March 28 - 2.5

2.5

Nap? Who needs a nap?

This Day In History

193

Roman Emperor Pertinax is assassinated by Praetorian Guards, who then sell the throne in an auction to Didius Julianus.

845

Paris is sacked by Viking raiders, probably under Ragnar Lodbrok, who collects a huge ransom in exchange for leaving.^*

1802

Heinrich Wilhelm Matthäus Olbers discovers 2 Pallas, the second asteroid known to man.

1910

Henri Fabre becomes the first person to fly a seaplane, the Fabre Hydravion, after taking off from a water runway near Martigues, France.

1979

Operators of Three Mile Island's Unit 2 nuclear reactor outside of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania fail to recognize that a relief valve in the primary coolant system has stuck open following an unexpected shutdown. As a result, enough coolant drains out of the system to allow the core to overheat and partially melt down.

1990

President George H. W. Bush posthumously awards Jesse Owens the Congressional Gold Medal.

Famous Birthdays

1472

Fra Bartolommeo, Italian artist (d. 1517)

1515

Teresa of Avila, Spanish Carmelite nun and saint (d. 1582)

1793

Henry Schoolcraft, American geographer and geologist (d. 1864)

1811

Saint John Nepomucene Neumann, Bohemian-born American bishop and Roman Catholic saint (d. 1860)

1836

Frederick Pabst, American brewer (d. 1904)

1899

August "Gussie" Anheuser Busch, Jr., American brewer and baseball executive (d. 1989)

1944

Ken Howard, American actor

1955

Reba McEntire, American singer and actress

1972

Nick Frost, English comedian and actor

1981

Julia Stiles, American actress

* - Pillage, then burn.