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

• 418 – Pope Boniface I is elected.
• 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 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).
• 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 with the signing of the Santa María–Calatrava Treaty.
• 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 Presidency, 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.
• 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 eight points in one game of NHL ice hockey.
• 1948 – The DC-3 airliner NC16002 disappears 50 miles south of Miami.
• 1948 – United Nations Security Council Resolution 64 and 65 relating to Indonesia are adopted.
• 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 ten. 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.
• 2006 – 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 – Roboski airstrike: Turkish warplanes bomb 34 Kurds of Turkish nationality in the district of Uludere.
• 2014 – Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501 crashes into the Karimata Strait en route from Surabaya to Singapore, killing all 162 people aboard.

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 organist and composer (d. 1735)
• 1655 – Charles Cornwallis, 3rd Baron Cornwallis, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Suffolk (d. 1698)
• 1665 – George FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Northumberland, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire (d. 1716)
• 1722 – Eliza Lucas, Caribbean-American agriculturalist (d. 1793)
• 1763 – John Molson, English-Canadian brewer, founded the Molson Brewery (d. 1836)
• 1775 – Jean-Gabriel Eynard, Swiss banker and photographer (d. 1863)
• 1798 – Thomas Henderson, Scottish astronomer and mathematician (d. 1844)
• 1818 – Carl Remigius Fresenius, German chemist and academic (d. 1897)
• 1842 – Calixa Lavallée, Canadian-American lieutenant and composer (d. 1891)
• 1856 – Woodrow Wilson, American historian and 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, educator, and diplomat, founded the Askenazy school (d. 1935)
• 1870 – Charles Bennett, English runner (d. 1949)
• 1882 – Arthur Eddington, English astronomer, physicist, and mathematician (d. 1944)
• 1882 – Lili Elbe, Danish model and painter (d. 1931)
• 1887 – Werner Kolhörster, German physicist and academic (d. 1946)
• 1888 – F. W. Murnau, German-American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1931)
• 1890 – Quincy Wright, American political scientist, historian, and academic (d. 1970)
• 1895 – Carol Ryrie Brink, American author and playwright (d. 1981)
• 1898 – Carl-Gustaf Rossby, Swedish-American meteorologist and academic (d. 1957)
• 1898 – Shigematsu Sakaibara, Japanese admiral (d. 1947)
• 1899 – Eugeniusz Bodo, Swiss-Polish actor, singer, and screenwriter (d. 1943)
• 1902 – Mortimer J. Adler, American philosopher and author (d. 2001)
• 1902 – Shen Congwen, Chinese author and educator (d. 1988)
• 1903 – Earl Hines, American pianist and bandleader (d. 1983)
• 1903 – John von Neumann, Hungarian-American mathematician and physicist (d. 1957)
• 1907 – Ze'ev Ben-Haim, Ukrainian-Israeli linguist and academic (d. 2013)
• 1908 – Lew Ayres, American actor and singer (d. 1996)
• 1910 – Billy Williams, American singer (The Charioteers) (d. 1972)
• 1911 – Wil van Beveren, Dutch sprinter and journalist (d. 2003)
• 1913 – Lou Jacobi, Canadian-American actor (d. 2009)
• 1914 – Bidia Dandaron, Russian author and educator (d. 1974)
• 1914 – Bernard Youens, English actor (d. 1984)
• 1914 – Pops Staples, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (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, Honduran-American football player (d. 2012)
• 1921 – Johnny Otis, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2012)
• 1922 – Stan Lee, American publisher, producer, and actor
• 1925 – Hildegard Knef, German actress and singer (d. 2002)
