#TodayInHistory – March 28

March 28 – Some Important Events on this day

37 👉🏼 3rd Roman Emperor Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, better known as Caligula (which means “little soldier’s boots), accepts the titles of the Principate, entitled to him by the Senate.
364 👉🏼 Roman Emperor Valentinian I appoints his brother Flavius Valens co-emperor

845 👉🏼 Paris is sacked by Viking raiders, probably under Ragnar Lodbrok, who collects a huge ransom in exchange for leaving.
A 5,000 strong fleet of Danish Vikings invaded Frankish lands in this year and only retreated after besieging Paris and securing a ransom from the Frankish King Charles the Bald. They were part of a series of devastating raids begun by the Vikings from the 790s.
The Vikings were led by a man named “Reginherus” or Ragnar, sometimes linked to the legendary saga figure Ragnar Lodbrok. The Vikings easily overcame defences set in place by Charlemagne and are known to have attacked the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés just outside the city.
Although struck by an outbreak of plague, the Vikings overcame this to return home with their ransom of 7,000 French livres of gold and silver.

1794 👉🏼 Louvre opens to the public (although officially opened since August) 🇫🇷
1799 👉🏼 New York State abolishes slavery
1854 👉🏼 Britain and France declare war on Russia during the Crimean War

1920 👉🏼 Tomáš Masaryk elected President of Czechoslovakia.
Czechoslovak politician and philosopher, was an advocate of Czechoslovakian independence during World War One. Masaryk at first focused on reforming the Austro-Hungarian monarchy into a democratic federal state, but during the World War One he began to favor the abolition of the monarchy and Czech independence. In 1918, with the help of the allied powers he succeeded and became the founder and first President of Czechoslovakia. He was later re-elected as president three times, in 1920, 1927, and 1934.
In Czech Republic he is referred to as “President liberator”.

1930 👉🏼 Turkish cities Constantinople & Angora change their names to Istanbul & Ankara 🇹🇷

1935 👉🏼 Robert Goddard uses gyroscopes to control a rocket. Best known as the founding father of modern rocketry, he built the world’s first liquid-fueled rocket which was successfully launched in 1926.

1939 👉🏼 Spanish Civil War ends, Madrid falls to Francisco Franco.
Francisco Franco, General and ruler of Spain for nearly forty years began his career as a young soldier, rising to 2nd in command of the Spanish Foreign Legion in 1920 and later its commander. He was one of a group of military leaders who in 1936 planned a coup to overthrow the Republican elected government, effectively starting the Spanish Civil War.
Franco assumed leadership of Nationalist forces slowly winning control of Spain and was aided in his cause by some support from fascist Germany and Italy. However he failed to come to an agreement with Hitler at the outbreak of WWII and remained outside the war. Franco’s early rule saw a continuation of the Nationalist ‘White Terror’ the oppression, imprisonment and execution of political opponents.
The first years of Franco’s reign were bleak as many went into exile. He promoted a nationalist, conservative state and suppressed regional languages and identity. In 1969 he appointed Prince Juan Carlos as his successor. Upon his death in 1975 he was interred in Valle de los Caídos, with a vast memorial (in photo).

1946 👉🏼 Cold War: The United States State Department releases the Acheson-Lilienthal Report, outlining a plan for the international control of nuclear power.

2009 👉🏼 The first cases of H1N1 swine flu in the United States occur in two people in California.
In March 2009, a new strain of H1N1 influenza virus began circulating in Mexico and, from there, the virus rapidly spread around the world. The World Health Organization declared on 11 June 2009 that swine flu was the first pandemic of the 21st century.
Between 10-200 million people were infected with this particular strain of flu, and about 18,500 lab confirmed deaths occurred, and possibly as meany as 150,000 people died. Because this is less than the seasonal flu and was less than epidemiologists expected, the decision by the World Health Organization to declare swine flu a pandemic was controversial.
Swine flu was abnormal as it did not predominantly affect adults over 60. The pandemic began to taper off in November 2009 with cases falling sharply afterward until the WHO declared an end to the global outbreak on 10 August 2010.

2013 👉🏼 Pope Francis becomes the first Pope to wash the feet of women in the Maundy Thursday service
2017 👉🏼 World’s largest dinosaur footprint at 1.7 metres found in Kimberley, Western Australia 🦕