- 686 – Maya king Yuknoom Yich’aak K’ahk’ assumes the crown of Calakmul.
- 801 – King Louis the Pious captures Barcelona from the Moors after a siege of several months.
- 1043 – Edward the Confessor is crowned King of England.
- 1077 – The first Parliament of Friuli is created.
- 1559 – The Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis treaty is signed, ending the Italian Wars.
- 1860 – The first successful United States Pony Express run from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, begins.
- 1865 – American Civil War: Union forces capture Richmond, Virginia, the capital of the Confederate States of America.
- 1882 – American Old West: Robert Ford kills Jesse James.
- 1885 – Gottlieb Daimler is granted a German patent for his engine design.
- 1888 – The first of eleven unsolved brutal murders of women committed in or near the impoverished Whitechapel district in the East End of London, occurs.
- 1895 – The trial in the libel case brought by Oscar Wilde begins, eventually resulting in his imprisonment on charges of homosexuality.
- 1922 – Joseph Stalin becomes the first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
- 1933 – First flight over Mount Everest, by the British Houston-Mount Everest Flight Expedition, led by the Marquis of Clydesdale, and funded by Lucy, Lady Houston.
- 1936 – Bruno Richard Hauptmann is executed for the kidnapping and death of Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Jr., the baby son of pilot Charles Lindbergh.
- 1942 – World War II: Japanese forces begin an assault on the United States and Filipino troops on the Bataan Peninsula.
- 1946 – Japanese Lt. General Masaharu Homma is executed in the Philippines for leading the Bataan Death March.
- 1948 – Cold War: U.S. President Harry S. Truman signs the Marshall Plan, authorizing $5 billion in aid for 16 countries.
- 1948 – In Jeju Province, South Korea, a civil-war-like period of violence and human rights abuses begins, known as the Jeju uprising.
- 1955 – The American Civil Liberties Union announces it will defend Allen Ginsberg’s book Howl against obscenity charges.
- 1956 – Hudsonville–Standale tornado: The western half of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan is struck by a deadly F5 tornado.
- 1968 – Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech. He was assassinated the next day.
- 1969 – Vietnam War: United States Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird announces that the United States will start to “Vietnamize” the war effort.
- 1973 – Martin Cooper of Motorola makes the first handheld mobile phone call to Joel S. Engel of Bell Labs.
- 1974 – The 1974 Super Outbreak occurs, the second biggest tornado outbreak in recorded history (after the 2011 Super Outbreak). The death toll is 315, with nearly 5,500 injured.
- 1975 – Bobby Fischer refuses to play in a chess match against Anatoly Karpov, giving Karpov the title of World Champion by default.
- 1980 – US Congress restores a federal trust relationship with the 501 members of the Shvwits, Kanosh, Koosharem, and the Indian Peaks and Cedar City bands of the Paiute people of Utah.
- 1981 – The Osborne 1, the first successful portable computer, is unveiled at the West Coast Computer Faire in San Francisco.
- 1989 – The US Supreme Court upholds the jurisdictional rights of tribal courts under the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 in Mississippi Choctaw Band v. Holyfield.
- 1996 – Suspected “Unabomber” Theodore Kaczynski is captured at his Montana cabin in the United States.
- 1997 – The Thalit massacre begins in Algeria; all but one of the 53 inhabitants of Thalit are killed by guerrillas.
- 2000 – United States v. Microsoft Corp.: Microsoft is ruled to have violated United States antitrust law by keeping “an oppressive thumb” on its competitors.
- 2004 – Islamic terrorists involved in the 2004 Madrid train bombings are trapped by the police in their apartment and kill themselves.
- 2007 – Conventional-Train World Speed Record: A French TGV train on the LGV Est high speed line sets an official new world speed record.
- 2008 – ATA Airlines, once one of the ten largest U.S. passenger airlines and largest charter airline, files for bankruptcy for the second time in five years and ceases all operations.
- 2008 – Texas law enforcement cordons off the FLDS’s YFZ Ranch. Eventually, 533 women and children will be taken into state custody.
- 2009 – Jiverly Antares Wong opens fire at the American Civic Association immigration center in Binghamton, New York, killing thirteen and wounding four before committing suicide.
- 2010 – Apple Inc. released the first generation iPad, a tablet computer.
