January 28

January 28 is the 28th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 337 days remaining until the end of the year (338 in leap years).

Events

• 1077 - Walk to Canossa: The excommunication of Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor is lifted.
• 1521 - The Diet of Worms begins, lasting until May 25.
• 1547 - Henry VIII dies. His nine year old son, Edward VI becomes King, and the first Protestant ruler of England.
• 1573 - Articles of Warsaw Confederation are signed, sanctioning freedom of religion in Poland.
• 1754 - Horace Walpole, in a letter to Horace Mann, coins the word serendipity.
• 1624 - Sir Thomas Warner founds the first British colony in the Caribbean, on Saint Kitts.
• 1724 - The Russian Academy of Sciences was founded in St. Petersburg by Peter the Great, and implemented in the Senate decree. It was called St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences until 1917.
• 1760 - Pownal, Vermont created by Benning Wentworth as one of the New Hampshire Grants.
• 1813 - Pride and Prejudice is first published in the United Kingdom.
• 1820 - Russian expedition led by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev discovered the Antarctic continent approaching the Antarctic coast.
• 1846 - Battle of Aliwal, India won by British troops commanded by Sir Harry Smith.
• 1855 - The first locomotive runs from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean on the Panama Railway.
• 1871 - Franco-Prussian War: Siege of Paris ends in French defeat and an armistice.
• 1878 - Yale Daily News becomes the first daily, college newspaper in the United States.
• 1887 - In a snowstorm at Fort Keogh, Montana, the world's largest snowflakes are reported, being 15 inches (38 cm) wide and 8 inches (20 cm) thick.
• 1902 - The Carnegie Institution is founded in Washington, DC with a $10 million gift from Andrew Carnegie.
• 1909 - United States troops leave Cuba with the exception of Guantanamo Bay Naval Base after being there since the Spanish-American War.
• 1915 - An act of the U.S. Congress creates the United States Coast Guard.
• 1916 - Louis D. Brandeis becomes the first Jew appointed to the United States Supreme Court.
• 1917 - Municipally owned streetcars take to the streets of San Francisco, California.
• 1918 - Finnish Civil War: Rebels seized control of the capital, Helsinki, and members of the Senate of Finland go underground.
• 1921 - A symbolic Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is installed beneath the Arc de Triomphe in Paris to honor the unknown dead of World War I.
• 1922 - Knickerbocker Storm, Washington D.C.'s biggest snowfall, causes the city's greatest loss of life when the roof of the Knickerbocker Theater collapses.
• 1932 - Japanese forces attack Shanghai.
• 1933 - The name Pakistan is coined by Choudhary Rehmat Ali Khan and is accepted by the Indian Muslims who then thereby adopted it further for the Pakistan Movement seeking independence.
• 1934 - The first ski tow in the United States begins operation in Vermont.
• 1935 - Iceland becomes the first Western country to legalize therapeutic abortion.
• 1938 - The World Land Speed Record on a public road is broken by driver Rudolf Caracciola in the Mercedes-Benz W195.
• 1941 - French-Thai War: Final air battle of the conflict. Japanese-mediated armistice goes into effect later in the day.
• 1945 - World War II: Supplies begin to reach the Republic of China over the newly reopened Burma Road.
• 1958 - The Lego company patented their design of Lego bricks, still compatible with bricks produced today.

Disintegration of the Space Shuttle Challenger.

• 1980 - USCGC Blackthorn (WLB-391) collides with the tanker Capricorn while leaving Tampa Florida and capsizes killing 23 Coast Guard crewmembers.
• 1981 - Ronald Reagan lifts remaining domestic petroleum price and allocation controls in the United States helping to end the 1979 energy crisis and begin the 1980s oil glut.
• 1982 - US Army general James L. Dozier is rescued by Italian anti-terrorism forces from captivity under the Red Brigades.
• 1986 - Space Shuttle program: STS-51-L mission (Space Shuttle Challenger disaster) - Space Shuttle Challenger breaks apart after liftoff killing all seven astronauts onboard.
• 2002 - TAME Flight 120, a Boeing 727-100 crashes in the Andes mountains in southern Colombia killing 92.

