Today in History, March 3rd
On March 3, 1918, Soviet Russia signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and left World War I. Plus the national anthem and Helen Keller.
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March 3 is best known for the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in 1918, which took Soviet Russia out of World War I at a staggering cost in land and people. The date also saw “The Star-Spangled Banner” become the U.S. national anthem in 1931 and Helen Keller meet her teacher, Anne Sullivan, in 1887.
The big story: Russia Quits World War I at Brest-Litovsk (1918)
When the Bolsheviks seized power in Russia in late 1917, they had promised the country peace, and they needed it fast. Talks with Germany and its allies opened in the town of Brest-Litovsk, but the terms on offer were brutal, and Leon Trotsky, leading the Russian side, refused them. The talks fell apart in February. German armies then rolled east almost unopposed, and Lenin concluded Russia had no choice. On March 3, 1918, Soviet Russia signed. It gave up Finland, Ukraine, and its Polish and Baltic lands: roughly a third of its population, much of its industry, and most of its coal, oil and iron. Lenin himself called the deal a humiliation, but it let the Bolsheviks focus on holding power at home. For Germany, it freed troops for a final push in the West. The treaty did not last long. Germany’s defeat later that year cancelled it under the armistice of November 11, 1918.
More events on March 3
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1845 | Congress overrode a presidential veto for the first time, turning back a veto by President John Tyler. |
| 1861 | Russian Emperor Alexander II issued the Emancipation Manifesto, freeing the empire’s serfs (February 19, Old Style). |
| 1863 | Congress passed the first wartime draft of U.S. citizens to fill the Union army during the Civil War. |
| 1865 | President Abraham Lincoln signed the bill creating the Freedmen’s Bureau to help formerly enslaved people make the transition to freedom. |
| 1875 | The first organized indoor ice hockey game was played in Montreal. It ended in a brawl. |
| 1887 | Anne Sullivan arrived in Tuscumbia, Alabama, to begin teaching six-year-old Helen Keller. |
| 1923 | The first issue of Time magazine was published. |
| 1931 | President Herbert Hoover signed the law making “The Star-Spangled Banner” the official U.S. national anthem. |
| 1974 | A Turkish Airlines DC-10 crashed in a forest outside Paris after a faulty cargo door blew open, killing all 346 people aboard. |
| 1991 | Los Angeles police officers beat motorist Rodney King after a car chase, and a bystander caught it on video. The officers’ acquittal the next year set off major riots. |
| 2005 | Adventurer Steve Fossett became the first person to fly solo around the world without stopping or refueling. |
| 2024 | Iowa’s Caitlin Clark passed Pete Maravich to become the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer. |
Born on March 3
- 1847: Alexander Graham Bell, Scottish-born inventor of the telephone.
- 1911: Jean Harlow, Hollywood’s original “Blonde Bombshell.”
- 1962: Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Olympic heptathlon champion and one of the greatest all-around athletes ever.
Sources
- Treaties of Brest-Litovsk, Britannica
- Treaty of Brest-Litovsk Concluded, History.com
- What Happened on March 3, History.com
- March 3: Events and Birthdays, Britannica
- Alexander Graham Bell, Biography.com
- Jean Harlow, Britannica
- Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Britannica
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