Events on March 28 38
Year 193
Roman Emperor Pertinax is assassinated by Praetorian Guards, who then sell the throne in an auction to Didius Julianus.
Year 1566
The foundation stone of Valletta, Malta's capital city, is laid by Jean Parisot de Valette, Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.
Year 1794
Allies under Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld defeat French forces at Le Cateau.
Year 1795
Partitions of Poland: The Duchy of Courland and Semigallia, a northern fief of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, ceases to exist and becomes part of Imperial Russia.
Year 1802
Heinrich Wilhelm Matthäus Olbers discovers 2 Pallas, the second asteroid ever to be discovered.
Year 1814
War of 1812: In the Battle of Valparaíso, two American naval vessels are captured by two Royal Navy vessels of equal strength.
Year 1862
American Civil War: In the Battle of Glorieta Pass, Union forces stop the Confederate invasion of the New Mexico Territory. The battle began on March 26.
Year 1910
Henri Fabre becomes the first person to fly a seaplane, the Fabre Hydravion, after taking off from a water runway near Martigues, France.
Year 1920
Palm Sunday tornado outbreak of 1920 affects the Great Lakes region and Deep South states.
Year 1933
The Imperial Airways biplane City of Liverpool is believed to be the first airliner lost to sabotage when a passenger sets a fire on board.
Year 1939
Spanish Civil War: Generalissimo Francisco Franco conquers Madrid after a three-year siege.
Year 1941
World War II: Britain's Mediterranean Fleet sinks three heavy cruisers and two destroyers of Italy's Regia Marina.
Year 1942
World War II: A British combined force permanently disables the Louis Joubert Lock in Saint-Nazaire in order to keep the German battleship Tirpitz away from the mid-ocean convoy lanes.
Year 1946
Cold War: The United States Department of State releases the Acheson-Lilienthal Report, outlining a plan for the international control of nuclear power.
Year 1951
First Indochina War: In the Battle of Mạo Khê, French Union forces, led by World War II hero Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, inflict a defeat on Việt Minh forces commanded by General Võ Nguyên Giáp.
Year 1959
The State Council of the People's Republic of China dissolves the government of Tibet.
Year 1968
Brazilian high school student Edson Luís de Lima Souto is killed by military police at a protest for cheaper meals at a restaurant for low-income students.
Year 1969
Greek poet and Nobel Prize laureate Giorgos Seferis makes a famous statement on the BBC World Service opposing the junta in Greece.
Year 1970
An earthquake strikes western Turkey at about 23:05 local time, killing 1,086 and injuring 1,260.
Year 1978
The US Supreme Court hands down 5-3 decision in Stump v. Sparkman, a controversial case involving involuntary sterilization and judicial immunity.
Year 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.
Year 1979
The British House of Commons passes a vote of no confidence against James Callaghan's government, precipitating a general election.
Year 1990
United States President George H. W. Bush posthumously awards Jesse Owens the Congressional Gold Medal.
Year 1994
In South Africa, African National Congress security guards kill dozens of Inkatha Freedom Party protesters.
Year 1999
Kosovo War: Serb paramilitary and military forces kill 146 Kosovo Albanians in Izbica.
Year 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.
Year 2005
An earthquake shakes northern Sumatra with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VI (Strong), leaving 915-1,314 people dead and 340-1,146 injured.
Year 2006
Massive protests are mounted against France's First Employment Contract law, meant to reduce youth unemployment.
Year ?
Roman emperor Caligula accepts the titles of the Principate, entitled to him by the Senate.