From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
August 28 is the 240th day of the year (241st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 125 days remaining.
[edit] Events
- 475 - The Roman general Orestes forces western Roman Emperor Julius Nepos to flee his capital of Ravenna and appoints his own son Romulus Augustus in his place.
- 489 - Theodoric, king of the Ostrogoths defeats Odoacer at the Battle of Isonzo, forcing his way into Italy.
- 888 - Today is the last day until February 2, 2000 that all of the digits in the date are even.
- 1189 - The Crusaders begin the Siege of Acre under Guy of Lusignan
- 1521 - The Ottoman Turks occupy Belgrade.
- 1542 - Reinforced with at least 600 arquebusiers and cavalry, Imam Ahmad Gragn attacks the Portuguese camp in the Battle of Wofla. The Portuguese are scattered, their leader Christovão da Gama captured and afterwards executed.
- 1565 - St. Augustine, Florida, established. It is the oldest surviving European settlement in the United States.
- 1609 - Henry Hudson discovers Delaware Bay.
- 1619 - Ferdinand II is elected emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
- 1640 - King Charles I's English army loses to a Scottish Covenanter force at the Battle of Newburn
- 1830 - The Tom Thumb presages the first railway service in the United States.
- 1845 - Scientific American magazine publishes its first issue.
- 1849 - After a month-long siege, Venice, which had declared itself independent, surrenders to Austria.
- 1850 - Richard Wagner's opera Lohengrin premieres in Weimar, Germany
- 1859 - A geomagnetic storm causes the Aurora Borealis to shine so brightly that it is seen clearly over parts of USA, Europe, and even as further afield as Japan.
- 1862 - Second Battle of Bull Run, also known as the battle of Second Manassas.
- 1867 - The United States occupies Midway Island.
- 1879 - Cetshwayo, last king of the Zulus, is captured by the British.
- 1884 - First known photograph of a tornado is made.
- 1898 - Caleb Bradham renames his carbonated soft drink "Pepsi-Cola".
- 1907 - UPS is founded by James E. Casey in Seattle, Washington.
- 1913 - Queen Wilhelmina opens the Peace Palace in The Hague.
- 1914 - The British fleet beats the German fleet in the Battle of Heligoland Bight.
- 1916 - Germany declares war on Romania.
- 1916 - Italy declares war on Germany.
- 1917 - Ten suffragists are arrested when picketing the White House.
- 1918 - PFC Spartak Varna founded.
- 1924 - Georgian opposition stages the August Uprising against the Soviet Union.
- 1937 - Toyota Motors becomes an independent company.
- 1943 - In Denmark, a general strike against the Nazi occupation is started.
- 1944 - Marseille and Toulon are liberated.
- 1953 - Nippon Television broadcasts Japan's first television show, including its first TV advertisement.
- 1955 - Black teenager Emmett Till is murdered in Mississippi, allegedly for whistling to a white woman and calling her baby.
- 1961 - Motown releases what would be its first number one hit, "Please Mr. Postman" by The Marvelettes.
- 1963 - During a 200,000-person civil rights rally in at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., Martin Luther King, Jr. gives his famous I have a dream speech.
- 1964 - The Beatles meet Bob Dylan for the first time.
- 1964 - The Philadelphia race riot begins.
- 1965 - Bob Dylan is booed off the stage at Forest Hills Stadium in New York for playing an electric guitar.
- 1968 - Riots in Chicago, Illinois, during the Democratic National Convention.
- 1971 - The dollar is allowed to float against the yen for the first time.
- 1972 - During the Olympic Games in Munich, Mark Spitz gets his first of seven gold medals in swimming events.
- 1974 - Geir Hallgrímsson became Prime Minister of Iceland
- 1979 - An IRA bomb explodes on the Great Market in Brussels.
- 1981 - The National Centers for Disease Control announce a high incidence of Pneumocystis and Kaposi's sarcoma in gay men. Soon, these will be recognized as symptoms of an immune disorder, which will be called AIDS.
- 1986 - Stage of siege declared in Bolivia.
- 1986 - US Navy officer Jerry A. Whitworth is sentenced to 365 years imprisonment for espionage for the Soviet Union.
- 1988 - Ramstein airshow disaster: Three aircraft of the Frecce Tricolori demonstration team collide and fall into the crowd. 69 are killed.
- 1990 - Iraq declares Kuwait to be its newest province.
- 1990 - The Plainfield Tornado: An F5 tornado hits in Plainfield, Illinois, and Joliet, Illinois, killing 28 people.
- 1991 - A drunk motorman speeds into the Union Square station on the No. 4 line in New York City. The train derails on the curve, killing six passengers and injuring dozens.
- 1993 - A dam breaks in Qinghai, China. 223 die.
- 1993 - 76 die in an airplane crash in Tajikistan.
- 1995 - A mortar shell kills 38 people in Sarajevo, Bosnia.
