December 28

December 28 is the 362nd day of the year (363rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are three days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

• 457 – Majorian is acclaimed emperor of the Western Roman Empire and recognized by emperor Leo I the Thracian.
• 484 – Alaric II succeeds his father Euric and becomes king of the Visigoths. He establishes his capital at Aire-sur-l'Adour (Southern Gaul).
• 893 – An earthquake destroys the city of Dvin, Armenia.
• 1065 – Westminster Abbey is consecrated.
• 1308 – The reign of Emperor Hanazono, Emperor of Japan, begins.
• 1612 – Galileo Galilei becomes the first astronomer to observe the planet Neptune, although he mistakenly catalogued it as a fixed star.
• 1768 – King Taksin's coronation achieved through conquest as a king of Thailand and established Thonburi as a capital.
• 1795 – Construction of Yonge Street, formerly recognized as the longest street in the world, begins in York, Upper Canada (present-day Toronto, Ontario, Canada).
• 1824 – The Bathurst War comes to an end with the surrender of the Wiradjuri.
• 1832 – John C. Calhoun becomes the first Vice President of the United States to resign.
• 1835 – Osceola leads his Seminole warriors in Florida into the Second Seminole War against the United States Army.
• 1836 – South Australia and Adelaide are founded.
• 1836 – Spain recognizes the independence of Mexico.
• 1846 – Iowa is admitted as the 29th U.S. state.
• 1867 – United States claims Midway Atoll, the first territory annexed outside Continental limits.
• 1879 – Tay Bridge disaster: The central part of the Tay Rail Bridge in Dundee, Scotland, United Kingdom collapses as a train passes over it, killing 75.
• 1885 – Indian National Congress, a political party of India is founded in Bombay, British India.
• 1895 – The Lumière brothers perform for their first paying audience at the Grand Cafe in Boulevard des Capucines, marking the debut of the cinema.
• 1895 – Wilhelm Röntgen publishes a paper detailing his discovery of a new type of radiation, which later will be known as x-rays.
• 1902 – The Syracuse Athletic Club defeated the New York Philadelphians, 5-0, in the first indoor professional football game, which was held at Madison Square Garden.
• 1908 – A magnitude 7.2 earthquake rocks Messina, Sicily, Italy killing over 75,000.
• 1912 – The first municipally owned streetcars take to the streets in San Francisco, California.
• 1918 – Constance Markievicz, while detained in Holloway prison, became the first woman to be elected MP to the British House of Commons.
• 1935 – Pravda publishes a letter by Pavel Postyshev, who revives New Year tree tradition in the Soviet Union.
• 1941 – World War II: Operation Anthropoid, the plot to assassinate high-ranking Nazi officer Reinhard Heydrich, commences.
• 1943 – World War II: After eight days of brutal house-to-house fighting, the Battle of Ortona concludes with the victory of the 1st Canadian Infantry Division over the German 1st Parachute Division and the capture of the Italian town of Ortona.
• 1944 – Maurice Richard becomes the first player to score 8 points in one game of NHL ice hockey.
• 1948 – The DC-3 airliner NC16002 disappears 50 miles south of Miami, Florida.
• 1956 – Chin Peng, David Marshall and Tunku Abdul Rahman meet in Baling, Malaya to try and resolve the Malayan Emergency situation.
• 1958 – "Greatest Game Ever Played" – Baltimore Colts defeat the New York Giants in the first ever National Football League sudden death overtime game at New York's Yankee Stadium.
• 1972 – Kim Il-sung, already Prime Minister of North Korea and First Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, becomes the first President of North Korea.
• 1973 – The Endangered Species Act is passed in the United States.
• 1978 – With the crew investigating a problem with the landing gear, United Airlines Flight 173 runs out of fuel and crashes in Portland, Oregon, killing 10. As a result, United Airlines instituted the industry's first crew resource management program.
• 1989 – A magnitude 5.6 earthquake hits Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, killing 13 people.
• 2000 – U.S. retail giant Montgomery Ward announces it is going out of business after 128 years.
• 2008 – War in Somalia: The militaries of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government and Ethiopian troops capture Mogadishu unopposed.
