On This Day, March 28: Barnum & Bailey Circus forms

UPI Staff
·4 min read
Asian elephants of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus enjoy snacks at Barclays Center on March 2, 2016, in New York City. Barnum & Bailey Circus formed on March 28, 1881. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI
Asian elephants of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus enjoy snacks at Barclays Center on March 2, 2016, in New York City. Barnum & Bailey Circus formed on March 28, 1881. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI
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March 28 (UPI) -- On this date in history:

In 1881, P.T. Barnum and James A. Bailey merged their circuses to form The Greatest Show on Earth. The circus later merged with the Ringling Bros. to form Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, which closed for five years beginning in 2017.

In 1939, Madrid surrendered to the nationalist forces of Generalissimo Francisco Franco in the Spanish Civil War.

In 1968, the counterculture musical Hair opened on Broadway.

In 1969, Dwight D. Eisenhower, World War II hero and 34th president of the United States, died in Washington at age 78.

On March 28, 1969, Dwight D. Eisenhower, World War II hero and 34th president of the United States, died in Washington at age 78. UPI File Photo
On March 28, 1969, Dwight D. Eisenhower, World War II hero and 34th president of the United States, died in Washington at age 78. UPI File Photo
Helen Keller runs her fingers over the face of President Dwight Eisenhower during a visit to the White House in 1953. File Photo by Charles Corte/UPI
Helen Keller runs her fingers over the face of President Dwight Eisenhower during a visit to the White House in 1953. File Photo by Charles Corte/UPI

In 1979, a failure in the cooling system at the nuclear power plant on Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania caused a near meltdown. It was the worst accident at a U.S. civilian nuclear facility.

Cast members of the Broadway revival production of "Hair" take their opening-night curtain call bows at the Al Hirschfeld theatre in New York on March 31, 2009. The musical opened for the first time on March 28, 1968. File Photo by Ezio Petersen/UPI
Cast members of the Broadway revival production of "Hair" take their opening-night curtain call bows at the Al Hirschfeld theatre in New York on March 31, 2009. The musical opened for the first time on March 28, 1968. File Photo by Ezio Petersen/UPI

In 1984, Bob Irsay moved the Baltimore Colts NFL team to Indianapolis without any announcement. Less than a month later, two longtime fans of the team sued the owner for severe emotional distress.

In 1991, just days before the 10th anniversary of an attempt on his life, former U.S. President Ronald Reagan endorsed a seven-day waiting period for handgun purchases, reversing his earlier opposition.

U.S. President Barack Obama greets U.S. troops at Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan on March 28, 2010. File Photo by Pete Souza/White House
U.S. President Barack Obama greets U.S. troops at Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan on March 28, 2010. File Photo by Pete Souza/White House

In 1993, Russian President Boris Yeltsin survived an impeachment vote by the Congress of People's Deputies.

File Photo by H. Ruckemann/UPI
File Photo by H. Ruckemann/UPI
Space shuttle Discovery is towed nose-to-nose with space shuttle Enterprise during a transfer ceremony at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va., on April 19, 2012. On March 28, 2009, the space shuttle Discovery landed at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida after a 13-day mission to the International Space Station during which the ISS was brought up to full power with the installation of its fourth set of solar wings. File Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI

In 1996, the U.S. Congress approved the presidential line-item veto.

In 2005, an 8.6-magnitude earthquake jolted the western coast of Sumatra, killing at least 1,300 people and destroying hundreds of buildings.

President Ronald Reagan speaks at a January 19, 1982, news conference defending his record after one year in office in Washington, D.C. On March 28, 1991, Reagan endorsed a seven-day waiting period for handgun purchases, reversing his earlier opposition. File Photo by Rich Lipski/UPI
President Ronald Reagan speaks at a January 19, 1982, news conference defending his record after one year in office in Washington, D.C. On March 28, 1991, Reagan endorsed a seven-day waiting period for handgun purchases, reversing his earlier opposition. File Photo by Rich Lipski/UPI

In 2006, lobbyist Jack Abramoff, with ties to several members of Congress, was sentenced to six years in prison after a conviction on fraud charges. He was released from prison in 2010.

In 2009, the space shuttle Discovery landed at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida after a 13-day mission to the International Space Station during which the ISS was brought up to full power with the installation of its fourth set of solar wings.

An aerial photograph taken February 12, 2005, shows damage six weeks after a tsunami hit Banda Aceh on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. On March 28, 2005, an 8.6-magnitude earthquake jolted the western coast of Sumatra, killing at least 1,300 people and destroying hundreds of buildings. File Photo courtesy of Jon Gesch/Navy
An aerial photograph taken February 12, 2005, shows damage six weeks after a tsunami hit Banda Aceh on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. On March 28, 2005, an 8.6-magnitude earthquake jolted the western coast of Sumatra, killing at least 1,300 people and destroying hundreds of buildings. File Photo courtesy of Jon Gesch/Navy

In 2010, U.S. President Barack Obama visited Afghanistan for the first time since taking office, an unannounced trip to meet with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and address U.S. troops.

In 2018, 68 people died after a fire broke out during a riot at a police station in Valencia, Venezuela. Prisoners there set fire to a mattress in an attempt to escape.

In 2023, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris met with Ghanian President Nana Akufo-Addo during the former's weeklong trip to Africa.

File Photo by Yuri Gripas/UPI
File Photo by Yuri Gripas/UPI