On This Day: September 3

Updated September 2, 2012, 2:28 pm

On Sept. 3, 1976, the unmanned U.S. spacecraft Viking 2 landed on Mars to take the first close-up, color photographs of the planet’s surface.

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On Sept. 3, 1849, Sarah Orne Jewett, the popular turn-of-the-century American writer, was born. Following her death on June 24, 1909, her obituary appeared in The Times.

Go to obituary » | Other birthdays »

On This Date

By The Associated Press

1189 England’s King Richard I (the Lion-Hearted) was crowned in Westminster.

1658 Oliver Cromwell, England’s lord protector, died.

1783 The Treaty of Paris officially ended America’s Revolutionary War.

1929 The Dow Jones industrial average closed at 381.17, it’s pre-crash high.

1962 Poet E.E. Cummings died in North Conway, N.H., at age 67.

1970 Hall of Fame football coach Vince Lombardi died at age 57.

1976 The unmanned U.S. spacecraft Viking 2 landed on Mars to take the first close-up, color photographs of the planet’s surface.

1978 Pope John Paul I was installed as the 264th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church.

2004 A three-day hostage siege at a school in Beslan, Russia, ended in bloody chaos after Chechen militants set off bombs and Russian commandos stormed the building; more than 330 people were killed, most of them children.

2005 President George W. Bush ordered more than 7,000 active duty forces to the Gulf Coast in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

2005 Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist died at age 80.

2006 Tennis player Andre Agassi announced his retirement.

Current Birthdays

By The Associated Press

Olympic snowboarder Shaun White turns 26 years old today.

AP Photo/Evan Agostini

Rock singer-musician Al Jardine (The Beach Boys) turns 70 years old today.

AP Photo/Josh Anderson

1923 Mort Walker, Cartoonist (“Beetle Bailey”), turns 89

1932 Eileen Brennan, Actress, turns 80

1940 Pauline Collins, Actress (“Upstairs, Downstairs”), turns 72

1943 Valerie Perrine, Actress, turns 69

1955 Steve Jones, Rock guitarist (The Sex Pistols), turns 57

1957 Steve Schirripa, Actor (“The Sopranos”), turns 55

1965 Charlie Sheen, Actor (“Two and a Half Men”), turns 47

Historic Birthdays

Sarah Orne Jewett 9/3/1849 – 6/24/1909 American writer whose writings focused on life in Maine.Go to obituary »

66 Diane De Poitiers 9/3/1499 – 4/22/1566
French mistress of Henry II

80 Roger North 9/3/1653 – 3/1/1734
English lawyer, historian and biographer

74 John Humphrey Noyes 9/3/1811 – 4/13/1886
American founder of the Oneida Community

63 Mark Hopkins 9/3/1813 – 3/29/1878
American capitalist; helped build Central Pacific Railroad

67 Louis Sullivan 9/3/1856 – 4/14/1924
American architect

77 Edward Filene 9/3/1860 – 9/26/1937
American department-store entrepreneur and philanthropist

75 Ferdinand Porsche 9/3/1875 – 1/30/1951
Austrian automotive engineer

73 Thomas Milton Rivers 9/3/1888 – 5/12/1962
American virologist; helped develop the polio vaccine

54 Charles Houston 9/3/1895 – 4/22/1950
American lawyer and educator

85 Sir Macfarlane Burnet 9/3/1899 – 8/31/1985
Australian Nobel Prize-winning physician and virologist (1960)

69 Loren Eiseley 9/3/1907 – 7/9/1977
American anthropologist, educator and author

1189	England’s King Richard I (the Lion-Hearted) was crowned in Westminster.
1658	Oliver Cromwell, England’s lord protector, died.
1783	The Treaty of Paris officially ended America’s Revolutionary War.
1929	The Dow Jones industrial average closed at 381.17, it’s pre-crash high.
1962	Poet E.E. Cummings died in North Conway, N.H., at age 67.
1970	Hall of Fame football coach Vince Lombardi died at age 57.
1976	The unmanned U.S. spacecraft Viking 2 landed on Mars to take the first close-up, color photographs of the planet’s surface.
1978	Pope John Paul I was installed as the 264th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church.
2004	A three-day hostage siege at a school in Beslan, Russia, ended in bloody chaos after Chechen militants set off bombs and Russian commandos stormed the building; more than 330 people were killed, most of them children.
2005	President George W. Bush ordered more than 7,000 active duty forces to the Gulf Coast in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
2005	Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist died at age 80.
2006	Tennis player Andre Agassi announced his retirement.

1923	Mort Walker, Cartoonist (“Beetle Bailey”), turns 89
1932	Eileen Brennan, Actress, turns 80
1940	Pauline Collins, Actress (“Upstairs, Downstairs”), turns 72
1943	Valerie Perrine, Actress, turns 69
1955	Steve Jones, Rock guitarist (The Sex Pistols), turns 57
1957	Steve Schirripa, Actor (“The Sopranos”), turns 55
1965	Charlie Sheen, Actor (“Two and a Half Men”), turns 47

66	Diane De Poitiers 9/3/1499 – 4/22/1566 French mistress of Henry II
80	Roger North 9/3/1653 – 3/1/1734 English lawyer, historian and biographer
74	John Humphrey Noyes 9/3/1811 – 4/13/1886 American founder of the Oneida Community
63	Mark Hopkins 9/3/1813 – 3/29/1878 American capitalist; helped build Central Pacific Railroad
67	Louis Sullivan 9/3/1856 – 4/14/1924 American architect
77	Edward Filene 9/3/1860 – 9/26/1937 American department-store entrepreneur and philanthropist
75	Ferdinand Porsche 9/3/1875 – 1/30/1951 Austrian automotive engineer
73	Thomas Milton Rivers 9/3/1888 – 5/12/1962 American virologist; helped develop the polio vaccine
54	Charles Houston 9/3/1895 – 4/22/1950 American lawyer and educator
85	Sir Macfarlane Burnet 9/3/1899 – 8/31/1985 Australian Nobel Prize-winning physician and virologist (1960)
69	Loren Eiseley 9/3/1907 – 7/9/1977 American anthropologist, educator and author