Births

• 1225 - Saint Thomas Aquinas (d. 1274)
• 1312 - Queen Joan II of Navarre (d. 1349)
• 1457 - King Henry VII of England (d. 1509)
• 1540 - Ludolph van Ceulen, German mathematician (d. 1610)
• 1582 - John Barclay, Scottish writer (d. 1621)
• 1600 - Pope Clement IX (d. 1669)
• 1608 - Giovanni Alfonso Borelli, Italian physiologist and physicist (d. 1679)
• 1611 - Johannes Hevelius, astronomer (d. 1687)
• 1622 - Adrien Auzout, French astronomer (d. 1691)
• 1701 - Charles Marie de La Condamine, French mathematician and geographer (d. 1774)
• 1706 - John Baskerville, English printer (d. 1775)
• 1712 - Tokugawa Ieshige, Japanese shogun (d. 1761)
• 1717 - Mustafa III, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1774)
• 1719 - Johann Elias Schlegel, German critic and poet (d. 1749)
• 1755 - Samuel Thomas von Sömmering, German physician (d. 1830)
• 1784 - George Hamilton Gordon Aberdeen, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1860)
• 1818 - George S. Boutwell, 20th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1905)
• 1822 - Alexander Mackenzie, 2nd Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1892)
• 1833 - Charles George 'Chinese' Gordon, British soldier and administrator (d. 1885)
• 1841 - Henry Morton Stanley, Welsh-born explorer and journalist (d. 1904)
• 1853 - José Martí, Cuban revolutionary (d. 1895)
• 1855 - William Seward Burroughs I, American inventor (d. 1898)
• 1863 - Ernst William Christmas, Australian painter (d. 1918)
• 1864 - Charles W. Nash, co-founder of Nash Motors, which would become American Motors as well as co-founder of Buick (d. 1948)
• 1864 - Herbert Akroyd Stuart, English engineer - inventor of the first compression ignition engine (d. 1927)
• 1865 - Lala Lajpat Rai, Indian freedom fighter (d. 1928)
• 1865 - Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg, first president of Finland (d. 1952)
• 1873 - Colette, French writer (d. 1954)
• 1874 - Vsevolod Meyerhold, Russian theatre director (d. 1940)
• 1879 - Francis Picabia, French-born painter and poet (d. 1953)
• 1880 - Herbert Strudwick, English cricketer (d. 1970)
• 1884 - Auguste Piccard, Swiss physicist (d. 1962)
• 1886 - Marthe Bibesco, Romanian writer (d. 1973)
• 1886 - Hidetsugu Yagi, Japanese electrical engineer (d. 1976)
• 1887 - Arthur Rubinstein, Polish pianist and conductor (d. 1982)
• 1890 - Robert Stroud, American convict, the Birdman of Alcatraz (d. 1963)
• 1891 - Bill Doak, American baseball player (d. 1954)
• 1892 - Ernst Lubitsch, German-born film director (d. 1947)
• 1897 - Valentin Kataev, Russian writer (d. 1986)
• 1899 - Elias Simojoki, Finnish clergyman and politician (d. 1940)
• 1900 - Alice Neel, American artist (d. 1984)
• 1903 - Aleksander Kamiński, Polish writer (d. 1978)
• 1904 - Canuplin, Filipino magician and bodabil entertainer (d. 1979)
• 1908 - Paul Misraki, French composer and songwriter (d. 1998)
• 1909 - John Thomson, Scottish footballer (d. 1931)
• 1910 - John Banner, Austrian actor (d. 1973)
• 1910 - Arnold Moss, American actor (d. 1989)
• 1910 - Verda Bryant, American author
• 1912 - Jackson Pollock, American painter (d. 1956)
• 1918 - Harry Corbett, English puppeteer (Sooty) (d. 1989)
• 1918 - Trevor Skeet, New Zealand-born British politician (d. 2004)
• 1919 - Francis Gabreski, American fighter pilot (d. 2002)
• 1922 - Robert W. Holley, American biochemist, Nobel Laureate (d. 1993)
• 1927 - Ronnie Scott, British jazz tenor saxophonist and jazz club owner (d. 1996)
• 1927 - Hiroshi Teshigahara, Japanese director (d. 2001)
• 1929 - Acker Bilk, English jazz clarinetist
• 1929 - Claes Oldenburg, Swedish-born artist
• 1933 - Jack Hill, American film director
• 1934 - Juan Manuel Bordeu, Argentine racing driver (d. 1990)
• 1934 - Mitr Chaibancha, Thai actor (d. 1970)
