress^[21]
• 1973 – Neve Campbell, Canadian actress^[27]
• 1973 – Angélica Gavaldón, American-Mexican tennis player and coach
• 1973 – Lena Headey, British actress^[21]
• 1973 – Eirik Hegdal, Norwegian saxophonist and composer
• 1974 – Mike Johnson, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
• 1974 – Antti Laaksonen, Finnish ice hockey player^[28]
• 1974 – Marianne Timmer, Dutch speed skater
• 1975 – India Arie, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress^[21]
• 1975 – Phil Greening, English rugby player and coach
• 1975 – Satoko Ishimine, Japanese singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
• 1975 – Talib Kweli, American rapper^[21]
• 1975 – Alanna Ubach, American actress^[21]
• 1976 – Herman Li, Hong Kong-English guitarist and producer
• 1976 – Seann William Scott, American actor and producer^[21]
• 1977 – Daniel Hollie, American wrestler
• 1977 – Eric Munson, American baseball player and coach
• 1977 – Luca Tognozzi, Italian footballer
• 1978 – Gerald Asamoah, Ghanaian-German footballer
• 1978 – Neil Clement, English footballer
• 1978 – Claudio Pizarro, Peruvian footballer
• 1978 – Jake Shears, American singer-songwriter
• 1978 – Shannyn Sossamon, American actress^[21]
• 1979 – Josh Klinghoffer, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer^[21]
• 1979 – John Morrison, American wrestler and actor
• 1980 – Anquan Boldin, American football player
• 1980 – Sheldon Brookbank, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1980 – Lindsey Kelk, English journalist and author
• 1980 – Danny O'Donoghue, Irish singer-songwriter and producer
• 1980 – Héctor Reynoso, Mexican footballer
• 1980 – Ivan Turina, Croatian footballer (d. 2013)
• 1981 – Danny Coid, English footballer
• 1981 – Zlatan Ibrahimović, Swedish footballer
• 1981 – Andreas Isaksson, Swedish footballer
• 1981 – Jonna Lee, Swedish singer and musician
• 1981 – Ronald Rauhe, German kayaker^[29]
• 1981 – Matt Sparrow, English footballer
• 1983 – Thiago Alves, Brazilian mixed martial artist
• 1983 – Fred, Brazilian footballer
• 1983 – Mark Giordano, Canadian ice hockey player^[30]
• 1983 – Andreas Papathanasiou, Cypriot footballer
• 1983 – Tessa Thompson, American actress^[21]
• 1984 – Yoon Eun-hye, South Korean singer and actress
• 1984 – Bruno Gervais, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1984 – Jessica Parker Kennedy, Canadian actress
• 1984 – Anthony Le Tallec, French footballer
• 1984 – Chris Marquette, American actor^[21]
• 1984 – Gary Neal, American basketball player and coach^[31]
• 1984 – Ashlee Simpson, American singer-songwriter and actress^[21]
• 1985 – Courtney Lee, American basketball player
• 1986 – Lewis Brown, New Zealand rugby league player
• 1986 – Jackson Martínez, Colombian footballer
• 1987 – Starley, Australian pop singer
• 1988 – Dustin Gazley, American ice hockey player
• 1988 – ASAP Rocky, American rapper and songwriter^[32]
• 1988 – Alicia Vikander, Swedish actress^[21]
• 1989 – Nate Montana, American football player
• 1989 – Alex Trimble, Irish singer
• 1990 – Johan Le Bon, French cyclist
• 1991 – Jenny McLoughlin, English sprinter
• 1991 – Aki Takajo, Japanese singer
• 1993 – Raffaele Di Gennaro, Italian footballer
• 1994 – Victoria Bosio, Argentinian tennis player
• 1994 – Seth Jones, American ice hockey player^[33]
• 1995 – Mike Gesicki, American football player^[34]
• 1995 – Artyom Zub, Russian ice hockey player^[35]
• 1997 – Jin Boyang, Chinese figure skater
• 1997 – Jonathan Isaac, American basketball player^[36]
• 2001 – Anton Lundell, Finnish ice hockey player^[37]
• 2001 – Max Plath, Australian rugby league player^[38]
• 2004 – Noah Schnapp, American actor^[39]

