Summary of the Day ✨ 28 March (28/03)
Asia was struck by two major earthquakes that killed over 6,400 people in Myanmar and Sumatra, while France saw massive protests against labor reforms, Finland isolated its capital region due to COVID-19, and American aircraft mistakenly killed a British soldier in Iraq.
Historical Events 📜
- 2025: An earthquake strikes close to Mandalay, Myanmar with a magnitude of 7.7, killing over 5400 people.
- 2020: The region of Uusimaa (with the capital city Helsinki) is temporarily isolated from the rest of Finland due to increased COVID-19 infections.
- 2006: At least one million union members, students and unemployed take to the streets in France in protest at the government’s proposed First Employment Contract law.
- 2005: An earthquake shakes northern Sumatra with a magnitude of 8.6 and killing over 1000 people.
- 2003: In a friendly fire incident, two American A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft attack British tanks participating in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, killing one soldier.
- 2001: Athens International Airport Eleftherios Venizelos begins operation.
- 1999: Kosovo War: Serb paramilitary and military forces kill at least 130 Kosovo Albanians in Izbica.
- 1994: In South Africa, African National Congress security guards kill dozens of Inkatha Freedom Party protesters.
- 1990: United States President George H. W. Bush posthumously awards Jesse Owens the Congressional Gold Medal.
- 1979: A coolant leak at the Three Mile Island’s Unit 2 nuclear reactor outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania leads to the core overheating and a partial meltdown.
- 1979: The British House of Commons passes a vote of no confidence against James Callaghan’s government by one vote, precipitating a general election.
- 1978: The US Supreme Court hands down 5–3 decision in Stump v. Sparkman, a controversial case involving involuntary sterilization and judicial immunity.
- 1970: An earthquake strikes western Turkey at about 23:05 local time, killing 1,086 and injuring at least 1,200.
- 1969: Greek poet and Nobel Prize laureate Giorgos Seferis makes a famous statement on the BBC World Service opposing the junta in Greece.
- 1968: Brazilian high school student Edson Luís de Lima Souto is killed by military police at a student protest.
Famous Births 👶
- 2004: Anna Shcherbakova, Russian figure skater
- 2001: Wang Xiyu, Chinese tennis player
- 1998: Lance Morris, Australian cricketer
- 1996: Matt Renshaw, English-Australian cricketer
- 1996: Max Strus, American basketball player
- 1995: Jonathan Drouin, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1995: Will Smith, American baseball player
- 1994: Jackson Wang, Hong Kong rapper
- 1992: Sergi Gómez, Spanish footballer
- 1991: Derek Carr, American football player
- 1991: Jordan McRae, American basketball player
- 1991: Lisa-Maria Moser, Austrian tennis player
- 1991: Marie-Philip Poulin, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1991: Ondřej Palát, Czech ice hockey player
- 1991: Christian Walker, American baseball player
Notable Deaths 🕊️
- 2026: Marinella, Greek singer (born 1938)
- 2026: Mary Beth Hurt, American actress (born 1946)
- 2026: Liamine Zéroual, Algerian politician, 6th President of Algeria (born 1941)
- 2024: Larry Lloyd, English professional football player and coach (born 1948)
- 2024: Mark Spiro, American songwriter, record producer and recording artist (born 1957)
- 2023: Paul O’Grady, English comedian, actor and drag queen (born 1955)
- 2023: Ryuichi Sakamoto, Japanese composer, record producer, and actor (born 1952)
- 2021: Didier Ratsiraka, Malagasy politician and naval officer (born 1936)
- 2021: Joseph Edward Duncan, American serial killer (born 1963)
- 2016: James Noble, American actor (born 1922)
- 2015: Chuck Brayton, American baseball player and coach (born 1925)
- 2015: Joseph Cassidy, Canadian-English priest and academic (born 1954)
- 2015: Miroslav Ondříček, Czech cinematographer (born 1934)
- 2015: Gene Saks, American actor and director (born 1921)
- 2014: Jeremiah Denton, American admiral and politician (born 1924)
Holidays & Observances 🎉
- Christian feast day:
Christopher Wharton - Christian feast day:
Jeanne-Marie de Maille - Christian feast day:
Józef Sebastian Pelczar - Christian feast day:
Priscus - Christian feast day:
Pope Sixtus III - Christian feast day:
Stephen Harding - Christian feast day:
March 28 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) - Serfs Emancipation Day (Tibet)
- Teachers’ Day (Czech Republic and Slovakia)