March 28

Events
Up to 1900
37 - Roman Emperor Caligula accepts the titles of the Principate, entitled to him by the Senate.
193 - Roman Emperor Pertinax was assassinated by Praetorian Guards, who then sold the throne in an auction to Didius Julianus.
364 - Roman Emperor Valentinian I appoints his brother Flavius Valens as co-Emperor.
845 - Paris is sacked by Viking raiders, probably under Ragnar Lodbrok, who collects a huge ransom in exchange for leaving.
1566 - The foundation stone is laid for Valletta, Malta, by Jean Parisot de Valette, Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.
1776 - Juan Bautista de Anza sails into San Francisco Bay and claims the nearby land for Spain.
1795 - Partitions of Poland: The Duchy of Courland, a northern fief of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, ceased to exist and became part of Imperial Russia.
1802 - Heinrich Wilhelm Matthaus Olbers discovers 2 Pallas, the second asteroid known to man.
1809 - Battle of Medellin, Colombia.
1814 - The Royal Navy defeats the United States Navy in the Battle of Valparaiso, Chile.
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.
1860 - First Taranaki War: The Battle of Waireka broke out.
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 officially created in Paris.
1883 - Tonkin Campaign: French victory in the Battle of Gia Cuc.
1889 - The Yngsjo murder occurs in Sweden, as Anna Mansdotter and her son are arrested for the crime.
1901 2000
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 Convention.
1915 - British passenger steamship Falaba is sunk by a German U-boat off Wales, killing 104 people, including the first American to die as a direct result of World War I.
1920 - Actors Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford marry.
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.
1947 - The last episode of the Buck Rogers in the 25th Century airs on radio.
1951 - First Indochina War: Battle of Mao Khe.
1959 - The State Council of the People's Republic of China dissolves the Government of Tibet.
1964 - The first British offshore pirate radio station, Radio Caroline, is established.
1964 - Tsunamis from the previous day's Good Friday earthquake strike along western coasts of North America, killing 107 people in Alaska, 11 in California and 4 in Oregon.
1965 - An earthquake causes a dam to break near the town of El Cobre, Chile, which is flooded, killing over 200 people.
1969 - Greek poet Giorgos Seferis makes his famous statement on the BBC World Service against the ruling junta in Greece.
1970 - An earthquake of magnitude 7.2 hits Gediz, Turkey, killing 1,086 people.
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 - The British House of Commons passes a vote of no confidence against Prime Minister James Callaghan's Labour Party government. A new election on May 3 results in Margaret Thatcher being elected Prime Minister.
1990 - President George H. W. Bush posthumously gives Jesse Owens the Congressional Gold Medal.
1994 - In South Africa, Zulus and African National Congress supporters battle in central Johannesburg resulting in eighteen deaths.
1997 - A rock fall in Afghanistan kills 380 people.
1999 - Kosovo War: Serbian paramilitary and military forces kill 146 Kosovo Albanians in the Izbica Massacre.
1999 - A magnitude 6.6 earthquake hits southwestern China and northern India, killing 100 people.
From 2001
2002 - The exhibit "The Italians: Three Centuries of Italian Art" opens at the National Gallery of Australia.
2005 - The 2005 Sumatran earthquake rocks Indonesia, and at magnitude 8.7 is the second strongest earthquake since 1965. It kills around 1,300 people, mainly on the island of Nias.
2006 - Strikes take place in France, in protest at the government proposition First Employment Contract. On the same day, strikes are also held across the United Kingdom.
2014 - It is announced that former Prime Minister of Norway Jens Stoltenberg will succeed Anders Fogh Rasmussen as Secretary-General of NATO on October 1 of the same year.
2017 - The Scottish Parliament, by a majority of 69 to 59, approves plans to hold a second referendum on Scottish independence.
2018 - It is revealed that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un travelled to Beijing to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping for talks.
2018 - A fire at a police station's cells in Valencia, Venezuela kills 78 people.
