On this day

June 3, 1963

Revisit the news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.

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Headlines from June 3, 1963

Notable Deaths

Edmond Decottignies

1963Edmond Decottignies, French weightlifter (born 1893)[†]

Edmond Decottignies was a French weightlifter who competed in the 1924 Summer Olympics. He was born in Comines.

Pope John XXIII

1963Pope John XXIII (born 1881)[†]

Pope John XXIII was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death on 3 June 1963. He is the most recent pope to take the pontifical name "John".

Nâzım Hikmet

1963Nâzım Hikmet, Turkish poet, author, and playwright (born 1902)[†]

Mehmed Nâzım Ran, commonly known as Nâzım Hikmet, was a Turkish poet, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, director, and memoirist. He was acclaimed for the "lyrical flow of his statements". Described as a "romantic communist" and a "romantic revolutionary", he was repeatedly arrested for his political beliefs and spent much of his adult life in prison or in exile. His poetry has been translated into more than 50 languages.

1963Samuel Rocke, Australian politician who served as an independent member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia (born 1874)[†]

Samuel Matthew Rocke was an Australian politician who served as an independent member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1917 to 1921, representing the seat of South Fremantle.

Historical Events

Huế chemical attacks

1963Soldiers of the South Vietnamese Army attack protesting Buddhists in Huế with liquid chemicals from tear-gas grenades, causing 67 people to be hospitalized for blistering of the skin and respiratory ailments.[†]

The Huế chemical attacks occurred on 3 June 1963, when soldiers of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) poured liquid chemicals from tear gas grenades onto the heads of praying Buddhists in Huế, South Vietnam. The Buddhists were protesting against religious discrimination by the regime of the Roman Catholic President Ngô Đình Diệm. The attacks caused 67 people to be hospitalised for blistering of the skin and respiratory ailments.

Historical Context for June 3, 1963

In 1963, the world population was approximately 3,192,807,828 people[†]