• 1925 – Milton Obote, Ugandan engineer and politician, 2nd President of Uganda (d. 2005)
• 1926 – Donald Carr, German-English cricketer and referee
• 1926 – Donna Hightower, American singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
• 1926 – Gökşin Sipahioğlu, Turkish photographer and journalist (d. 2011)
• 1928 – Moe Koffman, Canadian flute player, saxophonist, and composer (d. 2001)
• 1929 – Brian Redhead, English journalist and author (d. 1994)
• 1929 – Terry Sawchuk, Canadian-American ice hockey player (d. 1970)
• 1930 – Mariam A. Aleem, Egyptian illustrator and academic (d. 2010)
• 1931 – Guy Debord, French theorist and author (d. 1994)
• 1931 – Martin Milner, American actor (d. 2015)
• 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, Shadow Home Secretary
• 1932 – Harry Howell, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1932 – Nichelle Nichols, American actress and singer
• 1932 – Manuel Puig, Argentinian author and playwright (d. 1990)
• 1932 – Titien Sumarni, Indonesian actress (d. 1966)
• 1933 – John Y. Brown Jr., American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 55th Governor of Kentucky
• 1934 – Rudi Faßnacht, German footballer and manager (d. 2000)
• 1934 – Yujiro Ishihara, Japanese actor, singer, and producer (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, director, and producer
• 1937 – Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa, Portuguese businessman
• 1937 – Ratan Tata, Indian businessman and philanthropist
• 1938 – Dick Sudhalter, American trumpet player, scholar, and critic (d. 2008)
• 1939 – Philip Anschutz, American businessman, founded Anschutz Entertainment Group
• 1939 – Michael Hinz, German actor (d. 2008)
• 1939 – Gloria Manon, American actress
• 1939 – Frank McLintock, Scottish footballer and manager
• 1939 – Michelle Urry, American journalist and illustrator (d. 2006)
• 1940 – A. K. Antony, Indian lawyer and politician, Indian Minister of Defence
• 1940 – Don Francisco, Chilean-American journalist and talk show host
• 1941 – Intikhab Alam, Indian-Pakistani cricketer and coach
• 1941 – Tetsuya Watari, Japanese actor
• 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 lawyer and politician, 20th Premier of Ontario
• 1943 – Joan Ruddock, Welsh politician
• 1943 – Richard Whiteley, English journalist and game show host (d. 2005)
• 1944 – Sandra Faber, American astronomer and academic
• 1944 – Johnny Isakson, American sergeant and politician
• 1944 – Kary Mullis, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1944 – Gordon Taylor, English footballer
• 1945 – Max Hastings, English journalist, historian, and author
• 1945 – Birendra of Nepal (d. 2001)
• 1946 – Mike Beebe, American lawyer and politician, 45th Governor of Arkansas
• 1946 – Pierre Falardeau, Canadian director, screenwriter, and activist (d. 2009)
• 1946 – Tim Johnson, American lawyer and politician
• 1946 – Barbara, Lady Judge, American-English lawyer and businesswoman
• 1946 – Bill Lee, American baseball player and author
• 1946 – Edgar Winter, American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer (Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band)
• 1947 – Aurelio Rodríguez, Mexican baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 2000)
• 1948 – Mary Weiss, American singer (The Shangri-Las)
• 1949 – Barbara De Fina, American production manager and producer
• 1950 – Øivind Blunck, Norwegian actor and singer
• 1950 – Alex Chilton, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (The Box Tops and Big Star) (d. 2010)
• 1950 – Clifford Cocks, English mathematician and cryptographer
• 1950 – Rainer Maria Latzke, German-American painter and academic
• 1950 – Hugh McDonald, American bass player (Bon Jovi)
• 1951 – Ian Buruma, Dutch author and scholar
• 1952 – Arun Jaitley, Indian lawyer and politician, 9th Indian Minister of Law and Justice