• 2009 – Forty-three people die in a suicide bombing in Karachi, Pakistan, where Shia Muslims are observing the Day of Ashura.
• 2010 – Arab Spring: Popular protests begin in Algeria against the government.
• 2011 – Uludere airstrike: Turkish warplanes bomb 34 Kurds of Turkish nationality in the district of Uludere.

Births

• 1164 – Emperor Rokujō of Japan (d. 1176)
• 1522 – Margaret of Parma (d. 1583)
• 1619 – Antoine Furetière, French author and scholar (d. 1688)
• 1635 – Elizabeth Stuart, English daughter of Charles I of England (d. 1650)
• 1651 – Johann Krieger, German composer and organist (d. 1735)
• 1655 – Charles Cornwallis, 3rd Baron Cornwallis, English politician (d. 1698)
• 1665 – George FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Northumberland, English general (d. 1716)
• 1722 – Eliza Lucas, agriculturalist and inventor (d. 1793)
• 1763 – John Molson, English-Canadian brewer, founded the Molson Brewing Company (d. 1836)
• 1775 – Jean-Gabriel Eynard, Swiss banker (d. 1863)
• 1798 – Thomas James Henderson, Scottish astronomer (d. 1844)
• 1818 – Carl Remigius Fresenius, German chemist (d. 1897)
• 1842 – Calixa Lavallée, Canadian army officer and composer (d. 1891)
• 1856 – Woodrow Wilson, American politician, 28th President of the United States, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1924)
• 1859 – Venustiano Carranza, Mexican politician, 37th President of Mexico (d. 1920)
• 1866 – Szymon Askenazy, Polish historian and diplomat, founded the Askenazy school (d. 1935)
• 1870 – Charles Bennett, English runner (d. 1949)
• 1882 – Arthur Eddington, English astronomer (d. 1944)
• 1887 – Werner Kolhörster, German physicist (d. 1946)
• 1888 – F. W. Murnau, German director (d. 1931)
• 1890 – Quincy Wright, American political scientist (d. 1970)
• 1895 – Carol Ryrie Brink, American author (d. 1981)
• 1898 – Carl-Gustaf Rossby, Swedish meteorologist (d. 1957)
• 1898 – Shigematsu Sakaibara, Japanese admiral (d. 1947)
• 1899 – Eugeniusz Bodo, Polish actor (d. 1943)
• 1902 – Mortimer J. Adler, American philosopher and author (d. 2001)
• 1902 – Shen Congwen, Chinese author (d. 1988)
• 1903 – Earl Hines, American pianist (d. 1983)
• 1903 – John von Neumann, Hungarian-American mathematician (d. 1957)
• 1905 – Cliff Arquette, American actor (d. 1974)
• 1907 – Ze'ev Ben-Haim, Israeli linguist (d. 2013)
• 1908 – Lew Ayres, American actor (d. 1996)
• 1910 – Billy Williams, American singer (The Charioteers) (d. 1972)
• 1913 – Lou Jacobi, Canadian actor (d. 2009)
• 1914 – Bidia Dandaron, Russian author and educator (d. 1974)
• 1914 – Bernard Youens, English actor (d. 1984)
• 1915 – Pops Staples, American singer (The Staple Singers) (d. 2000)
• 1919 – Emily Cheney Neville, American author (d. 1997)
• 1920 – Bruce McCarty, American architect, designed the Knoxville City-County Building (d. 2013)
• 1920 – Steve Van Buren, American football player (d. 2012)
• 1921 – Johnny Otis, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2012)
• 1922 – Stan Lee, American comic book writer, publisher, producer, and actor
• 1924 – Milton Obote, Ugandan politician, 2nd President of Uganda (d. 2005)
• 1925 – Hildegard Knef, German actress (d. 2002)
• 1926 – Donald Carr, English former cricket administrator and player
• 1926 – Donna Hightower, American singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
• 1928 – Moe Koffman, Canadian musician and composer (d. 2001)
• 1929 – Brian Redhead, English journalist and author (d. 1994)
• 1929 – Terry Sawchuk, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1970)
