January 28 is the 28th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 337 days remaining (338 in leap years).
Events
- 1521 - Diet of Worms begins, lasting until May 25.
- 1547 - Edward VI becomes King, and the first Protestant ruler of England.
- 1573 - Articles of Warsaw Confederation are signed, sanctioning religious freedom in Poland
- 1788 - The first penal colony is founded at Botany Bay, Australia.
- 1820 - Russian expedition led by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev approaches 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 to the Pacific on the Panama Railway.
- 1871 - Franco-Prussian War: France surrenders, ending the war.
- 1878 - The Yale News becomes the first daily, college newspaper in the United States.
- 1887 - In a snowstorm at Fort Keogh, Montana, USA, the world's largest snowflakes are reported, being 15 inches (38cm) wide and 8 inches (20cm) thick.
- 1902 - The Carnegie Institution is founded in Washington, DC with a $10 million gift from Andrew Carnegie.
- 1909 - United States troops leave Cuba 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 - United States ends search for Pancho Villa.
- 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 honour the unknown dead of World War I.
- 1932 - World War II: Japan occupies Shanghai.
- 1935 - Iceland becomes the first country to legalize abortion.
- 1938 - The first ski tow in America begins operation in Vermont.
- 1945 - World War II: Supplies begin to reach China over the newly reopened Burma Road.
- 1946 - Bluenose, Canada's greatest sailing ship, founders on a Haitian reef.
- 1958 - Charles Starkweather and Caril Ann Fugate begin their murder spree with the killings of her parents and infant sister.
- 1973 - Barnaby Jones premieres on CBS.
- 1982 - US Army general James L. Dozier is rescued by Italian anti-terrorism forces after 42 days of captivity under the Red Brigades.
- 1986 - Space Shuttle Challenger explodes just after takeoff killing all seven astronauts onboard.
- 1990 - Super Bowl XXIV: The San Francisco 49ers are crowned "Team of the 1980s" by defeating the Denver Broncos, 55-10.
- 1994 - The first trial of accused murderer Lyle Menendez ends in a mistrial. He and his brother Erik are later found guilty and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
- 1996 - Super Bowl XXX: The Dallas Cowboys win their fifth Super Bowl title by defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers, 27-17.
- 1997 - Arista Records founder Clive Davis receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
- 1998 - Ford Motor Company announces the buyout of Volvo for $6.45 billion.
- 1998 - Gunmen hold at least 400 children and teachers hostage for several hours at an elementary school in Manila, Philippines.
- 2001 - Super Bowl XXXV: The Baltimore Ravens defeat the New York Giants, 34-7.
- 2002 - An Ecuadoran airline Boeing 727-100 crashes in the Andes mountains in southern Colombia killing 92.
- 2004 - September Dossier: Lord Hutton publishes his report into the death of UN weapons inspector Dr. David Kelly.
Births
- 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, Polish astronomer (d. 1687)
- 1622 - Adrien Auzout, French astronomer (d. 1691)
- 1706 - John Baskerville, English printer (d. 1775)
- 1784 - George Hamilton Gordon Aberdeen, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1860)
- 1822 - Alexander Mackenzie, second 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)
- 1857 - William Seward Burroughs, American inventor (d. 1898)
- 1873 - Colette, French writer (d. 1954)
- 1879 - Francis Picabia, French-born painter and poet (d. 1953)
- 1880 - Herbert Strudwick, English cricketer (d. 1970)
- 1884 - Auguste Piccard, Swiss physicist (d. 1962)
- 1887 - Arthur Rubinstein, Polish pianist and conductor (d. 1982)
- 1890 - Robert Stroud, American convict, the Birdman of Alcatraz (d. 1963)
- 1892 - Ernst Lubitsch, German-born film director (d. 1947)