• 1952 – Bridget Prentice, Scottish educator and politician
• 1953 – Richard Clayderman, French pianist
• 1953 – Tatsumi Fujinami, Japanese wrestler and promoter, founded Dradition wrestling promotion
• 1953 – Charlie Pierce, American journalist and author
• 1953 – Martha Wash, American singer-songwriter (The Weather Girls and C+C Music Factory)
• 1954 – Slavitza Jovan, Serbian model and actress
• 1954 – Gayle King, American journalist
• 1954 – Lanny Poffo, Canadian-American wrestler and manager
• 1954 – Denzel Washington, American actor, director, and producer
• 1955 – Stephen Frost, English comedian, actor, and screenwriter
• 1955 – Liu Xiaobo, Chinese author, academic, and activist, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1956 – Nigel Kennedy, English violinist
• 1957 – Anne Sargeant, Australian netball player and sportscaster
• 1958 – Terry Butcher, English footballer and manager
• 1958 – Naomi Fujiyama, Japanese actress
• 1958 – Gilles Leroy, French author
• 1958 – Twila Paris, American singer-songwriter and pianist
• 1959 – Hansjörg Kunze, German runner and sportscaster
• 1959 – Daniel Léo Simpson, American composer
• 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 manager
• 1962 – Abdi Bile, Somalian runner
• 1962 – Michel Petrucciani, French-American pianist (d. 1999)
• 1962 – Niel van der Watt, South African composer and educator
• 1964 – Maite Zúñiga, Spanish runner
• 1965 – Allar Levandi, Estonian skier
• 1967 – Chris Ware, American illustrator
• 1968 – Akihiko Hoshide, Japanese engineer and astronaut
• 1969 – Linus Torvalds, Finnish-American computer programmer, developed Linux kernel
• 1970 – Elaine Hendrix, American actress, singer, and producer
• 1970 – James Jett, American sprinter and football player
• 1970 – Francesca Le, American porn actress and director
• 1970 – Brenda Schultz-McCarthy, Dutch tennis player
• 1971 – Benny Agbayani, American baseball player
• 1971 – Anita Doth, Dutch singer-songwriter (2 Unlimited and Ray & Anita)
• 1971 – William Gates, American basketball player
• 1971 – Frank Sepe, American bodybuilder, model, and author
• 1972 – Supakorn Kitsuwon, Thai actor
• 1972 – Roberto Palacios, Peruvian footballer
• 1972 – Patrick Rafter, Australian-Bermudian tennis player and model
• 1972 – Shinobu Terajima, Japanese actress
• 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, producer, screenwriter, and talk show host
• 1973 – Ids Postma, Dutch speed skater
• 1974 – Rob Niedermayer, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1974 – Jason Ridge, American porn actor and producer
• 1974 – Markus Weinzierl, German footballer and manager
• 1975 – B. J. Ryan, American baseball player
• 1976 – Igor Žiković, Croatian footballer
• 1976 – Joe Manganiello, American actor, stuntman, and producer
• 1976 – Trond Nymark, Norwegian race walker
• 1977 – Keremcem, Turkish singer-songwriter and actor
• 1977 – Derrick Brew, American sprinter
• 1977 – Shane Elford, Australian rugby player
• 1977 – Seun Ogunkoya, Nigerian sprinter
• 1978 – Chris Coyne, Australian footballer and manager
• 1978 – Aisleyne Horgan-Wallace, English model, actress, and fashion designer
• 1978 – John Legend, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and actor
• 1978 – Jang Min-hyeok, South Korean voice actor
• 1978 – Özgü Namal, Turkish singer-songwriter and actress
• 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, Congolese footballer
• 1980 – Ryta Turava, Belarusian race walker
• 1981 – Narsha, South Korean singer, dancer, and actress (Brown Eyed Girls)
• 1981 – Khalid Boulahrouz, Dutch footballer
• 1981 – Elizabeth Jordan Carr, American journalist
• 1981 – Sienna Miller, American-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
• 1982 – Curtis Glencross, Canadian hockey player
• 1983 – Mike He, Taiwanese model and actor
• 1984 – Elena Ivashchenko, Russian martial artist (d. 2013)
• 1984 – Martin Kaymer, German golfer