- 2013 – More than 50 people die in floods resulting from record-breaking rainfall in La Plata and Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- 2016 – The Panama Papers, a leak of legal documents, reveals information on 214,488 offshore companies.
- 2017 – A bomb explodes in the St Petersburg metro system, killing 14 and injuring several more people.
- 2018 – YouTube headquarters shooting.
Births on April 3
- 1016 – Xing Zong, Chinese emperor (d. 1055)
- 1151 – Igor Svyatoslavich, Russian prince (d. 1202)
- 1438 – John III of Egmont, Dutch nobleman (d. 1516)
- 1529 – Michael Neander, German mathematician and astronomer (d. 1581)
- 1540 – Maria de’ Medici, Italian noblewoman, the eldest daughter of Cosimo I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany and Eleonora di Toledo. (d. 1557)
- 1593 – George Herbert, English poet (d. 1633)
- 1639 – Alessandro Stradella, Italian composer (d. 1682)
- 1643 – Charles V, duke of Lorraine (d. 1690)
- 1682 – Valentin Rathgeber, German organist and composer (d. 1750)
- 1693 – George Edwards, English ornithologist and entomologist (d. 1773)
- 1715 – William Watson, English physician, physicist, and botanist (d. 1787)
- 1764 – John Abernethy, English surgeon and anatomist (d. 1831)
- 1769 – Christian Günther von Bernstorff, Danish-Prussian politician and diplomat (d. 1835)
- 1770 – Theodoros Kolokotronis, Greek general (d. 1843)
- 1778 – Pierre Bretonneau, French doctor who performed the first successful tracheotomy (d. 1862)
- 1781 – Swaminarayan, Indian religious leader (d. 1830)
- 1782 – Alexander Macomb, American general (d. 1841)
- 1783 – Washington Irving, American short story writer, essayist, biographer, historian (d. 1859)
- 1791 – Anne Lister, English diarist, mountaineer, and traveller (d.1840)
- 1798 – Charles Wilkes, American admiral, geographer, and explorer (d.1877)
- 1807 – Mary Carpenter, English educational and social reformer (d. 1877)
- 1814 – Lorenzo Snow, American religious leader, 5th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (d. 1901)
- 1822 – Edward Everett Hale, American minister, historian, and author (d. 1909)
- 1823 – George Derby, American lieutenant and journalist (d. 1861)
- 1823 – William M. Tweed, American politician (d. 1878)
- 1826 – Cyrus K. Holliday, American businessman (d. 1900)
- 1837 – John Burroughs, American botanist and author (d. 1921)
- 1842 – Ulric Dahlgren, American colonel (d. 1864)
- 1848 – Arturo Prat, Chilean lawyer and captain (d. 1879)
- 1858 – Jacob Gaudaur, Canadian rower (d. 1937)
- 1860 – Frederik van Eeden, Dutch psychiatrist and author (d. 1932)
- 1864 – Emil Kellenberger, Swiss target shooter (d. 1943)
- 1875 – Mistinguett, French actress and singer (d. 1956)
- 1876 – Margaret Anglin, Canadian actress, director, and producer (d. 1958)
- 1876 – Tomáš Baťa, Czech businessman, founded Bata Shoes (d. 1932)
- 1880 – Otto Weininger, Jewish-Austrian philosopher and author (d. 1903)
- 1881 – Alcide De Gasperi, Italian journalist and politician, 30th Prime Minister of Italy (d. 1954)
- 1882 – Philippe Desranleau, Canadian archbishop (d. 1952)
- 1883 – Ikki Kita, Japanese philosopher and author (d. 1937)
- 1885 – Allan Dwan, Canadian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1981)
- 1885 – Bud Fisher, American cartoonist (d. 1954)
- 1885 – Marie-Victorin Kirouac, Canadian botanist and academic (d. 1944)
- 1885 – St John Philby, English colonial and explorer (d. 1960)
- 1886 – Dooley Wilson, American actor and singer (d. 1953)
- 1887 – Ōtori Tanigorō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 24th Yokozuna (d. 1956)
- 1887 – Nishizō Tsukahara, Japanese admiral (d. 1966)
- 1888 – Neville Cardus, English author and critic (d. 1975)
- 1888 – Thomas C. Kinkaid, American admiral (d. 1972)
