#TodayInHistory – September 3

September 3 – Some important events on this day.

36 BC 👉🏼In the Battle of Naulochus, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, admiral of Octavian, defeats Sextus Pompeius, son of Pompey, thus ending Pompeian resistance to the Second Triumvirate.
301 👉🏼 San Marino, one of the smallest nations in the world and the world’s oldest republic still in existence, founded by Saint Marinus
1752 👉🏼 Britain and the British Empire (including the American colonies) adopt the Gregorian Calendar, losing 11 days. People riot thinking the government stole 11 days of their lives
1777 👉🏼 Flag of the United States flown in battle for the 1st time at Cooch’s Bridge, Delaware, a skirmish during American Revolutionary War
1783 👉🏼 Treaty of Paris signed in Paris ends the American Revolutionary War between Great Britain and United States of America
1791 👉🏼 French Revolution: The new French Constitution, declaring France a constitutional monarchy, is passed by the National Assembly
1878 👉🏼 British passenger paddle steamer Princess Alice sunk in a collision on the River Thames with the collier Bywell Castle; 645 die
1900 👉🏼 With a proclamation by General Lord Roberts, Britain annexes the Boer Republic of South Africa
1912 👉🏼 Arnold Schoenberg’s “Funf Orchesterstucke” (Five Pieces for Orchestra) premieres in London at a Promenade Concert
1914 👉🏼 Pope Benedict XV named to papacy
1917 👉🏼 1st night bombing of London by German aircraft

1939 👉🏼 World War II: Britain declares war on Germany after invasion of Poland. France follows 6 hours later quickly joined by Australia, New Zealand, South Africa & Canada.
The first casualty of that declaration was not German—but the British ocean liner Athenia, which was sunk by a German U-30 submarine that had assumed the liner was armed and belligerent. There were more than 1,100 passengers on board, 112 of whom lost their lives. Of those, 28 were Americans, but President Roosevelt was unfazed by the tragedy, declaring that no one was to “thoughtlessly or falsely talk of America sending its armies to European fields.” The United States would remain neutral.

1967 👉🏼 Sweden begins driving on right-hand side of road (Dagen H).
The change known as “Dagen H” in Swedish was widely unpopular, and had repeatedly been voted down over the previous forty years. In a 1955 referendum, 83 percent voted to keep driving on the left.
In 1963, the Riksdag approved the change and established the Statens Högertrafikkommission (state right-hand traffic commission) to oversee it. The commission implemented a four-year education program, with the advice of psychologists.
The major arguments for the change were:

1) All Sweden’s immediate neighbours drove on the right, including Norway and Finland, with which Sweden has land borders).

2) Most Swedes drove left-hand drive vehicles. This led to many head-on collisions when passing on narrow two-lane highways, which were common in Sweden because of its low population density and traffic levels.

1988 👉🏼 Estimated by this date 50,000 Kurdish civilians and soldiers killed by Iraq, many using chemical weapons, in aftermath of Iran-Iraq War
2019 👉🏼 Hurricane Dorian finally moves off Grand Bahama after stalling for more than a day bringing catastrophic devastation, killing at least 50 with over 2,000 people missing