• 1984 – Leroy Lita, English footballer
• 1984 – Alex Lloyd, English race car driver
• 1984 – Duane Solomon, American runner
• 1985 – Kamani Hill, American soccer player
• 1985 – Meredith Kercher, English murder victim (d. 2007)
• 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 – Florrie, English singer-songwriter
• 1988 – Lo Chih-an, Taiwanese footballer
• 1988 – Lo Chih-en, Taiwanese footballer
• 1988 – Laganja Estranja, American drag queen performer, jewelry designer, and rapper
• 1988 – Martina Pretelli, Sammarinese sprinter
• 1989 – Harry Arter, English-Irish footballer
• 1989 – Mackenzie Rosman, American actress
• 1990 – Ayele Abshero, Ethiopian runner
• 1990 – David Archuleta, American singer-songwriter and actor
• 1990 – Zlatko Hebib, Swiss footballer
• 1990 – Bastiaan Lijesen, Dutch swimmer
• 1991 – Riky Widianto, Indonesian badminton player
• 1992 – Maikhail Miller, American football player (d. 2016)
• 1993 – Yua Shinkawa, Japanese actress and model
• 1996 – Miyu Yoshimoto, Japanese actress
• 1998 – Jared Gilman, American actor
• 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 organist and 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)
• 1706 – Pierre Bayle, French philosopher and author (b. 1647)
• 1708 – Joseph Pitton de Tournefort, French botanist and mycologist (b. 1656)
• 1715 – William Carstares, Scottish minister and academic (b. 1649)
• 1734 – Rob Roy MacGregor, Scottish criminal (b. 1671)
• 1736 – Antonio Caldara, Italian composer (b. 1670)
• 1785 – Peter Ernst Wilde, Polish-Estonian 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, Secretary at War (b. 1800)
• 1872 – James Van Ness, American lawyer and politician, 7th Mayor of San Francisco (b. 1808)
• 1890 – Dennis Miller Bunker, American painter (b. 1861)
• 1897 – William Corby, American priest and academic (b. 1833)
• 1900 – Alexandre de Serpa Pinto, Portuguese soldier and explorer (b. 1846)
• 1913 – Ahmet Mithat Efendi, Turkish journalist and translator (b. 1844)
• 1916 – Eduard Strauss, Austrian violinist and composer (b. 1835)
• 1917 – Alfred Edwin McKay, Canadian captain and pilot (b. 1892)
• 1918 – Olavo Bilac, Brazilian poet and journalist (b. 1865)
• 1919 – Johannes Rydberg, Swedish physicist and academic (b. 1854)
• 1924 – Léon Bakst, Russian painter and costume designer (b. 1866)
• 1932 – Jack Blackham, Australian cricketer (b. 1854)
• 1935 – Clarence Day, American author and illustrator (b. 1874)
• 1937 – Maurice Ravel, French pianist and composer (b. 1875)
• 1938 – Florence Lawrence, Canadian-American actress (b. 1886)
• 1942 – Alfred Flatow, German gymnast (b. 1869)
• 1943 – Steve Evans, American baseball player (b. 1885)
• 1945 – Theodore Dreiser, American journalist and author (b. 1871)
• 1946 – Elie Nadelman, Polish-American sculptor (b. 1882)
• 1947 – Victor Emmanuel III of Italy (b. 1869)
• 1949 – Jack Lovelock, New Zealand runner and soldier (b. 1910)
• 1956 – Marjorie Fielding, English actress (b. 1892)
• 1956 – Louis Handley, Italian-American swimmer and water polo player (b. 1874)
• 1959 – Ante Pavelić, Croatian lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the Independent State of Croatia (b. 1889)
• 1960 – Philippe Panneton, Canadian physician, academic, and diplomat (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)
• 1968 – David Ogilvy, 12th Earl of Airlie, Scottish peer, soldier and courtier (b. 1893)
• 1971 – Max Steiner, Austrian-American pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1888)
• 1976 – Katharine Byron, American politician (b. 1903)
• 1976 – Freddie King, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1934)
• 1977 – Karin Grech, Maltese terrorism victim (b. 1962)
• 1981 – Allan Dwan, Canadian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1885)
• 1983 – William Demarest, American actor and singer (b. 1892)
• 1983 – Jimmy Demaret, American golfer and sportscaster (b. 1910)