• 1931 – Guy Debord, French theorist and author (d. 1994)
• 1931 – Martin Milner, American actor
• 1932 – Dhirubhai Ambani, Indian businessman, founded Reliance Industries (d. 2002)
• 1932 – Dorsey Burnette, American singer-songwriter (The Rock and Roll Trio) (d. 1979)
• 1932 – Roy Hattersley, English journalist and politician
• 1932 – Harry Howell, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1932 – Nichelle Nichols, American actress and singer
• 1932 – Manuel Puig, Argentine author (d. 1990)
• 1933 – John Y. Brown, Jr., American politician, 55th Governor of Kentucky
• 1934 – Rudi Faßnacht, German football coach and manager (d. 2000)
• 1934 – Yujiro Ishihara, Japanese actor (d. 1987)
• 1934 – Maggie Smith, English actress
• 1936 – Alan Coleman, English-Australian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2013)
• 1936 – Jacques Mesrine, French criminal (d. 1979)
• 1936 – Lawrence Schiller, American journalist
• 1937 – Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa, Portuguese businessman
• 1937 – Ratan Tata, Indian businessman
• 1938 – Dick Sudhalter, American trumpet player (d. 2008)
• 1939 – Philip Anschutz, American businessman, founded Anschutz Entertainment Group
• 1939 – Michelle Urry, American journalist (d. 2006)
• 1940 – A. K. Antony, Indian politician, Defence Minister of India
• 1940 – Don Francisco, Chilean-American television host
• 1941 – Intikhab Alam, Pakistani cricketer
• 1942 – Roger Swerts, Belgian cyclist
• 1943 – Juan Luis Cipriani Thorne, Peruvian cardinal
• 1943 – Keith Floyd, English chef and author (d. 2009)
• 1943 – David Peterson, Canadian politician, 20th Premier of Ontario
• 1943 – Joan Ruddock, Welsh politician
• 1943 – Richard Whiteley, English journalist (d. 2005)
• 1944 – Johnny Isakson, American politician
• 1944 – Kary Mullis, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1944 – Gordon Taylor, English trade unionist and former football player
• 1945 – Birendra of Nepal (d. 2001)
• 1945 – Max Hastings, English journalist, editor and writer
• 1946 – Mike Beebe, American politician, 45th Governor of Arkansas
• 1946 – Pierre Falardeau, Canadian director and activist (d. 2009)
• 1946 – Tim Johnson, American politician
• 1946 – Barbara Judge, American lawyer and businesswoman
• 1946 – Edgar Winter, American singer-songwriter, musician, and producer (Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band)
• 1947 – Aurelio Rodríguez, Mexican baseball player (d. 2000)
• 1948 – Mary Weiss, American singer (The Shangri-Las)
• 1949 – Barbara De Fina, American film producer
• 1950 – Øivind Blunck, Norwegian comedian and actor
• 1950 – Alex Chilton, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (The Box Tops and Big Star) (d. 2010)
• 1950 – Rainer Maria Latzke, German-American painter
• 1950 – Hugh McDonald, American bass player (Bon Jovi)
• 1951 – Ian Buruma, Dutch author and scholar
• 1952 – Arun Jaitley, Indian politician
• 1952 – Bridget Prentice, Scottish former politician
• 1953 – Richard Clayderman, French pianist
• 1953 – Tatsumi Fujinami, Japanese wrestler
• 1953 – Charlie Pierce, American journalist and author
• 1954 – Gayle King, American journalist
• 1954 – Lanny Poffo, Canadian-American wrestler
• 1954 – Denzel Washington, American actor, director, and producer
• 1955 – Liu Xiaobo, Chinese activist, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1956 – Nigel Kennedy, English violinist
• 1957 – Anne Sargeant, Australian netball player
• 1958 – Terry Butcher, English football manager and former player