- 1889 – Grigoraș Dinicu, Romanian violinist and composer (d. 1949)
- 1893 – Leslie Howard, English actor (d. 1943)
- 1895 – Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Italian-American composer and educator (d. 1968)
- 1895 – Zez Confrey, American pianist and composer (d. 1971)
- 1897 – Joe Kirkwood Sr., Australian golfer (d. 1970)
- 1897 – Thrasyvoulos Tsakalotos, Greek general (d. 1989)
- 1898 – David Jack, English footballer and manager (d. 1958)
- 1898 – George Jessel, American actor, singer, and producer (d. 1981)
- 1898 – Henry Luce, American publisher, co-founded Time Magazine (d. 1967)
- 1900 – Camille Chamoun, Lebanese lawyer and politician, 7th President of Lebanon (d. 1987)
- 1900 – Albert Walsh, Canadian lawyer and politician, 1st Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland (d. 1958)
- 1903 – Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, Indian social reformer and freedom fighter (d. 1988)
- 1904 – Iron Eyes Cody, American actor and stuntman (d. 1999)
- 1904 – Sally Rand, American dancer (d. 1979)
- 1904 – Russel Wright, American furniture designer (d. 1976)
- 1905 – Robert Sink, American general (d. 1965)
- 1909 – Stanislaw Ulam, Polish-American mathematician and academic (d. 1984)
- 1910 – Ted Hook, Australian public servant (d. 1990)
- 1911 – Nanette Bordeaux, Canadian-American actress (d. 1956)
- 1911 – Michael Woodruff, English-Scottish surgeon and academic (d. 2001)
- 1911 – Stanisława Walasiewicz, Polish-American runner (d. 1980)
- 1912 – Dorothy Eden, New Zealand-English author (d. 1982)
- 1912 – Grigoris Lambrakis, Greek physician and politician (d. 1963)
- 1913 – Per Borten, Norwegian politician, 18th Prime Minister of Norway (d. 2005)
- 1914 – Ray Getliffe, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2008)
- 1914 – Sam Manekshaw, Indian field marshal (d. 2008)
- 1915 – Piet de Jong, Dutch politician and naval officer, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 2016)
- 1915 – İhsan Doğramacı, Turkish physician and academic (d. 2010)
- 1916 – Herb Caen, American journalist and author (d. 1997)
- 1916 – Cliff Gladwin, English cricketer (d. 1988)
- 1916 – Louis Guglielmi, Catalan composer (d. 1991)
- 1918 – Mary Anderson, American actress (d. 2014)
- 1918 – Louis Applebaum, Canadian composer and conductor (d. 2000)
- 1919 – Ervin Drake, American songwriter and composer (d. 2015)
- 1919 – Clairette Oddera, French-Canadian actress and singer (d. 2008)
- 1920 – Stan Freeman, American composer and conductor (d. 2001)
- 1920 – Yoshibayama Junnosuke, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 43rd Yokozuna (d. 1977)
- 1921 – Robert Karvelas, American actor (d. 1991)
- 1921 – Jan Sterling, American actress (d. 2004)
- 1922 – Yevhen Bulanchyk, Ukrainian hurdler (d. 1996)
- 1922 – Doris Day, American singer and actress (d. 2019)
- 1923 – Daniel Hoffman, American poet and academic (d. 2013)
- 1924 – Marlon Brando, American actor and director (d. 2004)
- 1924 – Roza Shanina, Russian sergeant and sniper (d. 1945)
- 1925 – Tony Benn, English pilot and politician, Secretary of State for Industry (d. 2014)
- 1926 – Alex Grammas, American baseball player, manager, and coach (d. 2019)
- 1926 – Gus Grissom, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (d. 1967)
- 1927 – Wesley A. Brown, American general and engineer (d. 2012)
- 1928 – Don Gibson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2003)
- 1928 – Emmett Johns, Canadian priest, founded Dans la Rue (d. 2018)
- 1928 – Earl Lloyd, American basketball player and coach (d. 2015)
- 1928 – Jennifer Paterson, English chef and television personality (d. 1999)
- 1929 – Fazlur Rahman Khan, Bangladeshi engineer and architect, co-designed the Willis Tower and John Hancock Center (d. 1982)
