On this Day in History: March 28

A closer look at the key events on March 28 in history:

In 1979, the Three Mile Island nuclear plant leaks

The Three Mile Island is a nuclear power plant near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in the US. At 4 am on March 28 an automatic valve mistakenly closed, shutting off the water supply in the main feedwater system, used for cooling down the reactor core. As a result, 52% of the core melted and became exposed, leading to a radioactive leakage. Very little radioactive gases actually escaped into the atmosphere, and they did not constitute a threat to the health of the surrounding population. Although miniscule in health consequences, it is considered the the most severe nuclear accident in US history and had major effects on the industry.

cdc.gov

In 1969, Greek poet Giorgos Seferis publicly denounces the Greek military junta

In April 1967, a coup organized by middle-ranking officers led by Col. Georgios Papadopoulos was carried out on the Greek state designed to thwart the general elections planned for May of that year. The dictatorial regime came to be known as the Regime of the Colonels lasted from 1967 to 1974. In 1969, Nobel Prize laureate and influential Greek figure Giorgos Seferis went on the BBC World Service and issued a statement against Greece’s repressive right-wing military junta.

Giorgos Seferis

In 1930, Constantinople is renamed Istanbul

Built as Byzantium in about 657 bce, the city was then renamed Constantinople in the 4th century after Constantine the Great made the city his capital. It was conquered by the Ottomans in the 15th Century. Greeks travelling to Constantinople most often talked of going eis tēn polin, “into the City,” rather than “to Constantinople.” The appellation “Istinpolin” became very common from the 13th century onwards. Over a span of centuries, Istinpolin became Istanbul. The Turkish Post Office officially changed the name to Istanbul in 1930.

Istanbul. Pedro Szekely

In 1854, France and England declare war on Russia

The Crimean War arose from the conflict between great powers in the Middle East and was directly caused by Russian demands to exercise protection over the Ottoman sultan‘s Orthodox subjects. The Turks declared war on Russia on October 4, 1853. After the Russian Black Sea fleet destroyed a Turkish squadron on the Turkish side of the Sea, the British and French entered the territory in early 1854 to protect Turkish transports. They later declared war on Russia themselves.