• 1958 – Gilles Leroy, French author
• 1958 – Twila Paris, American singer-songwriter and pianist
• 1959 – Ana Torroja, Spanish singer-songwriter (Mecano)
• 1960 – Ray Bourque, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1960 – James Caan, Pakistani-English businessman, founded Hamilton Bradshaw
• 1960 – Robert F. Chew, American actor (d. 2013)
• 1960 – Melvin Turpin, American basketball player (d. 2010)
• 1961 – Kent Nielsen, Danish footballer and coach
• 1962 – Melissa R. Kelly, American politician
• 1962 – Michel Petrucciani, French-American pianist (d. 1999)
• 1962 – Choi Soo-jong, South Korean actor
• 1962 – Niel van der Watt, South African composer
• 1964 – Harisree Ashokan, Indian actor
• 1964 – Maite Zúñiga, Spanish runner
• 1965 – Allar Levandi, Estonian skier
• 1966 – Eric Evans, American porn actor
• 1967 – Chris Ware, American illustrator
• 1968 – Akihiko Hoshide, Japanese engineer and astronaut
• 1968 – Rachel Z, American pianist
• 1969 – Linus Torvalds, Finnish-American computer programmer, developed Linux kernel
• 1970 – Elaine Hendrix, American actress, singer, and producer
• 1970 – Francesca Le, American porn actress and director
• 1971 – Benny Agbayani, American baseball player
• 1971 – William Gates, American basketball player
• 1971 – Frank Sepe, American bodybuilder, model, and author
• 1972 – Roberto Palacios, Peruvian footballer
• 1972 – Supakorn Kitsuwon, Thai actor
• 1972 – Patrick Rafter, Australian tennis player
• 1972 – Adam Vinatieri, American football player
• 1973 – Holger Blume, German sprinter
• 1973 – Marc Blume, German sprinter
• 1973 – Alex Dimitriades, Australian actor
• 1973 – Herborg Kråkevik, Norwegian singer and actress
• 1973 – Seth Meyers, American actor
• 1974 – Rob Niedermayer, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1974 – Jason Ridge, American porn actor
• 1974 – Markus Weinzierl, German footballer
• 1975 – B. J. Ryan, American baseball player
• 1976 – Igor Žiković, Croatian footballer
• 1976 – Joe Manganiello, American actor
• 1977 – Shane Elford, Australian rugby player
• 1977 – Vanessa Ferlito, American actress
• 1978 – Chris Coyne, Australian footballer
• 1978 – John Legend, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and actor
• 1978 – Jang Min-Hyeok, South Korean voice actor
• 1978 – Aisleyne Horgan-Wallace, English glamour model
• 1979 – James Blake, American tennis player
• 1979 – Senna Guemmour, German singer-songwriter (Monrose)
• 1979 – Bill Hall, American baseball player
• 1979 – Noomi Rapace, Swedish actress
• 1979 – Maksim Smirnov, Estonian footballer
• 1979 – Bree Williamson, Canadian actress
• 1980 – Lomana LuaLua, Congo footballer
• 1981 – Narsha, South Korean singer and dancer (Brown Eyed Girls)
• 1981 – Khalid Boulahrouz, Dutch footballer
• 1981 – Elizabeth Jordan Carr, American journalist
• 1981 – Sienna Miller, English actress and fashion designer
• 1981 – Orlando Smeekes, Curaçaoan footballer
• 1981 – Frank Turner, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (Million Dead and Möngöl Hörde)
• 1981 – Mika Väyrynen, Finnish footballer
• 1982 – Cedric Benson, American football player
• 1982 – François Gourmet, Belgian decathlete
• 1982 – Kevin Pereira, American television host
• 1982 – Ferry Rotinsulu, Indonesian footballer
• 1983 – Mike He, Taiwanese actor
• 1984 – Elena Ivashchenko, Russian martial artist (d. 2013)
• 1984 – Leroy Lita, English footballer
• 1984 – Alex Lloyd, English race car driver
• 1985 – Kamani Hill, American footballer
• 1985 – Taryn Terrell, American wrestler and actress