- 1929 – Poul Schlüter, Danish lawyer and politician, 37th Prime Minister of Denmark
- 1930 – Lawton Chiles, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 41st Governor of Florida (d. 1998)
- 1930 – Helmut Kohl, German politician, Chancellor of Germany (d. 2017)
- 1930 – Mario Benjamín Menéndez, Argentinian general and politician (d. 2015)
- 1930 – Wally Moon, American baseball player and coach (d. 2018)
- 1931 – William Bast, American screenwriter and author (d. 2015)
- 1933 – Bob Dornan, American politician
- 1933 – Rod Funseth, American golfer (d. 1985)
- 1934 – Pamela Allen, New Zealand children’s writer and illustrator
- 1934 – Jane Goodall, English primatologist and anthropologist
- 1934 – Jim Parker, American football player (d. 2005)
- 1936 – Jimmy McGriff, American organist and bandleader (d. 2008)
- 1936 – Harold Vick, American saxophonist and flute player (d. 1987)
- 1938 – Jeff Barry, American singer-songwriter, and producer
- 1938 – Phil Rodgers, American golfer (d. 2018)
- 1939 – François de Roubaix, French composer (d. 1975)
- 1939 – Hawk Taylor, American baseball player and coach (d. 2012)
- 1939 – Paul Craig Roberts, American economist and politician
- 1941 – Jan Berry, American singer-songwriter (d. 2004)
- 1941 – Philippé Wynne, American soul singer (d. 1984)
- 1942 – Marsha Mason, American actress
- 1942 – Wayne Newton, American singer
- 1942 – Billy Joe Royal, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2015)
- 1943 – Mario Lavista, Mexican composer
- 1943 – Jonathan Lynn, English actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1943 – Richard Manuel, Canadian singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 1986)
- 1943 – Hikaru Saeki, Japanese admiral, the first female star officer of the Japan Self-Defense Forces
- 1944 – Peter Colman, Australian biologist and academic
- 1944 – Tony Orlando, American singer
- 1945 – Doon Arbus, American author and journalist
- 1945 – Bernie Parent, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1945 – Catherine Spaak, French actress
- 1946 – Nicholas Jones, English actor
- 1946 – Dee Murray, English bass player (d. 1992)
- 1946 – Hanna Suchocka, Polish lawyer and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Poland
- 1947 – Anders Eliasson, Swedish composer (d. 2013)
- 1948 – Arlette Cousture, Canadian author and screenwriter
- 1948 – Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, Dutch academic, politician, and diplomat, 11th Secretary General of NATO
- 1948 – Hans-Georg Schwarzenbeck, German footballer
- 1948 – Carlos Salinas de Gortari, Mexican economist and politician, 53rd President of Mexico
- 1949 – Lyle Alzado, American football player and actor (d. 1992)
- 1949 – A. C. Grayling, English philosopher and academic
- 1949 – Richard Thompson, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1950 – Indrajit Coomaraswamy, Sri Lankan cricketer and economist
- 1951 – Brendan Barber, English trade union leader
- 1951 – Annette Dolphin, British academician and educator
- 1951 – Mitch Woods, American singer-songwriter and pianist
- 1952 – Mike Moore, American lawyer and politician
- 1953 – Sandra Boynton, American author and illustrator
- 1953 – Wakanohana Kanji II, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 56th Yokozuna
- 1953 – James Smith, American boxer
- 1953 – Craig Taubman, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1954 – Elisabetta Brusa, Italian composer
- 1954 – K. Krishnasamy, Indian physician and politician
- 1956 – Kalle Kulbok, Estonian politician
- 1956 – Boris Miljković, Serbian director and producer
- 1956 – Miguel Bosé, Spanish musician and actor
- 1956 – Ray Combs, American game show host (d. 1996)
- 1958 – Alec Baldwin, American actor, comedian, producer and television host
- 1958 – Adam Gussow, American scholar, musician, and memoirist
