What Happened in March 1928

Historical Events

Music Recording

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

Historic Event

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

Mar 19 "Amos & Andy" debuts on radio (NBC Blue Network-WMAQ Chicago)

Music Premiere

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

Mar 27 KGB-AM in San Diego CA begins radio transmissions
Mar 27 US Ladies' Figure Skating championship won by Maribel Vinson
Mar 27 US Men's Figure Skating championship won by Roger Turner
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

Famous Birthdays

Mar 1 Seymour Papert, South African mathematician, born in Pretoria (d. 2016)
Mar 1 Jacques Rivette, French New Wave film director, born in Rouen, Haute-Normandie (d. 2016)
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 Václav Snítil, Czech violinist (Czech Nonet), and teacher (Prague Academy of Performing Arts, 1964-2015), born in Hradec Králové, Czechoslovakia (d. 2015)
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 3 Gudrun Pausewang, Eastern Bohemia, German writer
Mar 4 Alan Sillitoe, English writer (Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner), born in Nottingham (d. 2010)
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 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 9 Gerald Bull, Canadian long range artillery designer and engineer, born in North Bay, Ontario (d. 1990)
Mar 10 Arthur Milton, English cricketer (opening batsman late 50's)

James Earl Ray

Mar 10 James Earl Ray, American assassin of Martin Luther King Jr., born in Alton, Illinois (d. 1998)

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

Edward Albee

Mar 12 Edward Albee, American playwright (Who's Afraid of Virgina Woolf?), born in Virginia (d. 2016)

Mar 12 Roland Moyle, British deputy chairman (Police Complaints Authority)
Mar 12 Thérèse Lavoie-Roux, Quebec politician and senator
Mar 12 Aldemaro Romero, Venezuelan pianist, composer, arranger, and orchestral conductor, born in Valencia, Venezuela (d. 2007)
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

Mar 14 Frank Borman, 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
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
Mar 18 Julia Mullock, Princess of Korea
Mar 18 Miguel Poblet, Spanish cyclist
Mar 19 Clive Van Ryneveld, cricketer (South African all-rounder 1951-58)
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 19 Hans Küng, Swiss theologian
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 20 Anthony Blond, British publisher (The Publishing Game, Book Book), born in Sale, Cheshire (d. 2008)

Fred Rogers

Mar 20 Fred Rogers, American children's TV host (Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood), born in Latrobe, Pennsylvania (d. 2003)

Mar 20 Jerome Cousins Biffle, long jumper (Olympic gold 1952), born in Denver, Colorado
Mar 21 Ruth Anderson, American flutist, classical and electronic music composer (I Come Out of Your Sleep), born in Kalispell, Montana (d.2019)
Mar 21 James W Kinnear, CEO (Texaco), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Mar 21 Peter Hacks, German playwright (Tie Windloch)
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 Dmitri Volkogonov, Russian historian (biographies of Stalin and Lenin) and colonel general, born in Chita, USSR (d. 1995)
Mar 22 Ed Macauley, American Basketball Hall of Fame center (7-time NBA All Star), born in St. Louis, Missouri (d. 2011)
Mar 22 Carrie Donovan, American fashion editor (d. 2001)
Mar 22 E.D. Hirsch. American social commentator, born in Memphis, Tennessee
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 James A. Lovell Jr, American astronaut (Gemini 7, 12, Apollo 8, 13), born in Cleveland, Ohio
Mar 25 Hilton Kramer, American art critic, born in Gloucester, Massachusetts (d. 2012)
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 Douglas Applegate, American politician, U.S. House of Representative from Ohio, born in Steubenville, Ohio
Mar 27 Antonín Tučapský, Czech composer, teacher, and choral conductor, born in Opatovice, Moravia, Czechoslovakia (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 28 Alexander Grothendieck, German-French mathematician, born in Berlin (d. 2014)
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 29 Derek Simpson, British cellist (Aeolian String Quartet, 1956-81; Beatles - "Strawberry Fields Forever), and teacher, born in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England (d. 2007)
Mar 30 John Heddle Nash, Britiish lyric tenor, born in London, England (d. 1994)
Mar 30 Diether de la Motte, German composer and music theorist, born in Bonn, Germany (d. 2010)
Mar 30 Richard Trant, British general (d. 2007)
Mar 30 Tom Sharpe, English historian and author (Riotous Assembly, Want), (d. 2013)

Gordie Howe

Mar 31 Gordie Howe, Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame right wing (23-time NHL All Star; NHL: Detroit Red Wings; WHA: Houston Aeros), born in Floral, Saskatchewan (d. 2016)

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)

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 Jan [Jean] T Toorop, Dutch graphic artist (3 Brides), dies at 69
Mar 3 James Foulis, Scottish golfer (US Open 1896), dies at 56
Mar 7 Robert Abbe, American surgeon and radiologist, dies at 76
Mar 18 Paul van Ostaijen, Flemish writer (Outlawed), dies at 32
Mar 27 Leslie Stuart [Thomas Barrett], British musical theater composer (Florodora), dies at 64
Mar 28 Giuseppe Ferrata, composer, 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