March 28
is the
87th day of the year in the
Gregorian Calendar (88th in
leap years).
*
193 -
Roman Emperor Pertinax is
assassinated by
Praetorian Guards, who then sell the throne in an
auction to
Didius Julianus.
*
364 -
Roman Emperor Valentinian I appoints his brother
Flavius Valens co-
emperor.
*
845 -
Paris is sacked by
Viking raiders, probably under
Ragnar Lodbrok, who collects a huge ransom in exchange for leaving.
*
1776 -
Juan Bautista de Anza finds the site for the
Presidio of San Francisco.
*
1794 - Allies under the
prince of
Coburg defeated
French forces at
Le Cateau.
*
1795 -
Partitions of Poland: The
Duchy of
Courland, a northern
fief of the
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, ceases to exist and becomes part of
Imperial Russia.
*
1802 -
Heinrich Wilhelm Matthäus Olbers discovers
2 Pallas, the second
asteroid known to man.
*
1809 -
Peninsular War: In the
Battle of Medelin the France defeats Spain.
*
1834 - The
United States Senate censures
President Andrew Jackson for his actions in defunding the
Second Bank of the United States.
*
1854 -
Crimean War:
France declares war on
Russia.
*
1860 -
First Taranaki War: The
Battle of Waireka begins.
*
1862 -
American Civil War:
Battle of Glorieta Pass - In
New Mexico,
Union forces succeed in stopping the
Confederate invasion of
New Mexico territory. The battle began on
March 26.
*
1871 - The
Paris Commune is formally established in
Paris.
*
1910 -
Henri Fabre becomes the first person to fly a
seaplane after taking off from a water runway near
Martigues,
France.
*
1913 -
Guatemala becomes a signatory to the
Buenos Aires copyright treaty.
*
1930 -
Constantinople and
Angora change their names to
Istanbul and
Ankara.
*
1939 -
Spanish Civil War:
Generalissimo Francisco Franco conquers
Madrid.
*
1941 -
World War II:
Battle of Cape Matapan - In the
Mediterranean Sea,
British Admiral Andrew Browne Cunningham leads the
Royal Navy in the destruction of three major
Italian battleships and two destroyers.
*
1942 -
World War II: In occupied
France,
British naval forces raid the
German-occupied port of
St. Nazaire.
*
1946 -
Cold War: The
United States State Department releases the
Acheson-Lilienthal Report, outlining a plan for the international control of
nuclear power.
*
1978 -
US Supreme Court hands down 5-3 decision in
Stump v. Sparkman, 435 U.S. 349, a controversial case involving involuntary
sterilization and judicial
immunity.
*
1979 - In
Pennsylvania, a pump in the reactor cooling system fails at
Three Mile Island, resulting in the evaporation of some contaminated water causing a
nuclear meltdown.
* 1979 -
British Prime Minister James Callaghan, is defeated by one vote in a
Motion of No Confidence. This results in
Parliament being dissolved in order to make way for a forthcoming
General Election.
*
1990 -
President George H. W. Bush posthumously awards
Jesse Owens the
Congressional Gold Medal.
*
1994 - In
South Africa,
Zulus and
African National Congress supporters battle in central
Johannesburg, resulting in 18 deaths.
*
2005 - The
2005 Sumatran earthquake rocks
Indonesia, and at magnitude 8.7 is the second strongest earthquake since
1960.
*
2006 - At least 1 million union members, students and unemployed take to the streets in
France in protest at the government's proposed
First Employment Contract law.
*
1472 -
Fra Bartolommeo, Italian artist (d.
1517)
*
1496 -
Mary Tudor, queen consort of
Louis XII of France (d.
1533)
*
1515 - Saint
Teresa of Avila, Spanish Carmelite nun and poet (d.
1582)
*
1522 -
Albert the Warlike, Prince of Bayreuth (d.
1557)
*
1569 -
Ranuccio I Farnese, Duke of Parma (d.
1622)
*
1592 -
Comenius, Czech bishop of Unity of the Brethren (d.
