Wikipedia:Selected anniversaries/February 3
February 3: Setsubun in Japan; Four Chaplains' Day in the United States.
- 1488 - Bartolomeu Dias of Portugal sailed around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa and landed in Mossel Bay.
- 1787 - The Shays' Rebellion was crushed, but prompted the drafting of the Constitution of the United States.
- 1867 - Crown Prince Mutsuhito (pictured) succeeded his father Kōmei as Emperor of Japan, taking the title Meiji.
- 1959 - Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper died in a plane crash on "The Day the Music Died."
- 1966 - The Soviet spacecraft Luna 9 became the first space probe to land on the Moon and transmit pictures from the lunar surface to Earth.
Recent days: February 2 – February 1 – January 31
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