- 1996 - Britons Charles, Prince of Wales, and Diana, Princess of Wales, are divorced.
- 1998 - Pakistan's National Assembly passes a constitutional amendment to make the "Qur'an and Sunnah" the "supreme law" but the bill is defeated in the Senate.
- 2005 - An evacuation is ordered by New Orleans, Louisiana mayor Ray Nagin and Louisiana governor Kathleen Blanco as Hurricane Katrina moves nearer to Louisiana.
- 2006 - Polygamist Warren Jeffs is captured in Clark County, Nevada after being put on the FBI Ten Most Wanted list in May 2006.
[edit] Births
- 1025 - Emperor Go-Reizei of Japan (d. 1068)
- 1582 (O.S.) - Taichang Emperor, of the Ming dynasty of China (d. 1620)
- 1592 - George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, English statesman (d. 1628)
- 1612 - Marcus Zuerius van Boxhorn, Dutch scholar (d. 1653)
- 1714 - Anthony Ulrich II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (d. 1774)
- 1749 - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German writer and scientist (d. 1832)
- 1774 - Elizabeth Ann Seton, American-born Catholic saint (d. 1821)
- 1801 - Antoine Augustin Cournot, French mathematician (d. 1877)
- 1814 - Sheridan le Fanu, Irish writer (d. 1873)
- 1828 (O.S.) - Leo Tolstoy, Russian writer (d. 1910)
- 1840 - Alexander Cameron Sim, Scottish merchant
- 1849 - Benjamin Godard, French composer (d. 1895)
- 1853 - Vladimir Shukhov, Russian engineer and inventor (d. 1939)
- 1867 - Umberto Giordano, Italian composer (d. 1948)
- 1878 - George Whipple, American scientist, and Nobel laureate (d. 1976)
- 1894 - Karl Böhm, Austrian conductor (d. 1981)
- 1894 - Elisha Scott, footballer (d. 1959)
- 1898 - Charlie Grimm, baseball player (d. 1983)
- 1899 - Charles Boyer, French actor (d. 1978)
- 1903 - Bruno Bettelheim, American psychologist (d. 1990)
- 1904 - Secondo Campini, Italian jet engine pioneer (d. 1980)
- 1906 - John Betjeman, English poet (d. 1984)
- 1908 - Roger Tory Peterson, American ornithologist (d. 1996)
- 1910 - Tjalling Koopmans, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1985)
- 1911 - Joseph Luns, Dutch politician (d. 2002)
- 1913 - Robertson Davies, Canadian writer (d. 1995)
- 1913 - Richard Tucker, American tenor (d. 1975)
- 1913 - Terence Reese, British bridge player (d. 1996)
- 1913 - Boris Pahor, Slovenian writer
- 1915 - Max Robertson, British sports commentator
- 1916 - Jack Vance, American author
- 1917 - Jack Kirby, American comic book artist (d. 1994)
- 1919 - Godfrey Hounsfield, Nobel Laureate (d. 2004)
- 1920 - Frits Bernard, pedophile activist (d. 2006)
- 1924 - Janet Frame, New Zealand author (d. 2004)
- 1924 - Peggy Ryan, American actress (d. 2004)
- 1925 - Donald O'Connor, American singer, dancer, and actor (d. 2003)
- 1928 - F. William Free, American advertising executive (d. 2003)
- 1929 - Istvan Kertesz, Hungarian conductor (d. 1973)
- 1930 - Ben Gazzara, American actor
- 1931 - John Shirley-Quirk, English bass-baritone
- 1932 - Andy Bathgate, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1936 - Don Denkinger, American baseball umpire
- 1938 - Paul Martin, former Prime Minister of Canada
- 1938 - Maurizio Costanzo, Italian television journalist
- 1940 - Roger Pingeon, French cylist
- 1941 - Sybille de Selys Longchamps, Belgian aristocrat
- 1942 - Sterling Morrison, American guitarist (The Velvet Underground) (d. 1995)
- 1943 - David Soul, American actor
- 1943 - Lou Piniella, American baseball manager
- 1944 - Marianne Heemskerk, Dutch swimmer
- 1944 - Melvin Dummar, American claimant to the Howard Hughes estate
- 1947 - Liza Wang, Hong Kong actress
- 1947 - Shoto Tanemura, Japanese martial artist
- 1948 - Danny Seraphine, American musician (Chicago)
- 1949 - Hugh Cornwell, British musician (The Stranglers)
- 1952 - Rita Dove, American poet
- 1952 - Wendelin Wiedeking, German businessman
- 1957 - Daniel Stern, American actor
- 1957 - Rick Rossovich, American actor
- 1958 - Scott Hamilton, American figure skater
- 1960 - Emma Samms, English actress
- 1961 - Kim Appleby, British singer