Pre-1600

• 42 BC – Gaius Cassius Longinus, Roman politician (b. 85 BC)
• 723 – Elias I of Antioch, Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch.^[40]
• 818 – Ermengarde, queen of the Franks^[41]
• 900 – Muhammad ibn Zayd, Tabaristan emir
• 959 – Gérard of Brogne, Frankish abbot
• 1078 – Iziaslav I of Kiev (b. 1024)
• 1226 – Francis of Assisi, Italian friar and saint (b. 1181 or 1182)^[42]
• 1283 – Dafydd ap Gruffydd, Welsh prince (b. 1238)
• 1369 – Margaret, Countess of Tyrol (b. 1318)
• 1399 – Eleanor de Bohun, English noble (b. 1360)
• 1568 – Elisabeth of Valois (b. 1545)
• 1596 – Florent Chrestien, French poet (b. 1541)

1601–1900

• 1611 – Charles, Duke of Mayenne (b. 1554)
• 1629 – Giorgi Saakadze, Georgian commander and politician (b. 1570)
• 1649 – Giovanni Diodati, Swiss-Italian clergyman and theologian (b. 1576)
• 1653 – Marcus Zuerius van Boxhorn, Dutch linguist and academic (b. 1612)
• 1656 – Myles Standish, English captain (b. 1584)
• 1690 – Robert Barclay, Scottish theologian and politician, 2nd Governor of East Jersey (b. 1648)
• 1701 – Joseph Williamson, English politician, Secretary of State for the Northern Department (b. 1633)
• 1795 – Tula, Curaçao slave leader (date of birth unknown; executed)^[43]
• 1801 – Philippe Henri, marquis de Ségur, French general and politician, French Minister of Defence (b. 1724)
• 1833 – François, marquis de Chasseloup-Laubat, French general and engineer (b. 1754)
• 1838 – Black Hawk, American tribal leader (b. 1767)
• 1860 – Rembrandt Peale, American painter and curator (b. 1778)
• 1867 – Elias Howe, American engineer, invented the sewing machine (b. 1819)
• 1873 – Kintpuash, American tribal leader (b. 1837)
• 1877 – James Roosevelt Bayley, American archbishop (b. 1814)
• 1877 – Rómulo Díaz de la Vega, Mexican general and president (1855) (b. 1800)^[44]
• 1881 – Orson Pratt, American mathematician and religious leader (b. 1811)
• 1890 – Joseph Hergenröther, German historian and cardinal (b. 1824)
• 1891 – Édouard Lucas, French mathematician and theorist (b. 1842)
• 1896 – William Morris, English author and poet (b. 1834)

