On This Day
What Happened on January 3 in History
9 events that happened on January 3, oldest first. Every entry is written in our own words and links to its source.
Colonial America and the Revolution
1521 (Julian calendar)
Pope Leo X excommunicated Martin Luther with the papal bull Decet Romanum Pontificem.
Luther, a professor at the University of Wittenberg, had condemned the church's sale of indulgences in his 95 theses. He became the chief catalyst of Protestantism.
Source: history.com
1777
George Washington defeated British troops at the Battle of Princeton.
Charles Cornwallis had come to Trenton to trap Washington, but the Americans slipped away overnight and beat the British rear guard as it marched out of Princeton. The win came a week after Washington's victory at Trenton.
Source: battlefields.org; history.com
The Early 1900s and the World Wars
1925
Benito Mussolini claimed supreme power in a speech to Italy's parliament, effectively becoming dictator.
The former socialist schoolteacher had led the Fascist movement since after World War I and had worked within the constitution while eroding it. Historians generally treat this speech as the start of his dictatorship.
Source: history.com
1938
Franklin D. Roosevelt founded the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, later called the March of Dimes.
Roosevelt had been stricken by polio as an adult. In the early 20th century the disease struck American children every summer, and many survivors were left with lasting disabilities.
Source: history.com
The Cold War
1957
Dalip Singh Saund began serving in the House as the first Asian American member of Congress.
Born in Punjab under British rule, Saund earned a PhD in mathematics at the University of California, Berkeley. He represented a California district and was also the first Sikh elected to Congress.
Source: history.house.gov; history.com
1959
Alaska joined the Union as the 49th and largest state.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the special proclamation admitting the former territory. Alaska had become part of the United States in 1867, 92 years earlier.
Source: history.com; archive.nytimes.com
1961
The United States broke off diplomatic relations with Fidel Castro's Cuba.
Cuba had ordered the American embassy in Havana to cut its staff to 11 people within 48 hours. President Dwight D. Eisenhower answered by closing the embassy and formally ending relations.
The Modern Era
1999
NASA launched the Mars Polar Lander along with two Deep Space 2 penetrator probes.
The Mars Polar Lander and the Deep Space 2 probes were meant to set down on the planet's surface. NASA's mission chronology lists both as attempted landings, since neither succeeded.
Source: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov
2004
NASA's Spirit rover landed on Mars.
Planned for a 90-day mission, Spirit explored the planet for years, and its twin Opportunity landed three weeks later. NASA formally ended efforts to contact Spirit in May 2011.
Source: science.nasa.gov; history.com