1670)
*
1599 -
Witte Corneliszoon de With, Dutch naval officer (d.
1658)
*
1609 - King
Frederick III of Denmark (d.
1670)
*
1725 -
Andrew Kippis, English non-conformist clergyman and biographer (d.
1795)
*
1760 -
Thomas Clarkson, American abolitionist (d.
1846)
*
1773 -
Henri Gratien, Comte Bertrand, French general (d.
1844)
*
1819 - Sir
Joseph Bazalgette, English civil engineer (d.
1891)
*
1851 -
Bernardino Machado, Portuguese President (d.
1944)
*
1862 -
Aristide Briand, French politician, recipient of the
Nobel Peace Prize (d.
1932)
*
1868 -
Maxim Gorky, Russian author (d.
1936)
*
1871 -
Willem Mengelberg, Dutch conductor (d.
1951)
*
1890 -
Paul Whiteman, American bandleader (d.
1967)
*
1892 -
Corneille Heymans, Belgian physiologist,
Nobel Prize laureate (d.
1968)
*
1895 -
Spencer W. Kimball, president of
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (d.
1985)
*
1897 -
Sepp Herberger, German football coach (d.
1977)
*
1899 -
Harold B. Lee, president of
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (d.
1973)
*
1902 - Dame
Flora Robson, English actress (d.
1984)
* 1902 -
Jaromír Vejvoda, Czech composer (d.
1988)
*
1903 -
Rudolf Serkin, Austrian pianist (d.
1991)
* 1903 -
Charles Starrett, American actor (d.
1986)
*
1905 -
Marlin Perkins, American naturalist and television host (d.
1986)
*
1909 -
Nelson Algren, American writer (d.
1981)
*
1910 -
Frederick Baldwin Adams, Jr. Bibliophile and director of the Pierpont Morgan Library (d.
2001)
* 1910 -
Jimmie Dodd, American television actor (d.
1964)
* 1910 -
Queen Ingrid of Denmark (d.
2000)
*
1914 -
Edmund Muskie, American politician (d.
1996)
*
1915 -
Jay Livingston, American composer and songwriter (d.
2001)
*
1921 -
Dirk Bogarde, English actor (d.
1999)
*
1924 -
Freddie Bartholomew, Irish actor (d.
1992)
*
1928 -
Zbigniew Brzezinski, U.S. National Security Advisor
*
1930 -
Jerome Isaac Friedman, American physicist,
Nobel Prize laureate
*
1935 -
Michael Parkinson, English broadcaster and talk show host
*
1936 -
Mario Vargas Llosa, Peruvian author and politician
*
1941 -
Jim Turner, American football player
*
1942 -
Conrad Schumann, East German border guard (d.
1998)
* 1942 -
Jerry Sloan, American basketball coach
* 1942 -
Mike Newell, English film director
* 1942 -
Neil Kinnock, British statesman
*
1944 -
Rick Barry, American basketball player
* 1944 -
Ken Howard, American actor
*
1946 -
Alejandro Toledo,
President of Peru* 1946 -
Wubbo Ockels, Dutch physicist and astronaut
*
1948 -
Dianne Wiest, American actress
*
1951 -
Karen Kain, Canadian ballerina
*
1953 -
Melchior Ndadaye, first
President of Burundi (d.
1993)
*
1954 -
Morris Mason, American rapist and murderer (d.
1985)
*
1955 -
John Alderdice, Northern Irish politician
* 1955 -
Reba McEntire, American singer and actress
*
1956 -
April Margera,
Bam Margera's mother
*
1958 -
Curt Hennig, American professional wrestler (d.
2003)
* 1958 -
Elisabeth Andreassen, Scandinavian singer
*
1959 -
Chris Myers, American radio host/sportscaster
*
1960 -
Chris Barrie, British actor
*
1961 -
Byron Scott, American basketball player
*
1962 -
Jure Franko, Slovenian skier
*
1965 -
Steve Bull, English footballer
*
1968 -
Iris Chang, American author (d.
