28 January

Events

• 1521 - Diet of Worms begins, lasting until May 25.
• 1547 - Edward VI becomes King 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.
• 1846 - Battle of Aliwal, India won by British troops commanded by Sir Harry Smith
• 1855 - first locomotive runs from the Atlantic to the Pacific on the Panama Railway
• 1871 - France surrenders to end the Franco-Prussian War.
• 1878 - The Yale News becomes the first daily, college newspaper in the United States.
• 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 United States 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 - Civil War in Finland begins.
• 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 - 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 - 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

• 1706 - John Baskerville, printer, typefounder, (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, explorer, journalist, (d. 1904)
• 1853 - Jose Marti, revolutionary, (d. 1895)
• 1855 - William Seward Burroughs, inventor of the calculator, (d. 1898)
• 1873 - Colette, writer, (d. 1954)
• 1879 - Francis Picabia, painter, poet, (d. 1953)
• 1884 - Auguste Piccard, physicist, (d. 1962)
• 1887 - Artur Rubinstein, musician, conductor, (d. 1982)
• 1892 - Ernst Lubitsch, film director, (d. 1947)
• 1900 - Heinrich Kesten, author, (d. 1996)
• 1912 - Jackson Pollock, painter, initiator of Dripping painting, (d. 1956)
• 1923 - Ivo Robić, singer - Croatia, Mister Morgen, (d. 2001)
• 1927 - Hiroshi Teshigahara, director, (d. 2001)
• 1929 - Claes Oldenbourg, artist
• 1929 - Acker Bilk, musician
• 1933 - Susan Sontag, novelist, philosopher, essayist, director, playwright
• 1935 - David Lodge, author
• 1936 - Alan Alda, actor
• 1945 - Marthe Keller, actress
• 1968 - Sarah McLachlan, singer
• 1977 - Joey Fatone, performer
• 1980 - Nick Carter, performer
• 1981 - Elijah Wood, actor

Deaths

• 814 - Charlemagne, (b. 742)
• 1547 - King Henry VIII of England, (b. 1491)
• 1596 - Sir Francis Drake, explorer, soldier, (b. c. 1540)
• 1939 - William Butler Yeats, writer, (b. 1865)
• 1949 - Jean-Pierre Wimille, race car driver, (b. 1908)
• 1960 - Zora Neale Hurston, author (b. 1891)
• 1965 - Maxime Weygand, soldier, (b. 1867)
• 1971 - Donald Winnicott, British psychoanalyst, (b. 1896)
• 1977 - Freddie Prinze, actor, (b. 1954)
• 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)
• 1996 - Jerry Siegel, cartoonist, creator of "Superman", (b. 1914)
• 1996 - Joseph Brodsky, poet (b. 1940?)
• 2002 - Astrid Lindgren, author, (b. 1907)
• 2004 - Don Cholito, radio host, hosted the longest running uninterrupted radio show according to the 2003 Guiness Book of World Records (b. 1923)

Holidays and observances

• Catholicism - Feast day of St. Thomas Aquinas.

January 27 - January 29 - December 28 - February 28 -- listing of all days

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Referenced By