• 1986 – Victoria Atkin, English actress
• 1986 – Tom Huddlestone, English footballer
• 1987 – Thomas Dekker, American actor, singer, and producer
• 1987 – Matthias Schwarz, German footballer
• 1987 – Hannah Tointon, English actress
• 1988 – Kateřina Kramperová, Czech tennis player
• 1988 – Martina Pretelli, Sammarinese sprinter
• 1988 – Florrie, English singer-songwritter
• 1988 – Lo Chih-An, Taiwanese footballer
• 1988 – Lo Chih-En, Taiwanese footballer
• 1989 – Mackenzie Rosman, American actress
• 1990 – David Archuleta, American singer-songwriter and actor
• 1990 – Zlatko Hebib, Swiss footballer
• 1991 – Riky Widianto, Indonesian Badminton Player
• 2001 – Madison De La Garza, American actress
• 2002 – Kelsey Smith-Briggs, American child abuse victim (d. 2005)

Deaths

• 1367 – Ashikaga Yoshiakira, Japanese shogun (b. 1330)
• 1446 – Antipope Clement VIII (b. 1369)
• 1503 – Piero the Unfortunate, Italian ruler (b. 1471)
• 1558 – Hermann Finck, German composer (b. 1527)
• 1622 – Francis de Sales, French bishop and saint (b. 1567)
• 1663 – Francesco Maria Grimaldi, Italian mathematician and physicist (b. 1618)
• 1671 – Johann Friedrich Gronovius, German scholar and critic (b. 1611)
• 1694 – Mary II of England (b. 1662)
• 1703 – Mustafa II, Ottoman sultan (b. 1664)
• 1706 – Pierre Bayle, French philosopher (b. 1647)
• 1708 – Joseph Pitton de Tournefort, French botanist (b. 1656)
• 1715 – William Carstares, Scottish minister (b. 1649)
• 1734 – Rob Roy MacGregor, Scottish criminal (b. 1671)
• 1736 – Antonio Caldara, Italian composer (b. 1670)
• 1785 – Peter Ernst Wilde, Baltic German physician and journalist (b. 1732)
• 1795 – Eugenio Espejo, Ecuadorian physician and lawyer (b. 1747)
• 1859 – Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay, English historian and politician (b. 1800)
• 1872 – James Van Ness, American politician, 7th Mayor of San Francisco (b. 1808)
• 1897 – William Corby, American priest (b. 1833)
• 1900 – Alexandre de Serpa Pinto, Portuguese soldier and explorer (b. 1846)
• 1916 – Eduard Strauss, Austrian composer (b. 1835)
• 1917 – Alfred Edwin McKay, Canadian pilot (b. 1892)
• 1918 – Olavo Bilac, Brazilian poet (b. 1865)
• 1919 – Johannes Rydberg, Swedish physicist (b. 1854)
• 1924 – Léon Bakst, Russian painter and costume designer (b. 1866)
• 1928 – John Gritenas, Lithuanian-American clergyman (b. 1863)
• 1932 – Jack Blackham, Australian cricketer (b. 1854)
• 1935 – Clarence Day, American author (b. 1874)
• 1937 – Maurice Ravel, French composer (b. 1875)
• 1938 – Florence Lawrence, The Canadian
• 1941 – Hermann Wilker, German rower (b. 1874)
• 1942 – Alfred Flatow, German gymnast (b. 1869)
• 1943 – Steve Evans, American baseball player (b. 1885)
• 1945 – Theodore Dreiser, American author (b. 1871)
• 1947 – Victor Emmanuel III of Italy (b. 1869)
• 1949 – Jack Lovelock, New Zealand runner (b. 1910)
• 1956 – Louis Handley, Italian-American swimmer and water polo player (b. 1874)
• 1956 – Marjorie Fielding, British stage and film actress (b. 1892)
• 1959 – Ante Pavelić, Croatian politician (b. 1889)
• 1960 – Philippe Panneton, Canadian physician, diplomat, and academic (b. 1895)
• 1962 – Kathleen Clifford, American actress (b. 1887)
• 1963 – Paul Hindemith, German violinist, composer, and conductor (b. 1895)
• 1967 – Katharine McCormick, American biologist and philanthropist (b. 1875)
• 1971 – Max Steiner, Austrian-American composer (b. 1888)
• 1976 – Katharine Byron, American politician (b. 1903)
• 1976 – Freddie King, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1934)