Births
Up to 1900
1472 - Fra Bartolommeo, Italian artist (d. 1517)
1496 - Mary Tudor, Queen of France (d. 1533)
1515 - Teresa of Avila, Spanish saint (d. 1582)
1522 - Albert the Warlike, Prince of Bayreuth (d. 1577)
1569 - Ranuccio I Farnese, Duke of Parma (d. 1622)
1592 - John Amos Comenius, Bohemian philosopher and theologian (d. 1670)
1613 - Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang of the Qing Dynasty of China (d. 1688)
1743 - Yekaterina Vorontsova-Dashkova, major figure in the Russian Enlightenment (d. 1810)
1749 - Pierre-Simon Laplace, French mathematician, physicist and astronomer (d. 1827)
1750 - Francisco de Miranda, Venezuelan revolutionary (d. 1816)
1760 - Thomas Clarkson, British abolitionist (d. 1846)
1773 - Henri Gatien Bertrand, French general (d. 1844)
1793 - Henry Schoolcraft, American explorer and ethnologist (d. 1864)
1811 - Saint John Nepomucene Neumann, Bohemian-born American bishop and Roman Catholic saint (d. 1860)
1815 - Arsene Houssaye, French novelist (d. 1896)
1818 - Wade Hampton III, Governor of South Carolina (d. 1902)
1819 - Joseph Bazalgette, English engineer (d. 1891)
1832 - Henry D. Washburn, American politician, general and explorer (d. 1871)
1840 - Emin Pasha, Ottoman-German naturalist and politician (d. 1892)
1847 - Gyula Farkas, Hungarian mathematician and physicist (d. 1930)
1851 - Bernardino Machado, President and Prime Minister of Portugal (d. 1944)
1862 - Aristide Briand, Prime Minister of France (d. 1932)
1868 - Maxim Gorky, Russian writer (d. 1936)
1878 - Herbert H. Lehman, Governor of New York (d. 1963)
1890 - Paul Whiteman, American bandleader and composer (d. 1967)
1892 - Corneille Heymans, Belgian doctor, won the 1938 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1968)
1894 - Ernst Lindemann, German captain (d. 1941)
1895 - Christian Herter, Governor of Massachusetts and United States Secretary of State (d. 1966)
1895 - Spencer W. Kimball, American Mormon leader (d. 1985)
1897 - Sepp Herberger, German football coach (d. 1977)
1899 - August Anheuser Busch, Jr., American brewer (d. 1989)
1899 - Harold B. Lee, American religious figure (d. 1973)
1901 1950
1903 - Rudolf Serkin, Austrian pianist (d. 1991)
1910 - Ingrid of Sweden, Queen Consort of Denmark (d. 2000)
1911 - J. L. Austin, British philosopher (d. 1960)
1912 - Marina Raskova, Soviet pilot (d. 1943)
1913 - Kazuo Taoka, Japanese crime boss (d. 1981)
1913 - Toko Shinoda, Japanese artist
1914 - Bohumil Hrabal, Czech writer (d. 1997)
1914 - Edmund Muskie, American politician, Governor of Maine and United States Secretary of State (d. 1996)
1917 - Claude Bertrand, Canadian neurosurgeon (d. 2014)
1921 - Dirk Bogarde, English actor (d. 1999)
1921 - Herschel Grynszpan, German-Jewish refugee and assassin (d. 1942)
1922 - Neville Bonner, Australian politician (d. 1999)
1922 - Theo Albrecht, German businessman (Aldi Nord) (d. 2010)
1923 - Paul C. Donnelly, American scientist and engineer (d. 2014)
1925 - Innokenty Smoktunovsky, Soviet-Russian actor (d. 1994)
1926 - Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart, 18th Duchess of Alba, Spanish noblewoman (d. 2014)
1926 - Yvon Taillandier, French artist, author and critic (d. 2018)
1927 - Theo Colborn, American zoologist (d. 2014)
1927 - Marianne Fredriksson, Swedish writer (d. 2007)
1928 - Zbigniew Brzezinski, Polish-American political scientist (d. 2017)
1928 - Alexander Grothendieck, German-French mathematician (d. 2014)
1930 - Jerome Isaac Friedman, American physicist
1930 - Robert Ashley, American composer
1931 - Anatoly Lein, Soviet-Russian-born American chess player (d. 2018)
1933 - Frank Murkowski, American politician, former Governor of Alaska
1933 - Juan Sandoval Iniguez, Archbishop of Guadalajara, Mexico
1935 - Frank Judd, Baron Judd, British politician
1935 - Michael Parkinson, British broadcaster
1936 - Mario Vargas Llosa, Peruvian writer and politician
1936 - Amancio Ortega, Spanish businessman
1936 - Zdenek Sverak, Czech actor
1940 - Luis Cubilla, Uruguayan footballer (d. 2013)
1941 - Alf Clausen, American orchestra conductor
1942 - Daniel Dennett, American philosopher
1942 - Neil Kinnock, British politician, former leader of the Labour Party
1942 - Mike Newell, British director
1942 - Kitanofuji Katsuaki, Japanese sumo wrestler
1942 - Conrad Schumann, East German border guard (d. 1998)
1942 - Jerry Sloan, American basketball player and coach
1943 - Richard Eyre, English director, producer and screenwriter
1944 - Rick Barry, American basketball player
1944 - Ken Howard, American actor (d. 2016)
1945 - Rodrigo Duterte, President of the Philippines
1946 - Alejandro Toledo, former President of Peru
1946 - Wubbo Ockels, Dutch physicist and astronaut (d. 2014)
1946 - Henry Paulson, American politician
1948 - Dianne Wiest, American actress
1948 - John Evan, British musician (Jethro Tull)
1949 - Josephine Chaplin, American actress
1949 - Kevin Lloyd, British actor (d. 1998)
1951 1975
1952 - Tony Brise, English racing driver (d. 1975)
1953 - Melchior Ndadaye, Burundian politician (d. 1993)
1955 - Reba McEntire, American singer and actress
1955 - John Alderdice, Baron Alderdice, Northern Irish politician
1956 - Evelin Jahl, German athlete
1956 - April Margera, American television personality
1959 - Laura Chinchilla, former President of Costa Rica
1960 - Jose Antonio Alonso, Spanish politician (d. 2017)
1960 - Jose Maria Neves, Prime Minister of Cape Verde
1961 - Orla Brady, Irish actress
1961 - Byron Scott, American basketball player and coach
1962 - Jure Franko, Slovenian skier
1963 - Nina Ananiashvili, Georgian prima ballerina
1966 - Cheryl James, American rapper and actress
1967 - John Ziegler, American radio host
1968 - Nasser Hussain, English cricketer
1968 - Tim Lovejoy, English television presenter
1969 - Ilke Wyludda, German discus thrower
1969 - Laurie Brett, Scottish actress
1970 - Michelle Gildernew, Northern Irish politician
1970 - Vince Vaughn, American actor
1971 - Sayeeda Warsi, Baroness Warsi, British solicitor and politician
1972 - Nick Frost, British actor
1973 - Eddie Fatu, Samoan-American professional wrestler (d. 2009)
1973 - Scott Mills, British radio presenter
1975 - Kate Gosselin, American television personality
1975 - Ivan Helguera, Spanish footballer
1975 - Richard Kelly, American director and screenwriter
From 1976
1976 - Dave Keuning, American guitarist (The Killers)
1976 - Stephen Gethins, Scottish politician
1977 - Erik Rasmussen, American ice hockey player
1979 - Crystal Cox, American athlete
1980 - Albert Streit, German footballer
1981 - Julia Stiles, American actress
1982 - Luis Tejada, Panamanian footballer
1984 - Christopher Samba, Congolese footballer
1984 - Nikki Sanderson, British actress and model
1985 - Stanislas Wawrinka, Swiss tennis player
1986 - Lady Gaga, American singer
1986 - Bowe Bergdahl, American sergeant
1986 - Amaia Salamanca, Spanish actress
1988 - Lacey Turner, English actress
1989 - David Goodwillie, Scottish footballer
1990 - Luca Marrone, Italian footballer
1990 - Ekaterina Bobrova, Russian ice dancer
1991 - Marie-Philip Poulin, Canadian ice hockey player
1991 - Amy Bruckner, American actress and singer
1991 - Hoya, South Korean singer and actor
1992 - Sergi Gomez, Spanish footballer
1994 - Jackson Wang, South Korean singer, dancer and model
1995 - Jonathan Drouin, Canadian ice hockey player
Deaths
Up to 1900
193 - Pertinax, Roman Emperor (b. 126)
1072 - Ordulf, Duke of Saxony
1239 - Emperor Go-Toba of Japan (b. 1180)
