On This Day

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What Happened in March 1928

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Historical Events

Ol' Man River

Mar 1 Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra record "Ol' Man River" for Victor Records featuring Bing Crosby

Singer and Actor Bing Crosby
  • Mar 4 "Bunion Run" race from LA to NYC begins; It is won by Andy Payne
  • Mar 5 Karl Zuckmayer's "Der Hauptmann von Köpenick" premieres in Berlin
  • Mar 10 Christine Collins' son, Walter Collins, disappears in Los Angeles
  • Mar 12 In California, the St. Francis Dam fails, killing over 600 people
  • Mar 13 Rudolph Friml's musical "Three Musketeers" premieres in NYC

Mussolini's Electoral Changes

Mar 15 Benito Mussolini modifies Italy electoral system (abolishes right to choose)

Italian Dictator Benito Mussolini
  • Mar 19 "Amos & Andy" debuts on radio (NBC Blue Network-WMAQ Chicago)

This Year of Grace

Mar 22 Noël Coward's musical "This Year of Grace" premieres in London

Playwright, Director and Singer Noël Coward
  • Mar 27 KGB-AM in San Diego CA begins radio transmissions
  • Mar 27 US Ladies' Figure Skating championship won by Maribel Vinson
  • Mar 29 Yeshiva College (now University) chartered (NYC)
  • Mar 30 87th Grand National: Mr. William Dutton aboard 100/1 long-shot Tipperary Tim wins as all of the 41 other starters fall during the race
Events in 1928

Famous Birthdays

  • Mar 1 Ivan Bohdan, Ukrainian Greco-Roman wrestler (Olympic gold Soviet Union heavyweight 1960; World C'ship gold 1958, 61), born in Dmytro-Bilivka, Ukraine (d. 2020)
  • Mar 1 Jacques Rivette, French New Wave film director, born in Rouen, Haute-Normandie (d. 2016)

Seymour Papert (1928-2016)

Mar 1 South African mathematician, born in Pretoria

Seymour Papert
  • Mar 1 Václav Snítil, Czech violinist (Czech Nonet), and teacher (Prague Academy of Performing Arts, 1964-2015), born in Hradec Králové, Czechoslovakia (d. 2015)
  • Mar 1 Willie Mitchell, American R&B, pop, and soul singer, songwriter, producer, and arranger, born in Ashland, Mississippi (d. 2010)
  • Mar 2 Father John Romanides, Greek priest and professor (d. 2001)
  • Mar 2 John Manduell, British-based South African composer and educator (Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, 1973-96), born in Johannesburg, Union of South Africa (d. 2017)
  • Mar 2 José Luis Pérez-Payá, Spanish soccer forward (2 caps; Atlético Madrid, Real Madrid), born in Alcoy, Spain (d. 2022)
  • Mar 3 Gudrun Pausewang, German children's and young adult literature writer (The Last Children of Schewenborn; Die Wolke), born in Wichstadtl, Eastern Bohemia (d. 2020)
  • Mar 3 Jack Gordon, Canadian ice hockey coach (Minnesota North Stars 1970-75) and executive (GM Minnesota NS 1974-78, Vancouver Canucks 1985-87), born in Winnipeg, Manitoba (d. 2022)
  • Mar 4 Alan Sillitoe, English writer (Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner), born in Nottingham (d. 2010)
  • Mar 4 Larry Bunker, American session and West Coast jazz drummer, vibraphonist, and timpanist (Bill Evans, Lalo Schifrin, The 5th Dimension, Peggy Lee), born in Long Beach, California (d. 2005)
  • Mar 4 Samuel Adler, German-American composer, and educator (Eastman School of Music; Juilliard School), born in Mannheim, Germany
  • Mar 5 Lou Levy, American jazz pianist (Woody Herman, Stan Getz), and accompanist (Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2001)
  • Mar 6 Ronald Stevenson, Scottish-Welsh composer (9 Haiku; Ben Dorain Symphony), pianist, and educator, born in Blackburn, Lancashire, England (d. 2015)
  • Mar 8 Frank Michael Beyer, German composer, organist, and educator, born in Berlin, Germany (d. 2008)
  • Mar 9 Gerald Bull, Canadian long range artillery designer and engineer, born in North Bay, Ontario (d. 1990)
  • Mar 9 Keely Smith [Dorothy Keely], American jazz and pop singer (w/ husband Louis Prima -"That Old Black Magic"; "I Wish You Love"), born in Norfolk, Virginia (d. 2017)
  • Mar 10 Arthur Milton, English footballer (Arsenal, 1951-55) and cricketer (opening batsman, 2 tests - 1958, 1959), born in Bedmister, Bristol, England (d .2007)

James Earl Ray (1928-1998)

