Today in History: May 3, Oklahoma City struck by historic tornado
Today is Sunday, May 3, the 123rd day of 2026. There are 242 days left in the year.
Today in history:
On May 3, 1999, the Bridge Creek–Moore tornado struck the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, causing 41 deaths and nearly 600 injuries; the tornado’s top wind speed of 321 mph (517 kph) was the highest ever recorded on Earth.
Also on this date:
In 1802, Washington, D.C., was incorporated as a city.
In 1937, Margaret Mitchell won the Pulitzer Prize for her novel, “Gone with the Wind.”
In 1948, the Supreme Court, in Shelley v. Kraemer, ruled that covenants prohibiting the sale of real estate to Blacks or members of other racial groups were legally unenforceable.
In 1979, the Conservative Party ousted the incumbent Labour government in British parliamentary elections; Conservative leader Margaret Thatcher would become the first female U.K. prime minister the following day.
In 1986, riding the long shot Ferdinand, Bill Shoemaker became the oldest jockey to win the Kentucky Derby at age 54.
In 2003, the “Old Man of the Mountain,” a 40-foot (12-meter) -tall granite outcropping in Franconia, New Hampshire that bore the resemblance of a human face in profile, collapsed despite decades of preservation efforts.
In 2015, two gunmen were killed by a SWAT team in Garland, Texas, after they opened fire outside a purposely provocative contest for cartoon depictions of the Prophet Muhammad.
In 2016, in a stunning triumph for a political outsider, Donald Trump all but clinched the Republican presidential nomination with a resounding victory in the Indiana primary. (Trump would defeat Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton in November 2016 for his first presidential term.)
In 2021, an elevated overpass on a Mexico City metro line collapsed onto a road, killing 26 people and injuring dozens just as a subway train was crossing over the section. At least one car was trapped beneath the rubble.
In 2023, a 13-year-old student shot dead nine children and a school guard at a school in Belgrade, Serbia. The shooter was too young to face trial under Serbian law, but his parents, charged for failing to keep the weapons out of reach of their son, were convicted of child neglect (the boy's father also was convicted of “grave acts against public safety."
Today’s Birthdays: Singer Frankie Valli is 92. Singer Christopher Cross is 75. Actor Amy Ryan is 58. Actor Bobby Cannavale (ka-nuh-VAL’-ee) is 56. Music executive-entrepreneur Damon Dash is 55. Actor Christina Hendricks is 51. Actor Dule (doo-LAY’) Hill is 51. Country musician Eric Church is 49. Golfer Brooks Koepka is 36. Country singer Ella Langley is 27. Actor Rachel Zegler is 25. Soccer player Florian Wirtz is 23. Actor Maxwell Jenkins is 21.
Popular Reads
ABC News Live