- 1910 - John Banner, Austrian actor (d. 1973)
- 1910 - Arnold Moss, American character actor (d. 1989)
- 1912 - Jackson Pollock, American painter (d. 1956)
- 1923 - Ivo Robić, Croatian singer (d. 2001)
- 1927 - Hiroshi Teshigahara, Japanese director (d. 2001)
- 1929 - Claes Oldenburg, Swedish-American artist
- 1929 - Acker Bilk, English jazz clarinetist
- 1933 - Susan Sontag, American writer and activist (d. 2004)
- 1935 - David Lodge, English author
- 1936 - Alan Alda, American actor, writer, and director
- 1936 - Ismail Kadare, Albanian writer
- 1944 - John Tavener, English composer
- 1945 - Robert Wyatt, English musician
- 1948 - Charles Taylor, leader of Liberia
- 1948 - Mikhail Baryshnikov, Russian dancer
- 1950 - Barbi Benton, American actress
- 1951 - Leonid Kadeniuk, Ukrainian cosmonaut
- 1960 - Robert von Dassanowsky, American cultural historian, writer, and producer
- 1962 - Sam Phillips, American singer
- 1968 - Sarah McLachlan, Canadian singer and songwriter
- 1968 - Rakim, American rapper
- 1968 - DJ Muggs, American musician (Cypress Hill)
- 1969 - Kathryn Morris, American actress
- 1974 - Tony Delk, American basketball player
- 1976 - Mark Madsen, American basketball player
- 1976 - Jarrod Montague, American drummer (Taproot)
- 1977 - Daunte Culpepper, American football player
- 1977 - Joey Fatone, American singer (*NSYNC)
- 1978 - Gianluigi Buffon, Italian footballer
- 1978 - Papa Bouba Diop, Senegalese footballer
- 1978 - Jamie Carragher, English footballer
- 1979 - Pixie, English model
- 1980 - Nick Carter, American singer (Backstreet Boys)
- 1981 - Elijah Wood, American actor
- 1981 - Rick Razzano, American football player
Deaths
- 814 - Charlemagne (b. 742)
- 1547 - King Henry VIII of England (b. 1491)
- 1596 - Sir Francis Drake, English explorer and soldier (b. ca. 1540)
- 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
- 1725 (O.S.) - Tsar Peter I of Russia, (b. 1672)
- 1754 - Ludvig Holberg, Norwegian historian and writer (b. 1684)
- 1903 - Augusta Holmès, French composer (b. 1847)
- 1912 - Gustave de Molinari, Belgian economist (b. 1819)
- 1935 - Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov, Russian composer (b. 1859)
- 1939 - William Butler Yeats, Irish writer (b. 1865)
- 1949 - Jean-Pierre Wimille, French race car driver (b. 1908)
- 1953 - James Scullin, ninth Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1876)
- 1960 - Zora Neale Hurston, American author (b. 1891)
- 1965 - Maxime Weygand, French soldier (b. 1867)
- 1965 - Tich Freeman, English cricketer (b. 1888)
- 1971 - Donald Winnicott, British psychoanalyst (b. 1896)
- 1973 - John Banner, Austrian actor (b. 1910)
- 1977 - Freddie Prinze, American actor (b. 1954)
- 1983 - Frank Forde, fifteenth Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1890)
- 1986 - Crew of Space Shuttle Challenger:
- Francis R. Scobee (b. 1939)
- Michael J. Smith (b. 1945)
- Judith Resnik (b. 1949)
- Ellison Onizuka (b. 1946)
- Ronald McNair (b. 1950)
- Greg Jarvis (b. 1944)
- Christa McAuliffe (b. 1948)
- 1988 - Klaus Fuchs, German physicist (b. 1911)
- 1991 - Red Grange, American football player (b. 1903)
- 1994 - Hal Smith, American actor (b. 1916)
- 1996 - Jerry Siegel, American cartoonist (b. 1914)
- 1996 - Joseph Brodsky, Russian-born poet (b. 1940)
- 1999 - Torgny T:son Segerstedt, Swedish sociologist and philosopher (b. 1908)
- 2001 - Curt Blefary, baseball player (b. 1943)
- 2002 - Astrid Lindgren, Swedish author (b. 1907)
- 2004 - Don Cholito, Puerto Rican radio host (b. 1923)
- 2004 - Elroy Hirsch, American football player (b. 1923)
- 2004 - Lloyd M. Bucher, US Navy officer (b. 1927)
- 2005 - Jim Capaldi, English singer and songwriter (b. 1944)
- 2005 - Karen Lancaume, French actress (suicide) (b. 1973)
Holidays and observances
- Catholicism - Feast day of St. Thomas Aquinas
External links
January 27 - January 29 - December 28 - February 28 -- listing of all days