Mar 10 American assassin of Martin Luther King Jr., born in Alton, Illinois

James Earl Ray
  • Mar 10 Sara Montiel, Spanish actress and singer (The Last Torch Song, The Violet Seller), born in Campo de Criptana, Ciudad Real, Spain (d. 2013)
  • Mar 11 Albert Salmi, American stage and screen character actor (Caddyshack; The Brothers Karamazov; Bus Stop), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1990)
  • Mar 11 Peter Roger Hunt, English director (Dr No), born in London, England
  • Mar 12 Aldemaro Romero, Venezuelan pianist, composer, arranger, and orchestral conductor, born in Valencia, Venezuela (d. 2007)

Edward Albee (1928-2016)

Mar 12 American playwright (Who's Afraid of Virgina Woolf?), born in Virginia [1]

Edward Albee
  • Mar 12 Roland Moyle, British Labour politician (Member of Parliament, 1966-83; Minister of State for Northern Ireland, 1974-76; Minister of Health, 1976-79), born in England (d. 2017)
  • Mar 12 Thérèse Lavoie-Roux, French Canadian politician (Senator from Quebec, 1990-2001; Minister of Health and Social Services, 1985-89), born in Rivière-du-Loup, Quebec (d. 2009)
  • Mar 13 Ronnie Hazlehurst, English television composer (Are You Being Served?, The Rise and Fall of Reginald Perrin), born in Dukinfield, England (d. 2007)

Frank Borman (1928-2023)

Mar 14 American USAF colonel, NASA astronaut (Gemini 7, Apollo 8) and CEO of Eastern Air Lines (1975-86), born in Gary, Indiana [1]

Frank Borman
  • Mar 15 Nicolas Flagello, American composer (The Judgement of St. Francis; The Passion of Martin Luther King), and conductor (Orchestra da Camera di Roma), born in New York City (d. 1994)
  • Mar 16 Christa Ludwig, German soprano (Vienna State Opera, 1955-94; Metropolitan Opera, 1959-93), born in Berlin, Germany (d. 2021)
  • Mar 16 Ramon Barce, Spanish composer, born in Madrid, Spain (d. 2008)
  • Mar 16 Wakanohana Kanji I, Japanese sumo wrestler (45th Yokozuna; 10 x top division titles), born in Hirosaki, Japan (d. 2010)
  • Mar 17 Edino Krieger, Brazilian conductor, avant-garde composer (Canticum Naturale), and record producer, born in Brusque, Santa Catarina, Brazil (d. 2022)
  • Mar 17 Eunice Gayson, British actress and 1st Bond Girl (Sylvia Trench- "Dr. No" and "From Russia With Love"), born in London (d. 2018) [1]
  • Mar 17 William John McKeag, Canadian politician (d. 2007)
  • Mar 18 Fidel V. Ramos, Filipino general and 12th President of the Philippines (1992-98), born in Lingayen, Pangasinan, Philippines (d. 2022) [1]
  • Mar 18 Julia Mullock, American architect, artist, and (disputed) princess of Korea, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 2017)
  • Mar 18 Miguel Poblet, Spanish cyclist, 1944-62, born in Montcada i Reixac, Spain (d. 2013)
  • Mar 19 (Allan Thomas) "Tom" Paley, American folk musician (New Lost City Ramblers), born in New York City (d. 2017)
  • Mar 19 Clarence Paul [Pauling], American songwriter, and record producer (Motown; Stevie Wonder - "Fingertips"), born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina (d. 1995)
  • Mar 19 Clive Van Ryneveld, South African cricket all-rounder (1951-58), born in Cape Town, Union of South Africa (d. 2018)
  • Mar 19 Hans Küng, Swiss theologian, and critic of the Vatican, born in Sirsee, Switzerland (d. 2021) [1]
  • Mar 19 Patrick McGoohan, American-born Irish actor, writer, and director (The Prisoner, Secret Agent/ Danger Man), born in Queens, New York (d. 2009)
  • Mar 20 Anthony Blond, British publisher (The Publishing Game, Book Book), born in Sale, Cheshire (d. 2008)

Fred Rogers (1928-2003)

Mar 20 American children's TV host (Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood), and Presbyterian minister, born in Latrobe, Pennsylvania

