September 3 in History

Marinus, a Christian stonemason from the island of Rab (in modern Croatia), fled to Monte Titano on the Italian peninsula in 301 AD to escape Roman persecution under Emperor Diocletian. The small community he established on the mountain survived the fall of Rome, the Lombard invasion, and the Napoleonic Wars to become the Republic of San Marino, the world's oldest surviving sovereign state and the oldest constitutional republic. San Marino has an area of 24 square miles and a population of roughly 33,000. Its constitution, dating to 1600, is the world's oldest written constitutional document still in effect. Napoleon offered to expand the republic's territory during his Italian campaign, but San Marino wisely declined, preferring to remain small and inconspicuous.

John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and John Jay signed the Treaty of Paris at the Hotel d'York on September 3, 1783, with British negotiator David Hartley representing King George III. The treaty recognized American independence, established boundaries from the Atlantic to the Mississippi, granted Americans fishing rights off Newfoundland, and required Congress to recommend that states restore confiscated Loyalist property. The boundary lines were drawn on an inaccurate map, creating disputes that persisted for decades. Britain ceded more territory than the Americans had militarily won, partly because the French alliance made London eager to conclude peace quickly and partly because British negotiators hoped generous terms would keep America from becoming a permanent French ally.

NASA's Viking 2 lander touched down on Utopia Planitia, Mars, on September 3, 1976, becoming the second American spacecraft to successfully land on the Red Planet, joining its twin Viking 1 which had arrived two months earlier. Viking 2 operated for over three years, transmitting photographs, weather data, and the results of biology experiments designed to detect signs of microbial life. The biology experiments produced ambiguous results that scientists debated for decades: one test showed a positive response that could indicate metabolism, but the lack of organic molecules in the soil suggested the reaction was chemical rather than biological. The Viking missions provided the most comprehensive data on Mars until the rover missions of the 2000s.

The USS Shenandoah had been warned about dangerous weather over Ohio but flew into it anyway on September 3, 1925 — and a squall tore her apart at 2,100 feet, splitting the airship into three sections in mid-air. Commander Zachary Lansdowne was thrown from the control car and killed. But here's the part that stays with you: several crew members in the detached bow section actually survived by valving gas to slow their descent and riding the wreckage down. The ship was destroyed. Some of the men flew it to the ground anyway.

Richard I was crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey on September 3, 1189, in a ceremony marred by anti-Jewish pogroms that broke out when Jewish leaders arrived to present gifts. Richard spent only six months of his ten-year reign in England. He departed for the Third Crusade almost immediately, financing the expedition by selling offices, lands, and titles. "I would sell London if I could find a buyer," he reportedly said. Richard fought Saladin to a draw in the Holy Land, was captured by Duke Leopold of Austria on his way home, and was ransomed for 150,000 marks of silver, roughly three times England's annual revenue. His subjects paid the ransom through crushing taxation. He died from a crossbow bolt wound in 1199.

The Mamluk army under Sultan Qutuz and General Baibars defeated a Mongol force at Ain Jalut in the Jezreel Valley of Palestine on September 3, 1260. The Mongols, led by Kitbuqa, had conquered Baghdad in 1258 and sacked Damascus in 1260, and it appeared that all of the Islamic world would fall under Mongol control. Baibars used a feigned retreat to lure the Mongol cavalry into an ambush, then counterattacked with superior numbers. The victory marked the first time the Mongol war machine had been decisively defeated in open battle and halted Mongol expansion into Egypt and North Africa. Baibars later assassinated Qutuz and became sultan himself, founding a dynasty that dominated the region for a century.

American forces under General William Maxwell engaged British and Hessian troops at Cooch's Bridge in Delaware on September 3, 1777, in what is traditionally cited as the first battle where the Stars and Stripes was carried into combat. Maxwell's light infantry fought a delaying action against the advance guard of General Howe's army, which was marching from Head of Elk toward Philadelphia. The Americans were outnumbered and withdrew after several hours of sharp fighting in the woods along the Christina River. The engagement slowed the British advance by a day, though it could not prevent the eventual fall of Philadelphia. Whether the American flag was actually present remains debated by historians, but the tradition persists.