March 28th in History

37 - Roman Emperor Caligula accepts the titles of the Principate, entitled to him by the Senate.


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.

1795 - Partitions of Poland: The Duchy of Courland and Semigallia, a northern fief of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, ceases to exist and becomes part of Imperial Russia.


1809 - Peninsular War: France defeats Spain in the Battle of Medelin.

1854 - Crimean War: France and Britain declare 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 stop the Confederate invasion of New Mexico territory. The battle began on March 26th.

1889 - The Yngsjö murder occurs in Yngsjö, Sweden and Anna Månsdotter is arrested along with her son.

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 after a three-year siege.

1942 - World War II: In occupied France, British naval forces successfully raid the German-occupied port of St. Nazaire.


1951 - First Indochina War: In the Battle of Mao Khe, French Union forces, led by World War II hero Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, inflict a defeat on Việt Minh forces commanded by General Võ Nguyên Giáp.

1959 - The State Council of the People's Republic of China dissolves the Government of Tibet.

1969 - The McGill français movement protest occurs, the second largest protest in Montreal's history with 10,000 trade unionists, leftist activists, CEGEP students, and even some McGill students at McGill's Roddick Gates. This led to the majority of the protesters getting arrested.


1979 - The British House of Commons passes a vote of no confidence against James Callaghan's government, precipitating a general election.

1990 - President George H. W. Bush posthumously awards Jesse Owens the Congressional Gold Medal.

1999 - Kosovo War: Serb paramilitary and military forces kill 146 Kosovo Albanians in the Izbica massacre.


2005 - The 2005 Sumatra earthquake rocks Indonesia, and at magnitude 8.7 is the fourth strongest earthquake since 1965.

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.

Famous Birthdays

1515 - St. Teresa of Ávila, Carmelite nun and saint

1569 - Ranuccio I Farnese, Duke of Parma

1613 - Empress Xiaozhuangwen of the Qing Dynasty

1819 - Sir Joseph Bazalgette, civil engineer

1892 - Corneille Heymans, physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate

1902 - Flora Robson, actress




1910 - Queen Ingrid of Denmark

1922 - Joey Maxim, boxer

1926 - Doña Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart, Duchess of Alba

1943 - Conchata Ferrell, actress

1948 - Milan Williams, musician

1956 - Susan Ershler, public speaker, author and climber of Mount Everest

1961 - Orla Brady, actress

1970 - Vince Vaughn, actor

1976 - Dave Keuning, guitar player

1985 - Stefano Ferrario, footballer

1986 - Lady Gaga, singer and songwriter

1988 - Lacey Turner, actress

1990 - Luca Marrone, footballer