• 1935 - David Lodge, English author
• 1936 - Ismail Kadare, Albanian writer
• 1936 - Alan Alda, American actor, writer, and director
• 1938 - Leonid Zhabotynsky, Ukrainian weightlifter
• 1940 - Carlos Slim Helú, Mexican businessman
• 1941 - Joel Crothers, American actor (d. 1985)
• 1943 - Paul Henderson, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1943 - Dick Taylor, English musician (The Rolling Stones and The Pretty Things)
• 1944 - Susan Howard, American actress
• 1944 - John Tavener, English composer
• 1945 - Robert Wyatt, English musician
• 1948 - Mikhail Baryshnikov, Russian dancer
• 1948 - Charles Taylor, President of Liberia
• 1949 - Gregg Popovich, NBA Basketball Coach
• 1950 - Barbi Benton, American actress
• 1950 - Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifah, King of Bahrain
• 1950 - Bob Hay, American songwriter and musician
• 1951 - Brian Bilbray, American politician
• 1951 - Leonid Kadeniuk, Ukrainian cosmonaut
• 1953 - Colin Campbell, Canadian ice hockey player and executive
• 1953 - Chris Carter, English musician (Throbbing Gristle, Chris & Cosey)
• 1954 - Rick Warren, American pastor and author
• 1955 - Nicolas Sarkozy, President of France
• 1957 - Mark Napier, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1957 - Frank Skinner English comedian
• 1959 - Frank Darabont, American filmmaker
• 1959 - Burkhard Dallwitz, German-born composer
• 1959 - Randi Rhodes, Nova M Radio personality
• 1959 - Dave Sharp, Welsh guitarist (The Alarm)
• 1960 - Robert von Dassanowsky, American cultural historian, writer, and producer
• 1961 - Normand Rochefort, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1962 - Keith Hamilton Cobb, American actor
• 1962 - Sam Phillips, American singer
• 1963 - Dan Spitz, American musician, guitarist for Anthrax
• 1965 - Lynda Boyd, American actress
• 1967 - Jan Lamb, Hong Kong disc jockey & stand-up comedian
• 1968 - Sarah McLachlan, Canadian singer and songwriter
• 1968 - DJ Muggs, American musician (Cypress Hill)
• 1968 - Rakim, born William Michael Griffin Jr., American rapper
• 1969 - Kathryn Morris, American actress
• 1969 - Mo Rocca, American writer and comedian
• 1969 - Linda Sanchez, American politician
• 1971 - Anthony Hamilton, American soul singer
• 1972 - Nicky Southall, English footballer
• 1974 - Tony Delk, American basketball player
• 1974 - Jermaine Dye, American baseball player
• 1974 - Magglio Ordóñez, Venezuelan baseball player
• 1975 - David Zingler, American writer
• 1975 - Anne Montminy, Canadian Olympic diver
• 1975 - Lee Latchford-Evans, English singer
• 1975 - Junior Spivey, American baseball player
• 1975 - Terri Colombino, American Actress
• 1976 - Mark Madsen, American basketball player
• 1976 - Jarrod Montague, American drummer (Taproot)
• 1976 - Lee Ingleby, British actor
• 1976 - Miltiadis Sapanis, Greek footballer
• 1976 - Emiko Kado, Japanese professional wrestler (d. 1999)
• 1977 - Daunte Culpepper, American football player
• 1977 - Joey Fatone, American singer (*NSYNC)
• 1977 - Matt DeVries, American guitarist (Chimaira)
• 1977 - Takuma Sato, Japanese Formula One driver
• 1977 - Lyle Overbay, American baseball player
• 1978 - Gianluigi Buffon, Italian footballer
• 1978 - Jamie Carragher, English footballer
• 1978 - Papa Bouba Diop, Senegalese footballer
• 1979 - Ali Boulala, Swedish skateboarder
• 1980 - Nick Carter, American singer (Backstreet Boys)
• 1980 - Jesse James Hollywood, American drug dealer and fugitive
• 1981 - Rick Razzano, American football player
• 1981 - Elijah Wood, American actor
• 1984 - Andre Iguodala, American basketball player
• 1985 - Arnold Mvuemba, French footballer
• 1986 - Jessica Ennis, English heptathlete
• 1986 - Shruti Haasan, Indian actress
• 1986 - Alexis Texas, porn star
• 1988 - Henry Mortensen, American actor

