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Nuclear disaster at Three Mile Island

Born on This Day

Lady Gaga

1986 -

Oscar-winning songwriter, singer, actress and style icon with hits like "Poker Face" and "Born This Way."

Reba McEntire

1955 -

"Queen of Country" whose hits include "Whoever's in New England" and her cover of Bobbie Gentry's "Fancy."

Dirk Bogarde

1921 - 1999

English actor, WWII veteran and 1950s matinee idol who later moved to edgier films like "The Servant" and "Death in Venice."

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Reba McEntireWireImage

Dirk BogardeGetty Images

1944

MAR28

Swedish secretary Astrid Lindgren slips on the ice and sprains her ankle. Bedridden, she starts writing down stories she’d told her daughter about a fearless girl with carrot-colored pigtails and superhuman strength. Her name? Pippi Longstocking.

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Also on This Day in History

Discover more of the major events, famous births, notable deaths and everything else history-making that happened on March 28th

Funeral held for the man behind the guillotine

The funeral of Dr. Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, the namesake of the infamous execution device, takes place outside of Paris, France. Guillotin had what he felt were the purest motives for inventing the guillotine and was deeply distressed at how his reputation had become besmirched in the aftermath. Guillotin had bestowed the deadly contraption on the French as […]

Congress censures President Jackson

On March 28, 1834, President Andrew Jackson is censured by Congress for refusing to turn over documents. Jackson was the first president to suffer this formal disapproval from Congress. During his first term, Jackson decided to dismantle the Bank of the United States and find a friendlier source of funds for his western expansion plans. […]

Union forces halt Confederates at Battle of Glorieta Pass

On March 28, 1862, Union forces stop the Confederate invasion of New Mexico Territory when they turn the Rebels back at Glorieta Pass. This action was part of the broader movement by the Confederates to capture New Mexico and other parts of the West. This would secure territory that the Rebels thought was rightfully theirs […]

First American citizen killed during WWI

On March 28, 1915, the first American citizen is killed in the eight-month-old European conflict that would become known as the First World War. Leon Thrasher, a 31-year-old mining engineer and native of Massachusetts, drowned when a German submarine, the U-28, torpedoed the cargo-passenger ship Falaba, on its way from Liverpool to West Africa, off […]

Spanish Civil War ends

In Spain, the Republican defenders of Madrid raise the white flag over the city, bringing Francisco Franco to power and ending the fighting of the bloody three-year Spanish Civil War.

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W.C. Handy—the “Father of the Blues”—dies

W.C. Handy, one of the most important figures in 20th-century American popular music history, dies in New York City on March 28, 1958. As a composer, musician and a musicologist, he is best known for mainstreaming the Blues, helping to bring Black sounds to the forefront of American popular music. William Christopher Handy, born in […]

First star laid on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

On March 28, 1960, the first permanent star is laid in the Hollywood Walk of Fame, at the intersection of Hollywood and Gower. It honors film producer and director Stanley Kramer. Kramer initially earned his reputation producing films like High Noon and The Caine Mutiny, and for helping to launch Marlon Brando’s career. He later […]

President Eisenhower dies

Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th president of the United States and one of the most highly regarded American generals of World War II, dies in Washington, D.C., at the age of 78. Born in Denison, Texas, in 1890, Eisenhower graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1915, and after World War I he steadily […]

Baltimore Colts move to Indianapolis

On March 28, 1984, Bob Irsay (1923-1997), owner of the once-mighty Baltimore Colts, moves the team to Indianapolis. Without any sort of public announcement, Irsay hired movers to pack up the team’s offices in Owings Mills, Maryland, in the middle of the night, while the city of Baltimore slept. Robert Irsay gained control of the […]

Duke lacrosse team suspended following sexual assault allegations

Duke University officials suspend the men’s lacrosse team for two games following allegations that team members sexually assaulted a stripper hired to perform at a party. Three players were later charged with rape. The case became a national scandal, impacted by issues of race, politics and class. In April 2007, all charges against the young […]

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