What are the important events that happened on January 3? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.

January 3: Facts & Myths About This Day

January 3 is the 3^rd day of the year 2025 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 362 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Friday.

Under the Julian calendar, this day is December 21, 2024 – a Friday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?

When this day started, 28,931,040 minutes has elapsed since midnight of January 1, 1970 – the Unix epoch.

Strange as it may, if we name this day after a polygon then it will be called ‘trigon’ day.

Capricorn is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Garnet is the modern birthstone for this month. Emerald is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.

According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 26 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year.

The ancient Maya civilization believes that the end of the world will happen on December 21, 2012. There are now 4,396 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.

January 3: This Day In History

The Perihelion, the point in the year when the Earth is closest to the Sun, occurs around this date.

January 3 Historical Events

• 1431 –
  Joan of Arc is handed over to Bishop Pierre Cauchon.
• 1868 –
  Meiji Restoration in Japan: The Tokugawa shogunate is abolished; agents of Satsuma and Chōshū seize power.
• 1870 –
  The construction of the Brooklyn Bridge begins.
• 1888 –
  The refracting telescope at the Lick Observatory, measuring 91 cm in diameter, is used for the first time. It was the largest telescope in the world at the time.
• 1919 –
  At the Paris Peace Conference, Emir Faisal of Iraq signs an agreement with Zionist leader Chaim Weizmann on the development of a Jewish homeland in Palestine and an Arab nation in a large part of the Middle East.
• 1957 –
  The Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch.
• 1959 –
  Separatists in the Maldives declare the establishment of the United Suvadive Republic.
• 1976 –
  The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights comes into effect.
• 1977 –
  Apple Computer is incorporated.
• 1997 –
  China announces it will spend US$27.7 billion to fight erosion and pollution in the Yangtze and Yellow River valleys.

Who were born on January 3?

• 1719 –
  Francisco José Freire, Portuguese historian (d. 1773)
• 1819 –
  Charles Piazzi Smyth, Astronomer Royal for Scotland (d. 1900)
• 1886 –
  Josephine Hull, American actress (d. 1957)
• 1915 –
  Jack Levine, American painter (d. 2010)
• 1921 –
  John Russell, American actor (d. 1991)
• 1922 –
  Bill Travers, British actor and director (d. 1994)
• 1922 –
  Ronald Smith, British pianist (d. 2004)
• 1936 –
  David Vine, British sports commentator (d. 2009)
• 1939 –
  Ruben Reyes, Filipino Supreme Court jurist
• 1989 –
  Alex D. Linz, American actor

Who died on January 3?

• 1871 –
  Kuriakose Elias Chavara, Indian Saint (b. 1805)
• 1875 –
  Pierre Larousse, French editor (b. 1817)
• 1922 –
  Friedrich Wilhelm Voigt, German impostor who became famous as The Captain of Köpenick (Der Hauptmann von Köpenick) in 1906 (b. 1849)
• 1931 –
  Joseph Joffre, French general (b. 1852)
• 1944 –
  Jurgis Baltrušaitis, Lithuanian poet (b. 1873)
• 1970 –
  Gladys Aylward, British missionary (b. 1902)
• 1974 –
  Gino Cervi, Italian actor (b. 1901)
• 2009 –
  Hisayasu Nagata, Japanese politician (b. 1969)
• 2010 –
  Gustavo Becerra-Schmidt, Chilean composer (b. 1925)
• 2012 –
  Gatewood Galbraith, American politician (b. 1947)