On This Day - 3rd June
1162
Thomas à Becket was
consecrated as Archbishop of Canterbury.
1657The death of William Harvey,
the English physician who described the circulation of the blood.
1665James Stuart, Duke of York
(later to become King James II of England) defeated the Dutch fleet off the
coast of Lowestoft.
1726The birth of James Hutton,
Scottish physician and geologist who wrote Theory of the Earth in 1785,
which became the basis of modern geology.
1739The opening of the first
Methodist Chapel in Britain - in Bristol.
1839In Humen, (China) 1.2 million
kg of opium were confiscated from British merchants, providing Britain with
a justification to open hostilities, resulting in the First Opium War.
1865The birth of George V, King of
England from 1910 to 1936 who married Princess May of Teck (Queen Mary) in
1893. He ruled during the First World War and changed the family name from
Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor in 1917.
1899English cricket captain
W.G.Grace became the first man to play Test cricket beyond the age of 50.
He played his last game against Australia aged 50 and 320 days at Trent
Bridge in Nottingham.
1931The Baird Company televised the
Epsom Derby, which was transmitted by the BBC.
1937The Duke of Windsor, (the
abdicated King Edward VIII), married American divorcee Mrs Wallis Simpson,
privately in a château near Tours, France.
1940World War II: The Battle of
Dunkirk ended with a German victory and with Allied forces in full
retreat.
1967 The death of Arthur Ransome,
author best known for writing the Swallows and Amazons series of children's
books. The east shore of Coniston Water in the Lake District (see 
picture) inspired Arthur Ransome and was used as a location in the 2016 film adaptation of his book.
1971The London opening of "No
Sex Please, We're British" starring Michael Crawford. It became the
longest-running comedy in theatre history before closing on 5th September,
1987.
1978The Guiness Book of Records
entered the record books as the most-stolen book from British
libraries.
1981Shergar won the Epsom Derby by
a record 10 lengths.
1992The death of Robert Morley,
(CBE) the English actor who was usually cast as a pompous English gentleman
representing the Establishment.
1996The High Court awarded
compensation to a total of 14 police officers traumatised by the 1989
Hillsborough football stadium disaster when 96 fans were killed in a crush
during an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. On
26th April 2016 The jury of 9 in the Hillsborough Inquest reached a verdict
that vindicated the bereaved families who had fought for 27 years against
South Yorkshire police claims that misbehaving supporters caused the
disaster, as well as against the 1991 verdict of accidental death. The
Hillsborough inquest started on 31st March 2014 and was the longest in
British legal history.
2012 The Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant took place on the Tideway of the River Thames, as part of the celebrations of the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. Despite the cold, wet weather, 670 boats took part, including military, commercial and pleasure craft. According to Guinness World Records, it was the largest ever parade of boats, surpassing the previous record of 327 vessels set in Bremerhaven, Germany, in 2011. Sailing vessels (including the Matthew, see 
picture, a replica of a Tudor merchant ship from Bristol) and others too tall to pass under the bridges were moored as an 'Avenue of Sail' downstream of London Bridge. British media organisations estimated that one million spectators watched from the banks of the Thames.
2017 Eight people were killed and forty eight were injured in terrorist attacks when a van was deliberately driven into pedestrians on London Bridge. The three terrorists then carried out a stabbing spree in nearby pubs and restaurants before being shot dead by the police.