March 3

473 – Gundobad (nephew of Ricimer) nominates Glycerius as emperor of the Western Roman Empire. 724 – Empress Genshō abdicates the throne in favor of her nephew Shōmu who becomes emperor of Japan. 1575 – Mughal Emperor Akbar defeats Sultan of Bengal Daud Khan Karrani's army at the Battle of Tukaroi. 1585 – The Olympic Theatre, designed by Andrea Palladio, is inaugurated in Vicenza. 1776 – American Revolutionary War: The first amphibious landing of the United States Marine Corps begins the Battle of Nassau. 1779 – American Revolutionary War: The Continental Army is routed at the Battle of Brier Creek near Savannah, Georgia. 1799 – The Russo-Ottoman siege of Corfu ends with the surrender of the French garrison. 1820 – The U.S. Congress passes the Missouri Compromise. 1845 – Florida is admitted as the 27th U.S. state. 1849 – The Territory of Minnesota is created. 1857 – Second Opium War: France and the United Kingdom declare war on China. 1859 – The two-day Great Slave Auction, the largest such auction in United States history, concludes. 1861 – Alexander II of Russia signs the Emancipation Manifesto, freeing serfs. 1873 – Censorship in the United States: The U.S. Congress enacts the Comstock Law, making it illegal to send any "obscene literature and articles of immoral use" through the mail. 1875 – The first ever organized indoor game of ice hockey is played in Montreal, Quebec, Canada as recorded in the Montreal Gazette. 1878 – The Russo-Turkish War ends with Bulgaria regaining its independence from the Ottoman Empire according to the Treaty of San Stefano. 1891 – Shoshone National Forest is established as the first national forest in the US and world. 1910 – Rockefeller Foundation: John D. Rockefeller Jr. announces his retirement from managing his businesses so that he can devote all his time to philanthropy. 1913 – Thousands of women march in the Woman Suffrage Procession in Washington, D.C. 1918 – Russia signs the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, agreeing to withdraw from World War I, and conceding German control of the Baltic States, Belarus and Ukraine.