March 28

Events

• 845 - Paris is sacked by Viking raiders, probably under Ragnar Lodbrok, who collect a huge ransom in exchange for leaving
• 1776 - Juan Bautista de Anza finds the site for the Presidio of San Francisco.
• 1834 - The United States Senate censures President Andrew Jackson for his actions in defunding the Second Bank of the United States
• 1854 - Crimean War: United Kingdom and France declare war on Russia
• 1862 - American Civil War: Battle of Glorieta Pass - In New Mexico Union forces succeed in stoping the Confederate invasion of New Mexico territory. The battle began on March 26.
• 1910 - Henri Fabre[?] becomes the first person to fly a seaplane[?] after taking off from a water runway near Martinques[?], France.
• 1930 - Constantinople and Angora change their names to Istanbul and Ankara
• 1939 - Spanish Civil War: Generalissimo Francisco Franco conquers Madrid, ending the war
• 1942 - World War II: In occupied France, United Kingdom naval forces raid the German-occupied port of St. Nazaire[?].
• 1964 - The first pirate radio station, Radio Caroline, is established.
• 1979 - In Pennsylvania, a pump in the reactor cooling system fails at Three Mile Island, resulting in the evaporation of some contaminated water and almost causing a nuclear meltdown.
• 1990 - President George H. W. Bush presents Jesse Owens with the Congressional Gold Medal.
• 1994 - In South Africa, Zulus and African National Congress supporters battle in central Johannesburg killing 18.
• 2002 - The exhibit "The Italians: Three Centuries of Italian Art" opens at the National Gallery of Australia.

Births

• 1609 - King Frederick III of Denmark (+ 1670)
• 1862 - Aristide Briand, politician, winner of the Nobel Prize in peace 1926 (+ 1932)
• 1868 - Maxim Gorky, author (+ 1936)
• 1890 - Paul Whiteman, bandleader
• 1897 - Sepp Herberger[?], football coach (+ 1977)
• 1902 - Dame Flora Robson, actress (+ 1984)
• 1904 - Werner Bahlsen[?], biscuit[?] producer (+ 1985)
• 1905 - Marlin Perkins[?], naturalist, television host (+ 1986)
• 1921 - Dirk Bogarde, actor (+ 1999)
• 1924 - Freddie Bartholomew[?], actor (+ 1992)
• 1928 - Zbigniew Brzezinski, National security advisor[?]
• 1936 - Mario Vargas Llosa, author and politician
• 1955 - Reba McEntire, country music singer, actress
• 1970 - Vince Vaughn[?], actor

Deaths

• 193 - Pertinax, Roman Emperor (assassination)
• 1794 - Marquis de Condorcet, mathematician, philosopher, and political scientist
• 1814 - Joseph-Ignace Guillotin[?], inventor of the guillotine
• 1868 - James Thomas Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan, British military leader
• 1870 - George Henry Thomas, American general
• 1881 - Modest Mussorgsky, Russian composer
• 1914 - Edmund Muskie[?], United States politician (+ 1996)
• 1941 - Virginia Woolf, writer
• 1943 - Sergei Rachmaninov, composer and pianist
• 1944 - Rick Barry[?], basketball star
• 1948 - Dianne Wiest[?], actress
• 1953 - Jim Thorpe, athlete
• 1958 - W.C. Handy - Blues composer
• 1969 - Dwight D. Eisenhower, US General of the Army, 34th President of the United States
• 1979 - Emmett Kelly, clown
• 1987 - Maria von Trapp[?], singer
• 1994 - Eugène Ionesco, playwright
• 2000 - Anthony Powell, British novelist

Holidays and observances

March 27 - March 29 - February 28 - April 28 -- listing of all days

January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December