1588, Queen Elizabeth I of England created a law making it illegal for anyone to eat potatoes.

1811, the Russians tried to invade England by sailing down the River Thames in rafts made of inflated animal bladders.

1979 Three Mile Island Reactor Meltdown

 

March 28th, 1836, Frederick Pabst was born.

You can thank him for that crappy beer.

 

It was on March 28, 2004 that revered actor Peter Ustinov passed away. A true Renaissance man, Sir Peter was a well-received director, playwright, novelist and live performer in exceptionally well-reviewed one-man shows, and Humanitarian - an Ambassador at Large for UNICEF from 1969 until his death.

He was a particular favorite of mine when I was a kid.

RIP

 

Mach 28
1968- New Zealand actress Lexi Lawless was born.

1955 - Reba McEntire was born.

1969 ' Dwight D. Eisenhower passed away.

1854 - France and England declared war on Russia, joining the Ottoman Turks in the Crimean War.

 

On this day in history, March 28, 1866, first US ambulance service rolls through Cincinnati
Civilian ambulance care introduced to United States following horrific human carnage of Civil War.


A horse-drawn ambulance for New York City's Bellevue Hospital, circa 1886. Bellevue introduced New York City's first ambulance service in 1869. Its two ambulances responded to 1,400 calls, encouraging the hospital to add five more vehicles the following year. (Public Domain)

 

28 Mar 1945

In Europe, the western allies continued their push into Germany. US 1st Army captured Marburg while US 3rd Army captured Limburg am Lahn and British 2nd Army advanced towards the Elbe River. US 9th Army was transferred to 12th Army Group as the Allied push moved southward.

 

March 29
1917 - The great Thoroughbred race horse was foaled.

1867 - Cy Young was born.

1867 - Under the British North American Act the British colonies of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Canada were united as the Dominion of Canada. Canada was separated into Quebec and Ontario. It also provided for other territories to join as they wished.

1918 - Pearl Bailey and Sam Walton were born.

1999 - Wayne Gretzky scored his final goal in the NHL.

1951 - Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were found guilty of espionage and sentenced to death for turning over US military secrets to the Soviet Union.

 

On March 29, 1951, 'The King and I' opened on Broadway. The Rodgers and Hammerstein musical was enormously popular, becoming a legendary classic of the stage and made Yul Brynner a star. Brynner had shaved his head for the role and kept it shaved for the rest of his life. On rare ocassions, he would wear a wig for certain roles.

Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera...

 

On this day in history, March 29, 1982, Michael Jordan hits winning shot in NCAA final, launching legend
Future sports icon was a 19-year-old freshman when he lifted North Carolina to NCAA basketball title.

NCAA Final Four, North Carolina's Michael Jordan (#23) in action, making game-winning shot vs. Georgetown, in New Orleans, March 29, 1982. (Heinz Kluetmeier/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)

 

1974: Farmers uncover the ancient terracotta warriors. While digging a well in China's Shaanxi province, farmers discover the burial site of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China, from 210–209 BCE. Excavators will discover an estimated 8,000life-size clay soldiers, and hundreds of horses and chariots, meant for protection in the afterlife.

 

29 Mar 1945

In Europe, Germany is in general retreat as the Allies assaulted from all sides. In the west, US Third Army captured Frankfurt and Wiesbaden and US Seventh Army captured Mannheim. In the east, Soviet troops entered Austria and Czechoslovakia while capturing oil fields in Hungary.

 

March 29, 1973: Two months after the signing of the Vietnam peace agreement, the last U.S. combat troops leave South Vietnam as Hanoi frees many of the remaining American prisoners of war held in North Vietnam.

 

3/30/1853
Vincent van Gogh was born
170th birthday anniversary

 

March 30
1981 - Failed assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan.

1945 - Eric Clapton was born.

1867 - Secretary of State William Seward signed the Alaska Purchase with Russia. 7.2 million dollars or two cents an acre.

1858 - Hyman Lipman of Philadelphia received a U.S. patent for a pencil with a rubber eraser attached.

1856 - Treaty of Paris was signed, ending the Crimean War.

 

On March 30, 1964, Jeopardy aired its first episode on NBC with Host Art Fleming.

 

1867: The Alaska Purchase. Secretary of State William Seward purchases 586,412 square miles of land in the far northwest of Russian America. Many say "Seward's icebox" isn't worth $7.2 million, but the future state of Alaska will turn out to be a bargain. Alaska was formally transferred to the United States on October 18, 1867, through a treaty ratified by the United States Senate.

 

30 Mar 1945

In Europe, US First Army attacked Paderborn, Germany. US 8th Air Force bombed German ports of Hamburg, Bremen, and Wilhelmshaven destroying multiple U-boats and other capital ships. Soviet troops crossed the Hron and Nitra Rivers in Czechoslovakia and crossed into occupied Austria near Koszeg, Hungary. In addition, Soviet troops captured Danzig, taking 10,000 prisoners of war and seizing 45 U-boats.

In the Pacific, 'softening-up strikes' from the carrier USS Yorktown pounded Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands and its surrounding islets.

 

On this day in history, March 30, 1858, American visionary Hymen Lipman patents pencil with eraser
Immigrant from Jamaica pioneered other desktop essentials, too, including adhesive envelopes.

Hymen L. Lipman (1817-1893) is credited with registering the first patent for a pencil with an attached eraser on March 30, 1858. (Alamy)

 

March 31
1881 - The Eiffel Tower was inaugurated to celebrate the centennial of the French Revolution.

1927 - American labor leader Cesar Chavez was born.

1596 - French philosopher and mathematician Rene Descarte was born

1968 - Lyndon B. Johnson announced he would not seek reelection.

1928 - Known for his scoring and toughness , NHL player Gordie Howe was bornin Floral. Saskatchewan, Canada.

1918 - Daylight Savings Time went into operation.