• 1983 – Dennis Wilson, American drummer, songwriter, and producer (The Beach Boys) (b. 1944)
• 1984 – Sam Peckinpah, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1925)
• 1986 – John D. MacDonald, American colonel and author (b. 1916)
• 1986 – Jan Nieuwenhuys, Dutch painter (b. 1922)
• 1989 – Hermann Oberth, Romanian-German physicist and engineer (b. 1894)
• 1990 – Kiel Martin, American actor (b. 1944)
• 1990 – Warren Skaaren, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1946)
• 1991 – Cassandra Harris, Australian-American actress (b. 1952)
• 1992 – Sal Maglie, American baseball player and coach (b. 1917)
• 1993 – Howard Caine, American actor (b. 1926)
• 1993 – William L. Shirer, American journalist and historian (b. 1904)
• 1994 – Jean-Louis Lévesque, Canadian businessman and philanthropist (b. 1911)
• 1999 – Clayton Moore, American actor (b. 1914)
• 2001 – Samuel Abraham Goldblith, American lieutenant, biologist, and engineer (b. 1919)
• 2001 – William X. Kienzle, American priest and author (b. 1928)
• 2003 – Benjamin Thurman Hacker, American admiral (b. 1935)
• 2004 – Jerry Orbach, American actor and singer (b. 1935)
• 2004 – Susan Sontag, American novelist, essayist, critic, and playwright (b. 1933)
• 2006 – Jamal Karimi-Rad, Iranian politician, Iranian Minister of Justice (b. 1956)
• 2007 – Aidin Nikkhah Bahrami, Iranian basketball player (b. 1982)
• 2008 – Irene Lieblich, Polish-American painter and illustrator (b. 1923)
• 2009 – The Rev, American drummer and songwriter (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 – Nicholas Ambraseys, Greek-English seismologist and engineer (b. 1929)
• 2012 – Emilio Charles Jr., Mexican wrestler (b. 1956)
• 2012 – Jayne Cortez, American poet and activist (b. 1934)
• 2012 – Mark Crispin, American computer scientist and academic, designed the IMAP (b. 1956)
• 2012 – Václav Drobný, Czech footballer (b. 1980)
• 2012 – Frankie Walsh, Irish hurler and manager (b. 1936)
• 2013 – Halton Arp, American-German astronomer and critic (b. 1927)
• 2013 – Doe B, American rapper (b. 1991)
• 2013 – Esther Borja, Cuban soprano and actress (b. 1913)
• 2013 – Harry C. Goode Jr., American soldier and politician, 51st Mayor of Melbourne, Florida (b. 1938)
• 2013 – Sheila Guyse, American actress and singer (b. 1925)
• 2013 – Andrew Jacobs, Jr., American soldier, lawyer, and politician (b. 1932)
• 2013 – Alfred Marshall, American businessman, founded Marshalls (b. 1919)
• 2013 – Joseph Ruskin, American actor and producer (b. 1924)
• 2013 – Ilya Tsymbalar, Ukrainian-Russian footballer and manager (b. 1969)
• 2014 – Leelah Alcorn, American suicide victim (b. 1997)
• 2014 – Leopoldo Federico, Argentinian bandoneon player and composer (b. 1927)
• 2014 – Vahan Hovhannisyan, Armenian politician (b. 1956)
• 2014 – Frankie Randall, American singer-songwriter, actor, and dancer (b. 1938)
• 2014 – Merrill Womach, American singer and organist (b. 1927)
• 2015 – Lemmy, English singer-songwriter, bass player, and actor (Motörhead, Hawkwind, The Head Cat, and The Rockin' Vickers) (b. 1945)
• 2015 – John Bradbury, English drummer and songwriter (The Specials) (b. 1953)
• 2015 – Eloy Inos, Mariana Islander businessman and politician, 8th Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands
• 2015 – Ian Murdock, American computer programmer and engineer (b. 1973)

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), and its related observances:
    • Els Enfarinats (Ibi, Spain)
  • December 28 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• King Taksin Memorial Day (Thailand)
• Proclamation Day (South Australia), celebration started on the day following Christmas (South Australia)
• Republic Day (South Sudan)
• The fourth of the Twelve Days of Christmas (Western Christianity)
• The third day of Kwanzaa

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to December 28.

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• Today in Canadian History