Portal:United States/Anniversaries/January/January 3
- 1823 – Stephen F. Austin receives a grant of land in Texas from the government of Mexico.
- 1870 – The construction of the Brooklyn Bridge begins.
- 1888 – The James Lick telescope (pictured), a refracting telescope at the Lick Observatory in San Jose, California, is used for the first time. It was the largest refracting telescope in the world at the time.
- 1938 – The March of Dimes is established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
- 1957 – The Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch.
- 1959 – Alaska is admitted as the 49th U.S. State.