TITLE: Seven Pivotal Moments from March 28
1. 193 CE - The Roman Empire Up for Sale
On this day in 193 CE, one of the most scandalous episodes in Roman history unfolded. Emperor Pertinax, who had ruled for a mere 87 days, was brutally assassinated by members of the Praetorian Guard—the very soldiers sworn to protect him. Pertinax had attempted to reform the empire's finances and reduce the extravagant privileges enjoyed by the guard, earning their deadly enmity. What followed was unprecedented: the Praetorian Guard literally auctioned the Roman Empire to the highest bidder. Didius Julianus, a wealthy senator, won this grotesque bidding war by promising each guardsman 25,000 sesterces—an astronomical sum. His "reign" would last only 66 days before he too was executed. This shocking event kicked off the Year of the Five Emperors, plunging Rome into civil war and demonstrating how far the once-mighty empire had fallen from its republican ideals. The throne of Caesar, once earned through military conquest and political acumen, had been reduced to a commodity purchased with gold.
2. 845 CE - Vikings Sack Paris
On March 28, 845, Paris faced one of its darkest hours when a Viking fleet of 120 ships sailed up the Seine River and laid siege to the city. Led by a chieftain tradition identifies as Ragnar (possibly the legendary Ragnar Lothbrok), the Norse raiders plundered and burned large sections of the city while the defending Frankish forces watched helplessly from the opposite bank. King Charles the Bald, unable to mount an effective military response, made a fateful decision: he paid the Vikings 7,000 pounds of silver to leave Paris and spare what remained of the city. While this "Danegeld" temporarily solved the immediate crisis, it established a dangerous precedent that would haunt European kingdoms for generations. The payment signaled to Viking raiders across Scandinavia that wealthy Frankish cities could be extorted for treasure rather than merely plundered. This single decision contributed to an escalation of Viking raids throughout the 9th century, fundamentally shaping medieval European history and the development of fortified cities.
3. 1776 - Founding San Francisco
Spanish explorer Juan Bautista de Anza reached the end of a grueling 1,200-mile expedition from Mexico on this date, identifying the perfect location for a military garrison overlooking the entrance to San Francisco Bay. His selection of this strategic site for the Presidio would prove to be one of the most consequential geographical decisions in American history. De Anza's expedition represented Spain's efforts to colonize Alta California and establish a chain of missions and military posts along the Pacific coast. The Presidio he envisioned would be formally established later that year, becoming the oldest continuously operated military post in the United States. From this humble military outpost would grow one of the world's great cities. San Francisco would become a crucial hub during the Gold Rush, a center of innovation and culture, and eventually home to the technological revolution of Silicon Valley. De Anza's choice of location—with its magnificent natural harbor and temperate climate—made all of this possible.
4. 1834 - A President Censured
The U.S. Senate took the extraordinary step of formally censuring President Andrew Jackson on March 28, 1834, marking the first and only time in American history that the Senate has officially rebuked a sitting president. The censure stemmed from Jackson's refusal to provide documents related to his controversial decision to remove federal deposits from the Second Bank of the United States. Jackson had waged a fierce political battle against the bank, which he viewed as a corrupt institution serving wealthy elites at the expense of ordinary Americans. When Congress refused to support his anti-bank policies, Jackson took unilateral executive action, instructing his Treasury Secretary to withdraw federal funds—and firing two Treasury Secretaries who refused to comply. The Senate, dominated by Jackson's political opponents led by Henry Clay and Daniel Webster, declared that the president had "assumed upon himself authority and power not conferred by the Constitution and laws." This constitutional crisis raised fundamental questions about executive power that resonate to this day. Jackson's supporters eventually gained control of the Senate and formally expunged the censure in 1837, but the episode remains a landmark in the ongoing tension between presidential authority and congressional oversight.
5. 1910 - Taking Flight from Water
French aviator Henri Fabre achieved a breakthrough in aviation history on March 28, 1910, when he successfully piloted the world's first seaplane, taking off from and landing on water at Étang de Berre near Marseille. His aircraft, the Fabre Hydravion, featured three innovative float-like structures instead of wheels, allowing it to operate from water surfaces. Fabre's achievement came just seven years after the Wright Brothers' first powered flight, during a period of rapid aviation innovation. While the Wright Brothers had conquered the air, Fabre opened up the world's oceans, lakes, and rivers as potential runways, dramatically expanding the possibilities for aviation. His invention proved crucial for naval reconnaissance, coastal patrol, and eventually commercial aviation. Seaplanes would play vital roles in both World Wars and pioneered long-distance international routes by "island-hopping" across oceans. The technology Fabre pioneered on this March day enabled aviation to reach remote coastal communities and established the foundation for today's water-landing aircraft and amphibious planes.
6. 1939 - The Spanish Civil War Ends
After nearly three years of brutal fighting that claimed up to one million lives, the Spanish Civil War effectively ended on March 28, 1939, when Republican defenders in Madrid raised the white flag and surrendered to Nationalist forces under General Francisco Franco. The siege of Madrid, which had lasted two-and-a-half years, finally came to an end as 200,000 Nationalist troops entered the starving, devastated capital unopposed. The Spanish Civil War had been far more than a domestic conflict. It served as a rehearsal for World War II, with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy supporting Franco's Nationalists while the Soviet Union backed the Republican government. International brigades of volunteers from around the world fought on the Republican side, viewing the conflict as a stand against the rising tide of fascism in Europe. The war's end brought Franco to absolute power, establishing a dictatorship that would last until his death in 1975. The conflict left deep scars on Spanish society, with mass executions, imprisonment, and exile continuing long after the fighting stopped. The fall of Madrid on March 28 marked not just a military defeat, but the triumph of authoritarian rule over democratic governance, a pattern that would soon spread across much of Europe.
7. 1979 - Three Mile Island: Nuclear Fear Becomes Real
At 4:00 a.m. on March 28, 1979, a series of mechanical failures and human errors at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant near Middletown, Pennsylvania, triggered a partial meltdown of the Unit 2 reactor core. A stuck valve allowed radioactive coolant to drain from the reactor, while confusing instrument readings led operators to make decisions that worsened the crisis. For hours, the facility teetered on the edge of a catastrophic full meltdown. As word of the accident spread, panic gripped the region. Governor Richard Thornburgh advised pregnant women and young children within five miles to evacuate, and eventually 140,000 people fled their homes. President Jimmy Carter personally visited the site on April 1 to reassure the public, but confidence in nuclear power had been shattered. Although the protective containment structure held and no direct deaths resulted, Three Mile Island fundamentally transformed nuclear energy in America. The accident occurred just 12 days after the release of the film "The China Syndrome," about a nuclear plant accident, creating an eerie coincidence that amplified public fear. New reactor construction in the United States essentially halted, safety regulations were dramatically strengthened, and the incident remains America's worst commercial nuclear accident—a turning point that reshaped energy policy for generations.
Reflections on March 28
From the auction of an empire to the dawn of nuclear anxiety, March 28 has witnessed moments that bent the arc of history. These seven events remind us that history is not a steady march of progress, but a tapestry woven from human ambition, innovation, folly, and courage. The decisions made on this single day across different centuries—whether by Roman guards, Viking raiders, Spanish explorers, American presidents, French inventors, Spanish soldiers, or nuclear engineers—continue to shape our world today. History connects us not just to our past, but to our future. Understanding what happened on days like March 28 helps us recognize patterns, learn from mistakes, and appreciate how far we've come—while remaining humble about the challenges that still lie ahead.