1901–present

• 1907 – Jacob Nash Victor, American engineer (b. 1835)
• 1910 – Lucy Hobbs Taylor, American dentist (b. 1833)^[45]
• 1911 – Rosetta Jane Birks, Australian suffragist (b. 1856)^[46]
• 1917 – Eduardo Di Capua, Neapolitan composer, singer and songwriter (b. 1865)
• 1929 – Jeanne Eagels, American actress (b. 1894)
• 1929 – Gustav Stresemann, German politician, Chancellor of Germany, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1878)
• 1931 – Carl Nielsen, Danish violinist, composer, and conductor (b. 1865)
• 1936 – John Heisman, American football player and coach (b. 1869)
• 1953 – Arnold Bax, English composer and poet (b. 1883)
• 1959 – Tochigiyama Moriya, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 27th Yokozuna (b. 1892)
• 1963 – Refet Bele, Turkish general (b. 1877)
• 1965 – Zachary Scott, American actor (b. 1914)
• 1966 – Rolf Maximilian Sievert, Swedish physicist and academic (b. 1896)
• 1967 – Woody Guthrie, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1912)
• 1967 – Malcolm Sargent, English organist, composer, and conductor (b. 1895)
• 1969 – Skip James, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1902)
• 1979 – Nicos Poulantzas, Greek-French sociologist and philosopher (b. 1936)
• 1980 – Friedrich Karm, Estonian footballer (b. 1907)
• 1981 – Anna Hedvig Büll, Estonian-German missionary (b. 1887)
• 1986 – Vince DiMaggio, American baseball player and manager (b. 1912)
• 1987 – Jean Anouilh, French playwright and screenwriter (b. 1910)
• 1987 – Kalervo Palsa, Finnish painter (b. 1947)
• 1988 – Franz Josef Strauss, Bavarian lieutenant and politician, Minister President of Bavaria (b. 1915)
• 1990 – Stefano Casiraghi, Italian-Monegasque businessman (b. 1960)
• 1990 – Eleanor Steber, American soprano and educator (b. 1914)
• 1993 – Katerina Gogou, Greek actress, poet, and author (b. 1940)
• 1993 – Gary Gordon, American sergeant, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1960)
• 1993 – Randy Shughart, American sergeant, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1958)
• 1994 – John C. Champion, American producer and screenwriter (b. 1923)
• 1994 – Dub Taylor, American actor (b. 1907)
• 1995 – Ma. Po. Si., Indian author and politician (b. 1906)
• 1997 – Michael Adekunle Ajasin, Nigerian politician, 3rd Governor of Ondo State (b. 1908)
• 1998 – Roddy McDowall, English-American actor (b. 1928)
• 1999 – Akio Morita, Japanese businessman, co-founded Sony (b. 1921)
• 2000 – Benjamin Orr, American singer-songwriter and bass player (b. 1947)
• 2001 – Costas Hajihristos, Greek actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1921)
• 2002 – Bruce Paltrow, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1943)
• 2003 – Florence Stanley, American actress (b. 1924)
• 2003 – William Steig, American sculptor, author, and illustrator (b. 1907)
• 2004 – John Cerutti, American baseball player and sportscaster (b. 1960)
• 2004 – Janet Leigh, American actress (b. 1927)
• 2005 – Ronnie Barker, English actor and screenwriter (b. 1929)
• 2005 – Nurettin Ersin, Turkish general (b. 1918)
• 2006 – Lucilla Andrews, Egyptian-Scottish nurse and author (b. 1919)
• 2006 – John Crank, English mathematician and physicist (b. 1916)^[47]
• 2006 – Peter Norman, Australian runner (b. 1942)
• 2006 – Alberto Ramento, Filipino bishop (b. 1937)
• 2007 – M. N. Vijayan, Indian journalist, author, and academic (b. 1930)
• 2009 – Vladimir Beekman, Estonian poet and translator (b. 1929)^[48]
• 2010 – Ben Mondor, Canadian-American businessman (b. 1925)
• 2010 – Abraham Sarmiento, Filipino lawyer and jurist (b. 1921)
• 2012 – Abdul Haq Ansari, Indian theologian and scholar (b. 1931)
• 2012 – Robert F. Christy, American physicist and astrophysicist (b. 1916)
• 2012 – Albie Roles, English footballer (b. 1921)
• 2013 – Sari Abacha, Nigerian footballer (b. 1978)
• 2013 – Sergei Belov, Russian basketball player and coach (b. 1944)
• 2013 – Joan Thirsk, English cryptologist, historian, and academic (b. 1922)
• 2014 – Ewen Gilmour, New Zealand comedian and television host (b. 1963)
• 2014 – Benedict Groeschel, American priest, psychologist, and talk show host (b. 1933)
• 2014 – Jean-Jacques Marcel, French footballer (b. 1931)
• 2014 – Kevin Metheny, American businessman (b. 1954)^[49]
• 2014 – Ward Ruyslinck, Belgian author (b. 1929)
• 2015 – Denis Healey, English soldier and politician, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1917)
• 2015 – Muhammad Nawaz Khan, Pakistani historian and author (b. 1943)
• 2015 – Javed Iqbal, Pakistani philosopher and judge (b. 1925)
• 2021 – Todd Akin, American politician (b. 1947)^[50]
• 2021 – Dan Petrescu, Romanian businessman and billionaire (b. 1953)^[51][52]

• Christian feast day:
  • Abd-al-Masih
  • Adalgott
  • Blessed Szilárd Bogdánffy
  • Dionysius the Areopagite
  • Ewald the Black and Ewald the Fair
  • Francis Borgia
  • John Raleigh Mott (Episcopal Church)
  • Gerard of Brogne
  • Hesychius of Sinai
  • Théodore Guérin
  • Maximian of Bagai
  • October 3 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• 3 October Festival (Leiden, Netherlands)
• German Unity Day (Germany)
• Mean Girls Day
• Morazán Day (Honduras)
• National Day, celebrates the independence of Iraq from the United Kingdom in 1932.
• National Foundation Day or Gaecheonjeol (South Korea)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to October 3.

• "On This Day". BBC.
• The New York Times: On This Day
• "Historical Events on October 3". OnThisDay.com.