By: HISTORY.com Editors

1915

First American citizen killed during WWI

Published: November 16, 2009Last Updated: January 30, 2025

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 the coast of England. Of the 242 passengers and crew on board the Falaba, 104 drowned. Thrasher, who was employed on the Gold Coast in British West Africa, was returning to his post there from England as a passenger on the ship.

The Germans claimed that the submarine’s crew had followed all protocol when approaching the Falaba, giving the passengers ample time to abandon ship and firing only when British torpedo destroyers began to approach to give aid to the Falaba. The British official press report of the incident claimed that the Germans had acted improperly: It is not true that sufficient time was given the passengers and the crew of this vessel to escape. The German submarine closed in on the Falaba, ascertained her name, signaled her to stop, and gave those on board five minutes to take to the boats. It would have been nothing short of a miracle if all the passengers and crew of a big liner had been able to take to their boats within the time allotted.

The sinking of the Falaba, and Thrasher’s death specifically, was mentioned in a memorandum sent by the U.S. government—drafted by President Woodrow Wilson himself—to the German government after the German submarine attack on the British passenger ship Lusitania on May 7, 1915, in which 1,201 people were drowned, including 128 Americans. The note struck a clear warning tone, calling for the U.S. and Germany to come to a clear and full understanding as to the grave situation which has resulted from the German policy of unrestricted submarine warfare. Germany abandoned the policy shortly thereafter; its renewal, in early 1917, provided the final impetus for U.S. entry into World War I that April.

The Last Official Death of WWI Was a Man Who Sought Redemption

The six-hour delay between the armistice signing and World War I’s official end cost the lives of nearly 3,000 soldiers, including one American in the war’s final minute.

By: Christopher Klein

Timeline

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

1814

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 […]

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1834

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. […]

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1862

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 […]

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1939

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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1958

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 […]

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1960

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 […]

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1969

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 […]

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1979

Nuclear disaster at Three Mile Island

The worst accident in the history of the U.S. nuclear power industry begins when a pressure valve in the Unit-2 reactor at Three Mile Island fails to close.

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1984

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 […]

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2006

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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World War I

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When Fears of Tuberculosis Drove an Open-Air School Movement

Intended to curb the spread of tuberculosis, open-air schools grew into a major international movement in the early 1900s.

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