1481 545 years ago Selected Events May 3 2 sources

The largest of a series of earthquakes struck the island of Rhodes, causing an estimated 30,000 casualties.

On May 3, in the year 1481, The largest of a series of earthquakes struck the island of Rhodes, causing an estimated 30,000 casualties. This event is recorded as a Selected Events event in the history of May 3, one of 381 recorded events on this date across all of history.

The 1481 Rhodes earthquake occurred at 3:00 in the morning on 3 May. It triggered a small tsunami, which caused local flooding. There were an estimated 30,000 fatalities. It was the largest of a series of earthquakes that affected Rhodes, starting on 15 March 1481, continuing until January 1482.

Key Facts

  • This event took place on May 3, 1481 (AD era).
  • It is categorised as a Selected Events event in recorded history.
  • Referenced in 2 Wikipedia articles.
  • The event is associated with a specific geographical location (see map below).
  • Wikipedia source last updated on 14 June 2025.

On This Date in History 381

Type Year Date Event
Notable Deaths 2024 May 3 Dick Rutan, American military aviator and officer (born 1938)
Historical Events 2023 May 3 Nine students and a security guard are killed in the Belgrade school shooting, the first attack of its kind in Serbia
Historical Events 2023 May 3 Ethnic violence breaks out between the Meitei and the Kuki Zo people in the state of Manipur
Historical Events 2021 May 3 Twenty-six people are killed and ninety-eight are injured after an elevated section of the Mexico City Metro collapses
Notable Deaths 2021 May 3 Lloyd Price, American R&B vocalist (born 1933)
Selected Events 2021 May 3 An elevated section of the Mexico City Metro collapsed, killing 26 people and injuring 98 others
Notable Deaths 2020 May 3 Victoria Barbă, Moldovan animated film director (born 1926)
Notable Deaths 2020 May 3 Dave Greenfield, English rock keyboardist (born 1949)
Notable Deaths 2017 May 3 Daliah Lavi, Israeli actress, singer and model (born 1942)
Historical Events 2016 May 3 Eighty-eight thousand people are evacuated from their homes in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada as a wildfire rips through
Notable Deaths 2016 May 3 Ian Deans, Canadian politician (born 1937)
Notable Deaths 2016 May 3 Jadranka Stojaković, Yugoslav singer-songwriter (born 1950)
Historical Events 2015 May 3 Two gunmen launch an attempted attack on an anti-Islam event in Garland, Texas, which was held in response to the Charli
Notable Deaths 2015 May 3 Revaz Chkheidze, Georgian director and screenwriter (born 1926)
Notable Deaths 2015 May 3 Danny Jones, Welsh rugby player (born 1986)
Notable Deaths 2015 May 3 Warren Smith, American golfer and coach (born 1915)
Notable Deaths 2014 May 3 Gary Becker, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1930)
Notable Deaths 2014 May 3 Francisco Icaza, Mexican painter (born 1930)
Notable Deaths 2014 May 3 Jim Oberstar, American educator and politician (born 1934)
Notable Deaths 2013 May 3 Joe Astroth, American baseball player (born 1922)
Notable Deaths 2013 May 3 Herbert Blau, American engineer and academic (born 1926)
Notable Deaths 2013 May 3 Cedric Brooks, Jamaican-American saxophonist and flute player (born 1943)
Notable Deaths 2013 May 3 Keith Carter, American swimmer and soldier (born 1924)
Notable Deaths 2013 May 3 Brad Drewett, Australian tennis player and sportscaster (born 1958)
Notable Deaths 2013 May 3 David Morris Kern, American pharmacist, co-invented Orajel (born 1909)
Notable Deaths 2013 May 3 Curtis Rouse, American football player (born 1960)
Notable Deaths 2013 May 3 Branko Vukelić, Croatian politician, 11th Minister of Defence for Croatia (born 1958)
Notable Deaths 2012 May 3 Jorge Illueca, Panamanian politician, 30th President of Panama (born 1918)
Notable Deaths 2012 May 3 Felix Werder, German-Australian composer, conductor, and critic (born 1922)
Notable Deaths 2011 May 3 Jackie Cooper, American actor, television director, producer and executive (born 1922)
Notable Deaths 2011 May 3 Sergo Kotrikadze, Georgian footballer and manager (born 1936)
Notable Deaths 2011 May 3 Thanasis Veggos, Greek actor and director (born 1927)
Notable Deaths 2010 May 3 Roy Carrier, American accordion player (born 1947)
Notable Deaths 2010 May 3 Peter O'Donnell, English soldier and author (born 1920)
Notable Deaths 2010 May 3 Guenter Wendt, German-American engineer (born 1923)
Notable Deaths 2009 May 3 Renée Morisset, Canadian pianist (born 1928)
Notable Deaths 2009 May 3 Ram Balkrushna Shewalkar, Indian author and critic (born 1931)
Notable Deaths 2008 May 3 Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo, Spanish engineer and politician, Prime Minister of Spain (born 1926)
Historical Events 2007 May 3 The three-year-old British girl Madeleine McCann disappears in Praia da Luz, Portugal, starting "the most heavily report
Notable Deaths 2007 May 3 Warja Honegger-Lavater, Swiss illustrator (born 1913)
Notable Deaths 2007 May 3 Wally Schirra, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (born 1923)
Notable Deaths 2007 May 3 Knock Yokoyama, Japanese politician (born 1932)
Selected Events 2007 May 3 Three-year-old British girl Madeleine McCann disappeared from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal; she has nev
Historical Events 2006 May 3 Armavia Flight 967 crashes into the Black Sea near Sochi International Airport in Sochi, Russia, killing 113 people
Notable Deaths 2006 May 3 Karel Appel, Dutch painter, sculptor, and poet (born 1921)
Notable Deaths 2006 May 3 Pramod Mahajan, Indian politician (born 1949)
Notable Deaths 2006 May 3 Earl Woods, American colonel, baseball player, and author (born 1932)
Notable Deaths 2004 May 3 Ken Downing, English race car driver (born 1917)
Notable Deaths 2004 May 3 Darrell Johnson, American baseball player, coach, and manager (born 1928)
Notable Births 2003 May 3 Florian Wirtz, German footballer

This article draws on content from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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