- 1958 – Francesca Woodman, Jewish-American photographer (d. 1981)
- 1959 – David Hyde Pierce, American actor and activist
- 1960 – Arjen Anthony Lucassen, Dutch singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1961 – Tim Crews, American baseball player (d. 1993)
- 1961 – Eddie Murphy, American actor and comedian
- 1962 – Dave Miley, American baseball player and manager
- 1962 – Mike Ness, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1962 – Jaya Prada, Indian actress and politician
- 1963 – Les Davidson, Australian rugby league player
- 1963 – Ricky Nixon, Australian footballer and manager
- 1963 – Criss Oliva, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 1993)
- 1964 – Marco Ballotta, Italian footballer and manager
- 1964 – Nigel Farage, English politician
- 1964 – Claire Perry, English banker and politician
- 1964 – Bjarne Riis, Danish cyclist and manager
- 1964 – Andy Robinson, English rugby player and coach
- 1964 – Jay Weatherill, Australian politician, 45th Premier of South Australia
- 1965 – Nazia Hassan, Pakistani pop singer-songwriter, lawyer and social activist (d. 2000)
- 1966 – John de Vries, Australian race car driver
- 1967 – Cat Cora, American chef and author
- 1967 – Pervis Ellison, American basketball player
- 1967 – Brent Gilchrist, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1967 – Cristi Puiu, Romanian director and screenwriter
- 1967 – Mark Skaife, Australian race car driver and sportscaster
- 1968 – Sebastian Bach, Bahamian-Canadian singer-songwriter and actor
- 1968 – Charlotte Coleman, English actress (d. 2001)
- 1968 – Jamie Hewlett, English director and performer
- 1968 – Tomoaki Kanemoto, Japanese baseball player
- 1969 – Rodney Hampton, American football player
- 1969 – Peter Matera, Australian footballer and coach
- 1969 – Ben Mendelsohn, Australian actor
- 1969 – Lance Storm, Canadian wrestler and trainer
- 1971 – Vitālijs Astafjevs, Latvian footballer and manager
- 1971 – Emmanuel Collard, French race car driver
- 1971 – Picabo Street, American skier
- 1972 – Jennie Garth, American actress and director
- 1972 – Catherine McCormack, English actress
- 1972 – Sandrine Testud, French tennis player
- 1973 – Nilesh Kulkarni, Indian cricketer
- 1973 – Adam Scott, American actor
- 1974 – Marcus Brown, American basketball player
- 1974 – Drew Shirley, American guitarist and songwriter
- 1974 – Lee Williams, Welsh model and actor
- 1975 – Shawn Bates, American ice hockey player
- 1975 – Michael Olowokandi, Nigerian-American basketball player
- 1975 – Aries Spears, American comedian and actor
- 1975 – Yoshinobu Takahashi, Japanese baseball player
- 1975 – Koji Uehara, Japanese baseball player
- 1976 – Nicolas Escudé, French tennis player
- 1978 – Matthew Goode, English actor
- 1978 – Tommy Haas, German-American tennis player
- 1978 – John Smit, South African rugby player
- 1979 – Simon Black, Australian footballer and coach
- 1980 – Andrei Lodis, Belarusian footballer
- 1980 – Megan Rohrer, American pastor and transgender activist
- 1981 – Aaron Bertram, American trumpet player
- 1981 – DeShawn Stevenson, American basketball player
- 1982 – Jared Allen, American football player
- 1982 – Iain Fyfe, Australian footballer
- 1982 – Cobie Smulders, Canadian actress
- 1983 – Ben Foster, English footballer
- 1983 – Stephen Weiss, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1984 – Jonathan Blondel, Belgian footballer
- 1984 – Maxi López, Argentinian footballer
- 1985 – Jari-Matti Latvala, Finnish race car driver
- 1985 – Leona Lewis, English singer-songwriter and producer
- 1986 – Amanda Bynes, American actress
- 1986 – Stephanie Cox, American soccer player
- 1986 – Annalisa Cucinotta, Italian cyclist
- 1986 – Sergio Sánchez Ortega, Spanish footballer
