May 3: Facts & Historical Events On This Day

Lady Gaga’s free “Mayhem on the Beach” concert at Rio’s Copacabana beach drew over 2.5 million fans.

Funded by the city of Rio de Janeiro, the concert became the highest-attended by a female artist in history, surpassing Madonna's previous record at the same venue.

Legendary investor Warren Buffett dumped all his holdings in the four major US airlines.

The move sent shockwaves through the financial markets, as Buffett warned that the "world has changed" due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Kilauea volcano on Big Island in Hawaii began to erupt.

New fissures had formed, and lava started erupting after a 5.0 earthquake. Residences were evacuated, assisted by the National Guard.

The Republic of Kosovo was accepted as the 55th member of the UAFA soccer union.

The move sparked outrage in Serbia, which Kosovo declared independence from in 2008.

Three-year-old English girl Madeleine McCann went missing while on vacation with her parents, family, and friends in Praia da Luz, Portugal.

Her disappearance received worldwide media coverage, with searches still ongoing today. Her parents, Gerry, and Kate McCann, continue to appeal for information on her whereabouts.

The Spider-Man film starring Tobey Maguire premiered.

Spider-Man redefined the modern superhero genre, and its success led to Spider-Man 1 and 2 being released.

An F5 tornado hit Oklahoma City, where the highest global wind speeds were recorded.

An F5 tornado is the highest-ranking on the intensity scale, meaning it has the potential to cause the most damage.

NASA’s Columbia Space Shuttle landed at the Kennedy Space Center, concluding mission STS-90.

STS-90 was the last Columbia mission that landed during the day and the last mission to carry the European Space Agency's Spacelab module into orbit. The sixteen-day mission's primary objective was to use the Neurolab Spacelab module to study the effects of microgravity on the nervous system. Tests were performed on several animals, including fish, crickets, mice, and even the astronauts themselves.

The first-ever “spam” email was sent out to every ARPANET address on the US west coast.

Going My Way, starring Bing Crosby, premiered in New York.

New York Yankee, Joe DiMaggio, made his major-league debut.

West Virginia became the first state to impose a sales tax.

India’s first-ever full-length film, Raja Harishchandra, was released in theaters.

The Battle of Salem Church took place.

The sixth major fire in San Francisco occurred.

This fire broke out in a paint and upholstery store. It was spread by high winds and was visible for miles out to sea. It blazed for 10 hours and extended to about 18 blocks. The total damage was estimated at $10-12 million dollars, destroying 1500-2000 buildings.

The first train passenger service began.

Until this day, trains had only been used to transport goods.

Washington, D.C. was incorporated by Congress.