- 1962 - Eugene Robinson, American musician (Oxbow)
- 1965 - Amanda Tapping, Canadian actress
- 1965 - Shania Twain, Canadian singer
- 1966 - René Higuita, Colombian footballer
- 1966 - Priya Dutt, Indian social worker and politician
- 1968 - Billy Boyd, Scottish actor
- 1969 - Jason Priestley, Canadian actor
- 1969 - Jack Black, American actor
- 1969 - Mary McCartney, English photographer
- 1970 - Sherrié Austin, Australian actress/singer
- 1971 - Todd Eldredge, American figure skater
- 1971 - Janet Evans, American swimmer
- 1971 - Raul Marquez, Mexican-born American boxer
- 1972 - Jay Witasick, American baseball player
- 1973 - Matthew John Armstrong, American actor
- 1974 - Johan Andersson, Swedish game programmer
- 1974 - Carsten Jancker, German footballer
- 1975 - Gareth Farrelly, Irish footballer
- 1975 - DJ Assault, American musician
- 1978 - Jess Margera, American drummer
- 1978 - Shaniqua, American wrestling valet
- 1979 - Robert Hoyzer, German football referee
- 1979 - Shaila Durcal, Spanish singer
- 1979 - David Graham, Australian reality show personality
- 1979 - Kristen Hughes, Australian netballer
- 1979 - Markus Pröll, German footballer
- 1979 - Ruth Riley, American basketball player
- 1980 - T.J. Beam, American baseball player
- 1981 - Martin Erat, Czech hockey player
- 1981 - Vaggelis Moras, Greek footballer
- 1981 - Raphael Matos, Brazilian racing driver
- 1982 - LeAnn Rimes, American singer
- 1982 - Thiago Motta, Brazilian footballer
- 1983 - Lasith Malinga, Sri Lankan cricketer
- 1985 - Cove Reber, American Lead singer for Saosin
- 1985 - Ralph Woolfolk IV, American actor
- 1986 - Gilad Shalit, Israeli military officer
- 1990 - Bojan Krkić, Spanish footballer
- 1991 - Kyle Massey, American actor
- 1999 - Prince Nikolai of Denmark
[edit] Deaths
- 388 - Magnus Maximus, Roman usurper
- 430 - Augustine of Hippo, North African saint and theologian (b. 354)
- 1341 - King Leo V of Armenia (b. 1309)
- 1481 - King Afonso V of Portugal (b. 1432)
- 1645 - Hugo Grotius, Dutch philosopher and writer (b. 1583)
- 1654 - Axel Oxenstierna, Lord High Chancellor of Sweden (b. 1583)
- 1678 - John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton, English soldier (b. 1602)
- 1757 - David Hartley, English philosopher (b. 1705)
- 1784 - Junípero Serra, Spanish missionary (b. 1713)
- 1785 - Jean-Baptiste Pigalle, French sculptor (b. 1714)
- 1793 - Adam Philippe, Comte de Custine, French general (executed) (b. 1740)
- 1805 - Alexander Carlyle, Scottish church leader (b. 1722)
- 1818 - Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable, founder of Chicago
- 1820 - Andrew Ellicott, American surveyor (b. 1754)
- 1839 - William Smith, English geologist (b. 1769)
- 1900 - Henry Sidgwick, English philosopher (b. 1838)
- 1903 - Frederick Law Olmsted, American landscape architect (b. 1822)
- 1919 - Louis Botha, Boer leader (b. 1862)
- 1933 - Helen Dunbar, American actress (b. 1863)
- 1943 - King Boris III of Bulgaria (b. 1894)
- 1947 - Manolete, Spanish bullfighter (b. 1917)
- 1955 - Emmett Till, American civil rights movement icon (b. 1941)
- 1959 - Bohuslav Martinů, Czech composer (b. 1890)
- 1965 - Giulio Racah, Israeli physicist (b. 1909)
- 1975 - Fritz Wotruba, Austrian sculptor (b. 1907)
- 1976 - Anissa Jones, American actress (b. 1958)
- 1981 - Béla Guttman, Hungarian footballer (b. 1900)
- 1985 - Ruth Gordon, American actress (b. 1896)
- 1987 - John Huston, American movie director (b. 1906)
- 1990 - Willy Vandersteen, Belgian cartoonist (b. 1913)
- 1993 - William Stafford, American writer (b. 1914)
- 1995 - Earl Bascom, American rodeo pioneer (b. 1906)
- 1995 - Michael Ende, German writer (b. 1929)
- 2005 - Esther Szekeres, Hungarian mathematician (b. 1910)
- 2005 - George Szekeres, Hungarian mathematician (b. 1911)
- 2006 - Jesse Pintado, Mexican-born American musician (Terrorizer, Napalm Death) (b. 1969)
- 2006 - Melvin Schwartz, American physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1932)
[edit] Holidays and observances
[edit] External links