- 1987 – Rachel Bloom, American actress, writer, and producer
- 1987 – Jay Bruce, American baseball player
- 1987 – Yileen Gordon, Australian rugby league player
- 1987 – Jason Kipnis, American baseball player
- 1987 – Martyn Rooney, English sprinter
- 1987 – Julie Sokolow, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1988 – Kam Chancellor, American football player
- 1988 – Brandon Graham, American football player
- 1988 – Peter Hartley, English footballer
- 1988 – Tim Krul, Dutch footballer
- 1989 – Romain Alessandrini, French footballer
- 1989 – Israel Folau, Australian rugby player and footballer
- 1989 – Joel Romelo, Australian rugby league player
- 1989 – Thisara Perera, Sri Lankan cricketer
- 1990 – Karim Ansarifard, Iranian footballer
- 1990 – Madison Brengle, American tennis player
- 1990 – Sotiris Ninis, Greek footballer
- 1990 – Natasha Negovanlis, Canadian actress and singer
- 1991 – Hayley Kiyoko, American actress and singer
- 1992 – Simone Benedetti, Italian footballer
- 1992 – Yuliya Yefimova, Russian swimmer
- 1993 – Pape Moussa Konaté, Senegalese footballer
- 1994 – Kodi Nikorima, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1996 – Mayo Hibi, Japanese tennis player
- 1997 – Gabriel Jesus, Brazilian footballer
- 1998 – Paris Jackson, American actress, model and singer
Deaths on April 3
- 963 – William III, Duke of Aquitaine (b. 915)
- 1153 – al-Adil ibn al-Sallar, vizier of the Fatimid Caliphate
- 1171 – Philip of Milly, seventh Grand Master of the Knights Templar (b. c. 1120)
- 1203 – Arthur I, Duke of Brittany (b. 1187)
- 1253 – Saint Richard of Chichester
- 1287 – Pope Honorius IV (b. 1210)
- 1325 – Nizamuddin Auliya, Sufi saint (b. 1238)
- 1350 – Odo IV, Duke of Burgundy (b. 1295)
- 1538 – Elizabeth Boleyn, Countess of Wiltshire (b. 1480)
- 1545 – Antonio de Guevara, Spanish chronicler and moralist (b. 1481)
- 1606 – Charles Blount, 8th Baron Mountjoy, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1563)
- 1630 – Christopher Villiers, 1st Earl of Anglesey, English noble (b. c. 1593)
- 1680 – Shivaji, Indian emperor, founded the Maratha Empire (b. 1630)
- 1682 – Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, Spanish painter and educator (b. 1618)
- 1691 – Jean Petitot, French-Swiss painter (b. 1608)
- 1695 – Melchior d’Hondecoeter, Dutch painter (b. 1636)
- 1717 – Jacques Ozanam, French mathematician and academic (b. 1640)
- 1728 – James Anderson, Scottish lawyer and historian (b. 1662)
- 1792 – George Pocock, English admiral (b. 1706)
- 1804 – Jędrzej Kitowicz, Polish priest, historian, and author (b. 1727)
- 1827 – Ernst Chladni, German physicist and academic (b. 1756)
- 1838 – François Carlo Antommarchi, French physician and author (b. 1780)
- 1844 – Edward Bigge, English cleric, 1st Archdeacon of Lindisfarne (b. 1807)
- 1846 – William Braine, English soldier and explorer (b. 1814)
- 1849 – Juliusz Słowacki, Polish-French poet and playwright (b. 1809)
- 1868 – Franz Berwald, Swedish composer and surgeon (b. 1796)
- 1882 – Jesse James, American criminal and outlaw (b. 1847)
- 1897 – Johannes Brahms, German pianist and composer (b. 1833)
- 1901 – Richard D’Oyly Carte, English composer and talent agent (b. 1844)
- 1902 – Esther Hobart Morris, American lawyer and judge (b. 1814)
- 1930 – Emma Albani, Canadian-English operatic soprano (b. 1847)
- 1936 – Richard Hauptmann, German-American murderer (b. 1899)
- 1941 – Tachiyama Mineemon, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 22nd Yokozuna (b. 1877)
- 1941 – Pál Teleki, Hungarian academic and politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Hungary (b. 1879)
- 1943 – Conrad Veidt, German actor, director, and producer (b. 1893)
- 1946 – Masaharu Homma, Japanese general (b. 1887)
- 1950 – Kurt Weill, German-American composer and pianist (b. 1900)
