1483, i.e., 521 years ago (according to some other data, on April 4), Raphael Santi (also known as Raffaello Santi or Sanzio) was born (died in 1520). Raphael was an Italian High Renaissance artist and architect, who painted numerous images of the Madonna, including Madonna Sixtina.
1912, i.e. 92 years ago, the House of Commons of the British Parliament rejected the draft bill giving to women voting rights equal with men.
1929, i.e., 75 years ago, Katherine Lee Bates died (born in 1859). She was an American poetess and teacher, author of the poem "America the Beautiful", which has become the second, unofficial, anthem of the United States.
1939, i.e., 65 years ago, a fascist dictatorship of General Franco was established in Spain.
1969, i.e., 35 years ago, Dwight David Eisenhower died (born in 1890). He was a state and military leader, the 34th president of the United States (from 1953 to 1961) General of the Army.
1979, i.e., 25 years ago, an accident took place in the Threemile Island nuclear power plant (USA), with the melting of nuclear fuel in the reactor and the leak of radioactive material.
1992, i.e., 12 years ago, an Interparliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was set up. This is a consultative body on draft laws aimed at legislatively formalising CIS countries' cooperation.
2002, i.e., 2 years ago, Billy Wilder (Samuel Wilder) died (born in 1906). He was an American film-maker, scenario writer and producer, made such classics as "The Lost Weekend" (Oscar Prize and the Cannes festival prize), "Some Like It Hot", "The Apartment" (Oscar Prize) and the Sunset Boulevard (Oscar Prize).
IN RUSSIA, ON MARCH 28,
1554, i.e., 450 years ago, Tsarevich Ivan was born, Ivan the Terrible's elder son (was killed by his father in 1582).
1709, i.e., 295 years ago, Count Alexei Razumovsky was born (died in 1771). He was Fieldmarshal of the army. He was Empress Elizabeth's secret husband.
1743, i.e., 261 years ago, Princess Yekaterina Dashkova was born (died in 1810). She was a public figure and author, took part in a palace coup which installed Catherine II on the throne, was director of the Petersburg Academy of Sciences and president of the Russian Academy of Sciences instituted on her initiative.
1776, i.e., 228 years ago, the Bolshoi Theatre was founded in Moscow.
1868, i.e., 136 years ago, Maxim Gorky (Alexei Maximovich Peshkov) was born (died in 1936). He was a writer, journalist and public figure; in his journalistic article "Untimely Thoughts" (1918) criticised Lenin's course for the revolution predicting its disastrous consequences for Russia.
1925, i.e., 79 years ago, Innokenty Smoktunovsky was born (died in 1994). He was a theatre and cinema actor, according to cinema critics, the best Hamlet in world cinematography (played Hamlet in Grigory Kozintsev's film made in 1964).
1981, i.e., 22 years ago, Nikolai Timofeyev-Resovsky died (born in 1900). He was a biologist-geneticist, the founder of molecular genetics and radiobiology.
1999, i.e., 5 years ago, a mockup model of the Zenit-3SL rocket was first launched for demonstration purposes. The rocket, with its head part built in Russia, was launched from the Odyssey floating platform by a Ukrainian booster rocket.
