What Happened in March 1928

Historical Events

Ol' Man River

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

Italian History

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

  • 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

  • Mar 27 KGB-AM in San Diego CA begins radio transmissions

Sports History

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
1928 History

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

  • 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, Eastern Bohemia, German writer
  • 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, composer
  • Mar 8 Frank Michael Beyer, composer
  • Mar 8 Judy Johnson, American singer (Your Show of Shows), born in Norfolk, Virginia
  • 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 cricketer (opening batsman late 50's)

James Earl Ray (1928-1998)

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

  • 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

  • Mar 12 Roland Moyle, British deputy chairman (Police Complaints Authority)
  • Mar 12 Thérèse Lavoie-Roux, Quebec politician and senator
  • 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 (95 years old)

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

  • Mar 15 Nicolas Flagello, composer
  • 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 (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 composer, born in Santa Catarina state (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, Princess of Korea
  • Mar 18 Miguel Poblet, Spanish cyclist
  • Mar 19 (Allan Thomas) "Tom" Paley, American folk musician (New Lost City Ramblers), born in NYC, New York (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, cricketer (South African all-rounder 1951-58)
  • Mar 19 Hans Küng, Swiss theologian
  • 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

  • Mar 20 Jerome Cousins Biffle, long jumper (Olympic gold 1952), born in Denver, Colorado
  • Mar 21 James W Kinnear, CEO (Texaco), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • Mar 21 Peter Hacks, German playwright (Tie Windloch)
  • 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 "Yanks" Janis, American concert pianist (debut with NBC Symphony Orchestra at age 15), born in McKeesport, Pennsylvania
  • 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 science fiction writer (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 (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


Born in 1928

Famous Weddings

Oskar Schindler

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

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