Deaths

• 814 - Charlemagne (b. 742)
• 1061 - Duke Spytihněv II of Bohemia (b. 1031)
• 1271 - Isabella of Aragon, queen of Philip III of France (b. 1247)
• 1443 - Robert le Maçon, Chancellor of France
• 1547 - King Henry VIII of England (b. 1491)
• 1596 - Sir Francis Drake, English explorer and soldier
• 1599 - Cristofano Malvezzi, Italian composer (b. 1547)
• 1613 - Thomas Bodley, English diplomat and library founder (b. 1545)
• 1621 - Pope Paul V (b. 1550)
• 1681 - Richard Allestree, English royalist churchman (b. 1619)
• 1672 - Pierre Séguier, Chancellor of France (b. 1588)
• 1687 - Johannes Hevelius, Polish astronomer (b. 1611)
• 1697 - John Fenwick, English conspirator
• 1754 - Ludvig Holberg, Norwegian historian and writer (b. 1684)
• 1832 - Augustin Daniel Belliard, French general (b. 1769)
• 1859 - Frederick John Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1782)
• 1864 - Émile Clapeyron, French engineer and physicist (b. 1799)
• 1903 - Augusta Holmès, French composer (b. 1847)
• 1912 - Gustave de Molinari, Belgian economist (b. 1819)
• 1915 - Nikolay Umov, Russian physicist (b. 1846)
• 1918 - John McCrae, Canadian poet (b. 1872)
• 1935 - Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov, Russian composer (b. 1859)
• 1937 - Anastasios Metaxas, Greek architect and shooter (b. 1862)
• 1938 - Bernd Rosemeyer, German racecar driver (b. 1909)
• 1939 - William Butler Yeats, Irish writer, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1865)
• 1947 - Reynaldo Hahn, French composer (b. 1875)
• 1949 - Jean-Pierre Wimille, French race car driver (b. 1908)
• 1950 - Nikolai Luzin, Russian mathematician (b. 1883)
• 1951 - Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, president of Finland (b.1867)
• 1953 - James Scullin, 9th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1876)
• 1953 - Derek Bentley (b. 1933) (executed)
• 1959 - Walter Beall, American baseball player (b. 1899)
• 1960 - Zora Neale Hurston, American author (b. 1891)
• 1963 - Gustave Garrigou, French cyclist (b. 1884)
• 1965 - Tich Freeman, English cricketer (b. 1888)
• 1965 - Maxime Weygand, French soldier (b. 1867)
• 1971 - Donald Winnicott, British psychoanalyst (b. 1896)
• 1979 - Eileen Shanahan, Irish Poet (b. 1901)
• 1973 - John Banner, Austrian actor (b. 1910)
• 1975 - Ola Raknes, Norwegian psychoanalyst and philologist (b. 1887)
• 1983 - Billy Fury, British singer (b. 1940)
• 1983 - Frank Forde, 15th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1890)
• 1986 - Greg Jarvis - Crew of Space Shuttle Challenger (b. 1944)
• 1986 - Christa McAuliffe - Crew of Space Shuttle Challenger (b. 1948)
• 1986 - Ronald McNair - Crew of Space Shuttle Challenger (b. 1950)
• 1986 - Ellison Onizuka - Crew of Space Shuttle Challenger (b. 1946)
• 1986 - Judith Resnik - Crew of Space Shuttle Challenger (b. 1949)
• 1986 - Francis R. Scobee - Crew of Space Shuttle Challenger (b. 1939)
• 1986 - Michael J. Smith - Crew of Space Shuttle Challenger (b. 1945)
• 1988 - Klaus Fuchs, German physicist (b. 1911)
• 1994 - Hal Smith, American actor (b. 1916)
• 1996 - Joseph Brodsky, Russian-born poet, Nobel Laureate (b. 1940)
• 1996 - Jerry Siegel, American cartoonist (b. 1914)
• 1996 - Burne Hogarth, American cartoonist (b. 1911)
• 1999 - Markey Robinson, Irish painter (b. 1918)
• 1999 - Torgny T:son Segerstedt, Swedish sociologist and philosopher (b. 1908)
• 2001 - Curt Blefary, American baseball player (b. 1943)
• 2002 - Astrid Lindgren, Swedish author (b. 1907)
• 2004 - Lloyd M. Bucher, U.S. Navy officer (b. 1927)
• 2004 - Don Cholito, Puerto Rican radio host (b. 1923)
• 2004 - Elroy Hirsch, American football player (b. 1923)
• 2004 - Don Stansauk, American professional wrestler (b. 1936)
• 2004 - Joe Viterelli, American actor (b. 1937)
• 2005 - Jim Capaldi, English singer and songwriter (b. 1944)
• 2005 - Karen Lancaume, French actress (suicide) (b. 1973)
• 2005 - Jacques Villeret, French actor (b. 1951)
• 2006 - Yitzchak Kaduri, rabbi (b. around 1900)
• 2006 - Henry McGee, English comedian (b. 1929)
• 2007 - Carlo Clerici, Swiss professional road racing cyclist (b. 1929)
• 2007 - Father Robert Drinan, Roman Catholic Priest and American politician (b. 1920)
• 2007 - Karel Svoboda, Czech composer of popular music (b. 1938)
• 2007 - Hsu Wei Lun, Taiwanese actress (b. 1978)
• 2007 - Yelena Romanova, Russian athlete (b. 1963)
• 2007 - Emma Tillman, the world's oldest living person from January 24-28, 2007 (b. 1892)
• 2008 - Christodoulos, Archbishop of Athens and All Greece (b. 1939)
• 2008 - Bengt Lindström, Swedish artist (b. 1925)

Holidays and observances

• Catholicism - Feast day of St. Thomas Aquinas
• World Leprosy Day
• January 28 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada