History of 28 March
1903 – Anatole France’s “Crainquebille” premiered in Paris.
1905 – The U.S. took full control over Dominican revenues.
1908 – Automobile owners lobbied the U.S. Congress, supporting a bill that called for vehicle licensing and federal registration.
1910 – The first seaplane took off from water at Martinques, France. The pilot was Henri Fabre.
1911 – In New York, suffragists performed the political play “Pageant of Protest.”
1917 – During World War I the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) was founded.
1921 – U.S. President Warren Harding named William Howard Taft as chief justice of the United States Supreme Court.
1922 – Bradley A. Fiske patented a microfilm reading device.
1930 – Constantinople and Angora changed their names to Istanbul and Ankara respectively.
1933 – In Germany, the Nazis ordered a ban on all Jews in businesses, professions, and schools.
1938 – In Italy, psychiatrists demonstrated the use of electric-shock therapy for the treatment of certain mental illnesses.
1939 – The Spanish Civil War ended as Madrid fell to Francisco Franco.
1941 – The Italian fleet was defeated by the British at the Battle of Matapan.
1942 – British naval forces raided the Nazi-occupied French port of St. Nazaire.
1945 – Germany launched the last of the V-2 rockets against England.
1947 – The American Helicopter Society revealed a flying device that could be strapped to a person’s body.
1962 – The U.S. Air Force announced research into the use of lasers to intercept missiles and satellites.
1963 – Sonny Werblin announced that the New York Titans of the American Football League was changing its name to the New York Jets. (NFL)
1967 – Raymond Burr starred in a TV movie titled “Ironside.” The movie was later turned into a television series.
1968 – The U.S. lost its first F-111 aircraft in Vietnam when it vanished while on a combat mission. North Vietnam claimed that they had shot it down.
1974 – A streaker ran onto the set of “The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson.”
1979 – A major accident occurred at Pennsylvania’s Three Mile Island nuclear power plant. A nuclear power reactor overheated and suffered a partial meltdown.
1981 – In Bangkok, Thailand, Indonesian terrorists hijacked an airplane. Four of the five terrorists were killed on March 31.
1986 – The U.S. Senate passed $100 million aid package for the Nicaraguan Contras.
1986 – More than 6,000 radio stations of all format varieties played “We are the World” simultaneously at 10:15 a.m. EST.
1990 – Jesse Owens received the Congressional Gold Medal from U.S. President George H.W. Bush.
1990 – In Britain, a joint Anglo-U.S. “sting” operation ended with the seizure of 40 capacitors, which can be used in the trigger mechanism of a nuclear weapon.
1991 – The U.S. embassy in Moscow was severely damaged by fire.
1994 – Violence between Zulus and African National Congress supporters took the lives of 18 in Johannesburg.
1999 – Paraguay’s President Raúl Cubas Grau resigned after protests inspired by the assassination of Vice-President Luis María Argaña on March 23. The nation’s Congress had accused Cubas and his political associate, Gen. Lino César Oviedo, for Cubas’ murder. Senate President Luis González Macchi took office as Paraguay’s new chief executive.
2002 – The exhibit “The Italians: Three Centuries of Italian Art” opened at the National Gallery of Australia.
2010 – China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. signed a deal to buy Ford Motor Co.’s Volvo car unit.
Celebrating Birthday Today
- 1981 – Lindsay Frimodt, American fashion model
- 1981 – Edwar Ramírez, American baseball player
- 1981 – Julia Stiles, American actress
- 1983 – Ladji Doucouré, French sprinter and hurdler
- 1984 – Shakib Khan, Bangladeshi actor
- 1984 – Christopher Samba, Congolese footballer
- 1984 – Nikki Sanderson, English actress
- 1985 – Stefano Ferrario, Italian footballer
- 1985 – Sauli Koskinen, Finnish TV host, and entertainer
- 1985 – Steve Mandanda, French footballer
- 1985 – Stanislas Wawrinka, a Swiss tennis player
- 1986 – Bowe Bergdahl, American sergeant[
- 1986 – Lady Gaga, American singer-songwriter, dancer, producer, and actress
- 1986 – J-Kwon, American rapper
- 1986 – Amaia Salamanca, Spanish actress
- 1986 – Barbora Strycova, a Czech tennis player
- 1987 – Jean-Paul Adela, Seychellois footballer
- 1987 – Yohan Benalouane, French-Tunisian footballer
- 1987 – Simeon Jackson, Canadian soccer player
- 1987 – Kagney Linn Karter, American pornographic actress
- 1987 – Yotam Solomon, Israeli/American fashion designer
- 1987 – Mary Kate Wiles, American actress
- 1988 – Ryan Kalish, American baseball player
- 1988 – Lacey Turner, English actress
- 1989 – Afrikan Boy, English rapper
- 1989 – David Goodwillie, Scottish footballer
- 1989 – Lukas Jutkiewicz, English footballer
- 1989 – Mira Leung, Canadian figure skater
- 1989 – Marek Suchy, Czech footballer
- 1990 – Michail Antonio, English footballer
- 1990 – Joe Bennett, English footballer
- 1990 – Zac Clarke, Australian footballer
- 1990 – Laura Harrier, American actress
- 1990 – Zoella (Zoe Sugg), English Youtuber
- 1991 – Amy Bruckner, American actress
- 1991 – Derek Carr, American footballer
- 1991 – Lisa-Maria Moser, an Austrian tennis player
- 1991 – Marie-Philip Poulin, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1991 – Ondřej Palát, Czech ice hockey player
- 1992 – Sergi Gómez, Spanish footballer
- 1992 – Lucho Ayala, Filipino actor
- 1994 – Jackson Wang, Hong Kong rapper (GOT7)
- 1995 – Jonathan Drouin, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1996 – Matt Renshaw, English-Australian cricketer
- 1997 – Annabelle Davis, English actress