March 28 in world history: From renaming of Constantinople to passing of Virginia Woolf

1930: Constantinople becomes Istanbul
In a landmark geopolitical shift, the historic city long known as Constantinople was officially renamed Istanbul on March 28, 1930. The new name reflected the sweeping national reforms under Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’s modernizing Turkish Republic, which sought to replace remnants of the Ottoman past and unify the country’s identity under a secular, Turkish nomenclature. The city, originally founded as Byzantium in the 7th century BCE, had been renamed Constantinople in 330 CE by Roman Emperor Constantine the Great, who made it the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire.

1920: Hollywood icons wed
On this date in 1920, two of the earliest and most influential figures in American cinema, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks, were married in a lavish Hollywood ceremony. Both actors were among the original founders of United Artists in 1919, an innovative studio that empowered filmmakers with greater creative control.

1941: Death of Virginia Woolf
The celebrated British modernist writer Virginia Woolf died by suicide on March 28, 1941, near her home in Rodmell, Sussex, England. Woolf, known for pioneering narrative forms and exploring psychological depth in novels such as Mrs Dalloway and To the Lighthouse, left an indelible mark on 20th-century literature.


1969: Passing of US President
On this day in 1969, Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th President of the United States and Supreme Allied Commander in Europe during World War II, died at the age of 78. Eisenhower’s presidency oversaw significant developments in the early Cold War era and the expansion of the US Interstate Highway System.

Notable births on March 28:

• Paul Whiteman (1890–1967): Known as the “King of Jazz”, Whiteman brought jazz to mainstream audiences in the 1920s and ’30s.
  
• Jerome Isaac Friedman (born 1930): Nobel Prize-winning physicist recognized for his work confirming quarks.
  
• Jerry Sloan (1942–2020): Influential NBA player and coach known for his leadership and defensive focus.
  
• Rick Barry (born 1944): Hall of Fame basketball star celebrated for prolific scoring and free-throw accuracy.
  
• Laura Chinchilla (born 1959): First woman elected President of Costa Rica.
  

Notable deaths on March 28

• Robert-François Damiens (1757): Frenchman whose botched assassination attempt of King Louis XV led to his notorious execution.
  
• W.C. Handy (1958): American composer known as the “Father of the Blues,” whose work helped popularize the genre.
  
• Eugène Ionesco (1994): Romanian-French dramatist and major figure in the Theatre of the Absurd.
  
• Jack Butler Yeats (1957): Influential Irish painter whose work bridged traditional and modern art.