1241 - King Valdemar II of Denmark (b. 1170)
1552 - Guru Angad Dev, Indian Sikh Guru (b. 1504)
1584 - Tsar Ivan IV of Russia (Ivan the Terrible) (b. 1530)
1687 - Constantijn Huygens, Dutch poet and composer (b. 1596)
1794 - Marquis de Condorcet, French mathematician and philosopher (b. 1743)
1818 - Antonio Capuzzi, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1755)
1850 - Gerard Brandon, Governor of Mississippi (b. 1788)
1866 - Solomon Foot, American lawyer and politician (b. 1802)
1881 - Modest Mussorgsky, Russian composer (b. 1839)
1884 - Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany (b. 1853)
1901 2000
1908 - Hermann Clemenz, Estonian chess player (b. 1846)
1928 - Nathan Stubblefield, American inventor (b. 1860)
1929 - Katharine Lee Bates, American poet and songwriter (b. 1859)
1929 - Lomar Gouin, 13th Premier of Quebec (b. 1861)
1934 - Mahmoud Mokhtar, Egyptian sculptor (b. 1891)
1937 - Karol Szymanowksi, Polish pianist and composer (b. 1882)
1941 - Virginia Woolf, English feminist writer (b. 1882)
1942 - Miguel Hernandez, Spanish poet (b. 1910)
1943 - Sergei Rachmaninoff, Russian composer and pianist (b. 1873)
1953 - Jim Thorpe, American athlete (b. 1887)
1958 - W. C. Handy, American blues musician and composer (b. 1873)
1965 - Clemence Dane, British novelist and playwright (b. 1888)
1969 - Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th President of the United States (b. 1890)
1974 - Arthur Crudup, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1905)
1974 - Dorothy Fields, American librettist and lyricist (b. 1905)
1975 - Ernst Fraenkel, German-American jurist (b. 1898)
1977 - Eric Shipton, British explorer and mountain climber (b. 1907)
1979 - Emmett Kelly, American clown (b. 1898)
1980 - Dick Haymes, Argentine-American actor and singer (b. 1918)
1982 - William Giauque, Canadian chemist (b. 1895)
1985 - Marc Chagall, Russian-born painter (b. 1887)
1987 - Maria von Trapp, Austrian singer (b. 1905)
1987 - Patrick Troughton, British actor (b. 1920)
1994 - Eugene Ionescu, Romanian-born playwright (b. 1909)
1996 - Shin Kanemaru, Japanese politician (b. 1914)
2000 - Anthony Powell, British novelist (b. 1905)
From 2001
2004 - Peter Ustinov, British actor (b. 1921)
2006 - Caspar Weinberger, American politician (b. 1917)
2009 - Janet Jagan, American-born President of Guyana (b. 1920)
2010 - Herb Ellis, American musician (b. 1921)
2010 - June Havoc, Canadian-American actress (b. 1912)
2011 - Wenche Foss, Norwegian actress (b. 1917)
2012 - Alexander Arutunian, Armenian composer (b. 1920)
2012 - Earl Scruggs, American musician (b. 1924)
2013 - Richard Griffiths, British actor (b. 1947)
2013 - Boris Strel, Slovenian skier (b. 1959)
2014 - Jeremiah Denton, American politician and admiral (b. 1924)
2014 - Edwin Kagin, American lawyer (b. 1940)
2014 - Lorenzo Semple Jr., American screenwriter (b. 1923)
2015 - Miroslav Ondricek, Czech cinematographer (b. 1934)
2015 - Gene Saks, American director (b. 1921)
2015 - Richard L. Bare, American director, producer and screenwriter (b. 1913)
2016 - Daan Myngheer, Belgian cyclist (b. 1993)
2016 - James Noble, American actor (b. 1922)
2017 - Infanta Alicia, Duchess of Calabria (b. 1917)
2017 - Ahmed Kathrada, South African anti-Apartheid activist and politician (b. 1929)
2017 - Christine Kaufmann, Austrian-German actress (b. 1945)
2017 - William McPherson, American journalist, author and critic (b. 1933)
2017 - Janine Sutto, French-born Canadian actress (b. 1921)
2017 - Enn Vetemaa, Estonian writer (b. 1936)
2018 - Peter Munk, Hungarian-born Canadian businessman (b. 1927)
2018 - Eugene Van Roosbroeck, Belgian racing cyclist (b. 1928)
Observances
Serfs Emancipation Day (Tibet)
Teachers' Day (Czech Republic of Slovakia)
Days of the year