- 1950 – Carter G. Woodson, American historian, author, and journalist, founded Black History Month (b. 1875)
- 1951 – Henrik Visnapuu, Estonian poet and playwright (b. 1890)
- 1952 – Miina Sillanpää, Finnish minister and politician (b. 1866)
- 1957 – Ned Sparks, Canadian-American actor (b. 1883)
- 1958 – Jaan Kärner, Estonian poet and author (b. 1891)
- 1962 – Manolis Kalomiris, Greek composer and educator (b. 1883)
- 1970 – Avigdor Hameiri, Israeli author (b. 1890)
- 1971 – Joseph Valachi, American gangster (b. 1904)
- 1972 – Ferde Grofé, American pianist and composer (b. 1892)
- 1975 – Mary Ure, Scottish-English actress (b. 1933)
- 1976 – David M. Dennison, American physicist and academic (b. 1900)
- 1976 – Claude-Henri Grignon, Canadian journalist and politician (b. 1894)
- 1978 – Ray Noble, English bandleader, composer, and actor (b. 1903)
- 1978 – Winston Sharples, American composer (b. 1909)
- 1981 – Juan Trippe, American businessman, founded Pan American World Airways (b. 1899)
- 1982 – Warren Oates, American actor (b. 1928)
- 1983 – Jimmy Bloomfield, English footballer and manager (b. 1934)
- 1986 – Peter Pears, English tenor and educator (b. 1910)
- 1987 – Tom Sestak, American football player (b. 1936)
- 1988 – Milton Caniff, American cartoonist (b. 1907)
- 1990 – Sarah Vaughan, American singer (b. 1924)
- 1991 – Charles Goren, American bridge player and author (b. 1901)
- 1991 – Graham Greene, English novelist, playwright, and critic (b. 1904)
- 1993 – Pinky Lee, American television host (b. 1907)
- 1994 – Frank Wells, American businessman (b. 1932)
- 1995 – Alfred J. Billes, Canadian businessman, co-founded Canadian Tire (b. 1902)
- 1996 – Ron Brown, American captain and politician, 30th United States Secretary of Commerce (b. 1941)
- 1998 – Mary Cartwright, English mathematician and academic (b. 1900)
- 1999 – Lionel Bart, English composer (b. 1930)
- 1999 – Geoffrey Walsh, Canadian general (b. 1909)
- 2000 – Terence McKenna, American botanist and philosopher (b. 1946)
- 2000 – Dina Abramowicz, Librarian and YIVO and Yiddish language expert (b. 1909)
- 2005 – François Gérin, Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1944)
- 2007 – Nina Wang, Chinese businesswoman (b. 1937)
- 2008 – Hrvoje Ćustić, Croatian footballer (b. 1983)
- 2012 – Mingote, Spanish cartoonist and journalist (b. 1919)
- 2012 – Richard Descoings, French civil servant (b. 1958)
- 2012 – Govind Narain, Indian politician, 8th Governor of Karnataka (b. 1917)
- 2012 – Chief Jay Strongbow, American wrestler (b. 1928)
- 2012 – José María Zárraga, Spanish footballer and manager (b. 1930)
- 2013 – Mariví Bilbao, Spanish actress (b. 1930)
- 2013 – Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, German-American author and screenwriter (b. 1927)
- 2014 – Régine Deforges, French author, playwright, and director (b. 1935)
- 2014 – Fred Kida, American illustrator (b. 1920)
- 2014 – Prince Michael of Prussia (b. 1940)
- 2014 – Jovan Pavlović, Serbian metropolitan (b. 1936)
- 2014 – Arthur “Guitar Boogie” Smith, American guitarist, fiddler, and composer (b. 1921)
- 2015 – Sarah Brady, American activist and author (b. 1942)
- 2015 – Bob Burns, American drummer and songwriter (b. 1950)
- 2015 – Shmuel Wosner, Austrian-Israeli rabbi and author (b. 1913)
- 2016 – Cesare Maldini, Italian footballer and manager (b. 1932)
- 2016 – Joe Medicine Crow, American anthropologist, historian, and author (b. 1913)
- 2016 – Koji Wada, Japanese singer and songwriter (b. 1974)
- 2017 – Kishori Amonkar, Indian Classical Vocalist (b. 1931)
Holidays and observances on April 3
- Christian feast day:
- Agape, Chionia, and Irene
- Burgundofara
- Luigi Scrosoppi
- Richard of Chichester
- April 3 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)