• 1977 – Karen Grech, Maltese terrorism victim (b. 1962)
• 1981 – Allan Dwan, Canadian-American director, screenwriter, and producer (b. 1885)
• 1983 – William Demarest, American actor (b. 1892)
• 1983 – Jimmy Demaret, American golfer (b. 1910)
• 1983 – Dennis Wilson, American drummer, songwriter, and producer (The Beach Boys) (b. 1944)
• 1984 – Sam Peckinpah, American director (b. 1925)
• 1986 – John D. MacDonald, American author (b. 1916)
• 1986 – Jan Nieuwenhuys, Dutch painter (b. 1922)
• 1989 – Hermann Oberth, German physicist (b. 1894)
• 1991 – Cassandra Harris, Australian actress (b. 1952)
• 1992 – Sal Maglie, American baseball player (b. 1917)
• 1993 – Howard Caine, American actor (b. 1926)
• 1993 – William L. Shirer, American journalist (b. 1904)
• 1994 – Jean-Louis Lévesque, Canadian businessman and philanthropist (b. 1911)
• 1999 – Clayton Moore, American actor (b. 1914)
• 2001 – Samuel Abraham Goldblith, American soldier and scientist (b. 1919)
• 2001 – William X. Kienzle, American author (b. 1928)
• 2003 – Benjamin Thurman Hacker, American admiral (b. 1935)
• 2004 – Jerry Orbach, American actor (b. 1935)
• 2004 – Susan Sontag, American author (b. 1933)
• 2006 – Jamal Karimi-Rad, Iranian politician (b. 1956)
• 2007 – Aidin Nikkhah Bahrami, Iranian basketball player (b. 1982)
• 2008 – Irene Lieblich, Polish-American painter and Holocaust survivor (b. 1923)
• 2009 – The Rev, American singer-songwriter and drummer (Avenged Sevenfold, Pinkly Smooth, and Suburban Legends) (b. 1981)
• 2010 – Billy Taylor, American pianist and composer (b. 1921)
• 2011 – Jon Roberts, American drug trafficker (b. 1948)
• 2012 – Nicolas Ambraseys, Greek seismologist (b. 1929)
• 2012 – Lord Avie, American race horse (b. 1978)
• 2012 – Bogdan Baltazar, Romanian banker (b. 1939)
• 2012 – Martin G. Barnes, American politician (b. 1948)
• 2012 – Richard Lee Beasley, American politician (b. 1930)
• 2012 – Steve Bryles, American politician (b. 1957)
• 2012 – Emilio Charles, Jr., Mexican wrestler (b. 1956)
• 2012 – Jayne Cortez, American poet (b. 1934)
• 2012 – Mark Crispin, American computer scientist, designed the IMAP (b. 1956)
• 2012 – Václav Drobný, Czech footballer (b. 1980)
• 2012 – Frank Henderson, American politician (b. 1928)
• 2012 – Tommy Keane, Irish footballer (b. 1968)
• 2012 – Leif Krantz, Swedish director, screenwriter, and producer (b. 1932)
• 2012 – Claude-Anne Lopez, Belgian-American author and scholar (b. 1920)
• 2012 – Arman Manukyan, Turkish economist and educator (b. 1931)
• 2012 – Emmanuel Scheffer, German-Israeli football coach and manager (b. 1924)
• 2012 – Burdette Solum, American politician (b. 1927)
• 2012 – Takashi Taniguchi, Japanese voice actor (b. 1947)
• 2012 – Frankie Walsh, Irish hurler (b. 1936)
• 2013 – Joseph Ruskin, American character actor (b. 1924)

Holidays and observances

• Christian Feast Day:
  • Abel (Coptic Church)
  • Caterina Volpicelli
  • Feast of the Holy Innocents or Childermas. In Spain and Latin American countries the festival is celebrated with pranks (inocentadas), similar to April Fools' Day. (Catholic Church, Church of England, Lutheran Church)
  • December 28 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

• King Taksin Memorial Day (Thailand)
• Proclamation Day, celebration started on the day following Christmas. (South Australia)
• The fourth day of Christmas. (Western Christianity)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to December 28.

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