Fred Rogers
  • Mar 20 Jerome Biffle, American long jumper (Olympic gold, 1952), born in Denver, Colorado (d. 2002)
  • Mar 21 James W Kinnear, CEO (Texaco), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • Mar 21 Peter Hacks, German playwright (Tie Windloch) and essayist, born in Breslau, Germany (now Wrocław, Poland) (d. 2003)
  • Mar 21 Ruth Anderson, American flutist, classical and electronic music composer (I Come Out of Your Sleep), born in Kalispell, Montana (d. 2019)
  • Mar 22 Betty Callaway, English figure skating coach (Torvill & Dean, Regőczy & Sallay), born in Reading, England (d. 2011)
  • Mar 22 Bill Archer, American politician (Rep-R-TX, 1971-2001), born in Houston, Texas
  • Mar 22 Carrie Donovan, American fashion editor (d. 2001)
  • Mar 22 Dmitri Volkogonov, Russian historian (biographies of Stalin and Lenin) and colonel general, born in Chita, USSR (d. 1995)
  • Mar 22 E.D. Hirsch. American social commentator, born in Memphis, Tennessee
  • Mar 22 Ed Macauley, American Basketball Hall of Fame center (7-time NBA All Star), born in St. Louis, Missouri (d. 2011)
  • Mar 23 Alfred Morris, British MP
  • Mar 24 Byron Janis [né Yanks], American concert pianist (debut with NBC Symphony Orchestra at age 15), born in McKeesport, Pennsylvania (d. 2024) [1]
  • Mar 24 Vanessa Brown [Smylla Brind], Austrian-born American actress (My Favorite Husband), born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1999)
  • Mar 25 Hilton Kramer, American art critic, born in Gloucester, Massachusetts (d. 2012)
  • Mar 25 James A. Lovell Jr, American astronaut (Gemini 7, 12, Apollo 8, 13), born in Cleveland, Ohio
  • Mar 26 Carole Carr [Carless], British singer and actress (Down Among the Z Men), born in London, England (d. 1997)
  • Mar 26 G. Harry Stine, American pioneer of model rocketry and science fiction writer, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1997)
  • Mar 27 Antonín Tučapský, Czech composer, teacher, and choral conductor, born in Opatovice, Moravia, Czechoslovakia (d. 2014)
  • Mar 27 Douglas Applegate, American politician (US Representative from Ohio, 1977-95), born in Steubenville, Ohio (d. 2021)
  • Mar 28 Alexander Grothendieck, German-French mathematician, born in Berlin (d. 2014)
  • Mar 28 José Luis de Delás, Spanish composer, born in Barcelona (d. 2018)
  • Mar 28 Zbigniew Brzezinski, national security advisor (Carter), born in Warsaw, Poland (d. 2017)
  • Mar 29 Derek Simpson, British cellist (Aeolian String Quartet, 1956-81; Beatles - "Strawberry Fields Forever), and teacher, born in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England (d. 2007)
  • Mar 29 Václav Felix, Czech composer, and pedagogue, born in Prague, Czechoslovakia (d. 2008)
  • Mar 29 Vincent Gigante, Italian-American mafioso, born in Manhattan, New York (d. 2005)
  • Mar 30 Diether de la Motte, German composer and music theorist, born in Bonn, Germany (d. 2010)
  • Mar 30 John Heddle Nash, Britiish lyric tenor, born in London, England (d. 1994)
  • Mar 30 Richard Trant, British general (d. 2007)
  • Mar 30 Tom Sharpe, English historian and author (Riotous Assembly, Want), (d. 2013)
  • Mar 31 (William) "Lefty" Frizzell, American country music singer and songwriter ("If You've Got the Money (I've Got the Time)"; "Saginaw, Michigan"), born in Corsicana, Texas (d. 1975)

Gordie Howe (1928-2016)

Mar 31 Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame right wing (23-time NHL All Star; NHL: Detroit Red Wings; WHA: Houston Aeros), born in Floral, Saskatchewan

Gordie Howe

Born in 1928

Famous Weddings

Oskar Schindler

Mar 6 Industrialist Oskar Schindler (19) weds Emilie Schindler (20) in Svitavy, Czech Republic

Oskar Schindler

Famous Deaths

  • Mar 1 Herbert Brewer, English composer, dies at 62
  • Mar 1 Jacob Adolf Hägg, Swedish composer, dies at 77
  • Mar 3 James Foulis, Scottish golfer (US Open 1896), dies at 56
  • Mar 3 Jan [Jean] T Toorop, Dutch graphic artist (3 Brides), dies at 69
  • Mar 7 Robert Abbe, American surgeon and radiologist, dies at 76
  • Mar 18 Paul van Ostaijen, Belgian-Dutch poet and writer (Outlawed), dies of tuberculosis at 32
  • Mar 27 Leslie Stuart [Thomas Barrett], British musical theater composer (Florodora), dies at 64
  • Mar 28 Giuseppe Ferrata, Italian composer and pianist, dies at 63
  • Mar 31 Gustave Ador, Swiss politician and 36th President of the Swiss Confederation (1919), dies at 82
  • Mar 31 Medardo Rosso, Italian sculptor (portraits), dies at 69

Historical Figures

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