2004)
* 1968 -
Nasser Hussain, English cricketer
*
1970 -
Vince Vaughn, American actor
*
1971 -
Mr. Cheeks, American rapper
*
1973 -
Eddie Fatu, Samoan professional wrestler
*
1974 -
Mark King, English snooker player
* 1974 -
Scott Mills, British radio disc jockey
*
1975 -
Richard Kelly, American film director
*
1976 -
David Keuning, American guitar player (
The Killers)
*
1977 -
Devon, American pornographic actress
*
1980 -
Luke Walton, basketball player
*
1981 -
Julia Stiles, American actress
*
1983 -
Ryan Ashington, English footballer
*
1984 -
Nikki Sanderson, British actress and model
*
1988 -
Lacey Turner, British Soap Actress
*
1991 -
Amy Bruckner, American actress
*
193 -
Pertinax,
Roman Emperor (assassinated) (b.
126)
*
1239 -
Emperor Go-Toba of Japan (b.
1180)
*
1285 -
Pope Martin IV*
1563 -
Heinrich Glarean, Swiss music theorist (b.
1488)
*
1566 -
Sigismund von Herberstein, Austrian diplomat and historian (b.
1486)
*
1677 -
Václav Hollar, Czech-born actor (b.
1607)
*
1687 -
Constantijn Huygens, Dutch poet and composer (b.
1596)
*
1794 -
Marquis de Condorcet, French mathematician, philosopher, and political scientist (b.
1743)
*
1868 -
James Thomas Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan, British military leader (b.
1797)
*
1870 -
George Henry Thomas, American general (b.
1816)
*
1881 -
Modest Mussorgsky, Russian composer (b.
1839)
*
1910 -
David Josiah Brewer, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (b.
1837)
* 1910 -
Edouard Judas Colonne, French violinist (b.
1838)
*
1941 -
Virginia Woolf, English feminist writer (b.
1882)
*
1942 -
Miguel Hernández, Spanish poet, death in prison (b.
1910)
*
1943 -
Sergei Rachmaninoff, Russian composer and pianist (b.
1873)
*
1946 -
Chick Fullis, baseball player (b.
1904)
*
1947 -
Karol Świerczewski, Polish general (b.
1897)
*
1949 -
Grigoraş Dinicu, Romanian composer and violinist (b.
1889)
*
1953 -
Jim Thorpe, American athlete (b.
1887)
*
1958 -
W.C. Handy, American composer (b.
1873)
*
1965 -
Jack Hoxie, American actor, rodeo performer (b.
1885)
*
1969 -
Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th
President of the United States (b.
1890)
*
1978 -
Dino Ciani, Italian pianist (d.
1941)
*
1979 -
Emmett Kelly, American clown (b.
1898)
*
1980 -
Dick Haymes, Argentine-born singer (b.
1918)
*
1982 -
William Giauque, Canadian chemist,
Nobel Prize laureate (b.
1895)
*
1985 -
Marc Chagall, Russian-born painter (b.
1887)
*
1987 -
Maria von Trapp, Austrian-born singer (b.
1905)
* 1987 -
Patrick Troughton, British actor (b.
1920)
*
1995 -
Hugh O'Connor, American actor (b.
1962)
*
1999 -
Freaky Tah, American Rapper, member of the group
Lost Boyz*
2000 -
Anthony Powell, British novelist (b.
1905)
*
2001 -
Moe Koffman, Canadian musician (b.
1928)
*
2004 -
Art James, American game show host (b.
1929)
* 2004 -
Peter Ustinov, British actor (b.
1921)
*
2006 -
Caspar Weinberger,
United States Secretary of Defense (b.
1917)
* 2006 -
Charles Schepens, American ophthalmologist and member of the
French Resistance (b.
1912)
*
Slovakia,
Czech Republic -
Teachers' Day.
Liturgical feasts
*
Saint Castor *
Saint Gontram (died 592)
*
Saint Malchus*
Saint Priscus*
Saint Sixtus III*
BBC: On This Day*
Today in History: March 28March 27 -
March 29 -
February 28 -
April 28 --
listing of all days
