1. On September 3, 1783, the Treaty of Paris was signed from which the American colonies were declared free and independent from British rule.

2. In 1838, a slave rebellion broke out in Southampton County, Virginia, led by Nat Turner, resulting in the deaths of around 60 white people before it was quelled by the militia.

3. On September 3, 1861, Confederate General Stonewall Jackson won the Battle of Chantilly, also known as the Second Battle of Ox Hill, against Union General John Pope during the American Civil War.

4. In 1939, Virginia-born lawyer and civil rights activist Oliver Hill became the first African American to be appointed to the Richmond City Council.

5. On September 3, 1969, Virginia Tech made history by becoming one of the first universities in the country to offer courses in African American studies, reflecting the growing awareness and demand for diversity and inclusion in higher education.