History of the Day for:
December 28
- 418: St Boniface I begins his reign as Catholic Pope.
- 801: Louis the Vrome occupies Barcelona.
- 1065: Westminister Abbey opens in London.
- 1614: Sperm whale beached at Noordwijk.
- 1732: 1st known ad for "Poor Richard's Almanac" (Pennsylvania Gazette).
- 1816: American Colonization Society organizes.
- 1821: Naples: Gioacchini Rossini moves to Bologna.
- 1828: 6.8 earthquake strikes Echigo Japan, 30,000 killed.
- 1832: John Calhoun becomes 1st Vice-President to resign (differences with President Jackson).
- 1836: Spain recognizes independence of México.
- 1846: Iowa becomes 29th state.
- 1849: M Jolly-Bellin discovers dry-cleaning, he accidentally upset lamp containing turpentine & oil on his clothing & sees cleaning effect.
- 1850: Rangoon Burma destroyed by fire.
- 1864: Battle of Egypt Station MS.
- 1869: William Finley Semple of Mount Vernon OH, patents chewing gum.
- 1877: John Stevens, Wisconsin, applies for a patent on his flour rolling mill.
- 1878: Pope Leo XIII publishes encyclical Quod apostolici muneris (socialism).
- 1879: North British Railway's train falls as Firth bridge collapses (Scotland).
- 1887: Sir John Layton Jarvis, 1st British race horse trainer knighted.
- 1893: French lieutenant Boiteux annexes Tumbuktu.
- 1895: World's 1st movie theater opens in Paris.
- 1897: Edmond Rostand's "Cyrano de Bergerac" premieres in Paris.
- 1902: 1st indoor pro football game, Syracuse beats Philadelphia 6-0 (Madison Square Garden, NYC).
- 1902: Trans-Pacific cable links Hawaii to US.
- 1903: Clyde Fitch's "Glad of It" premieres in New York NY.
- 1903: Electric lamp sets fire to Iroquois theater in Chicago; 602 die.
- 1904: 1st daily wireless weather forecasts published (London).
- 1905: Intercollegiate Athletic Association of US founded (becomes NCAA in 1910).
- 1905: New South Wales all out for 805 vs Victoria, win by innings & 253.
- 1906: Ecuador adopts its constitution.
- 1908: Messina, Italy struck by an earthquake (nearly 80,000 died).
- 1910: The opera "Königskinder" is produced (New York NY).
- 1912: San Francisco Municipal Railway starts operation at Geary St (MUNI).
- 1912: National Council of Young Israel convenes.
- 1915: San Francisco City Hall dedicated by Mayor James Rolph.
- 1923: George Bernard Shaw's "St Joan" premieres in New York NY.
- 1925: George/Ira Gershwin's musical "Tip-Toes" premieres in New York NY.
- 1926: Imperial Airways begins England-India mail & passenger service.
- 1926: Arthur Mailey takes 4-362 off 64 overs (no maidens) New South Wales vs Victoria.
- 1926: Ponsford scores 352 & Ryder 295 against New South Wales.
- 1927: George Kaufman & Moss Hart's "Royal Family" premieres in New York NY.
- 1928: Last recording of Ma Rainey, "Mother of the Blues" is made.
- 1928: Louis Armstrong makes 78rpm recording of "West End Blues".
- 1931: Lin-Sen succeeds Chiang Kai-shek as President of Nanjing-China.
- 1935: W P A Federal Art Project Gallery opens in New York NY.
- 1937: Fascist Octavian Goga becomes PM of Romania/begins spread of Judaism.
- 1938: Paul Gibb scores 106 on Test Cricket debut vs South Africa.
- 1940: Arthur Morris scores 111 in 2nd innings of 1st game after 148.
- 1941: State of siege goes into effect in Bohemia/Moravia.
- 1942: Robert Sullivan becomes 1st pilot to fly the Atlantic 100 times.
- 1942: Oberkommando Wehrmacht orders strategist flight out of Kaukasus.
- 1943: All inhabitants of Kalmukkie deported, about 70,000 killed.
- 1944: Eisenhower & Montgomery meet in Hasselt Belgium.
- 1944: Former Washington 3rd baseman Buddy Lewis wins Distinguished Flying Cross.
- 1944: Leonard Bernstein's musical "On the Town" premieres in New York NY.
- 1945: Congress officially recognizes "Pledge of Allegiance".
- 1947: Chicago Cardinals beat Philadelphia Eagles 28-21 in NFL championship game.
- 1948: The IDF crosses the Egyptian border.
- 1948: Middel-Java as a whole in Dutch hands.
- 1948: US announced a study to launch an Earth satellite.
- 1949: 20th Century Fox announces it will produce TV programs.
- 1950: Chinese troops cross 38th Parallel, into South Korea.
- 1952: Detroit Lions beat Cleveland Browns 17-7 in NFL championship game.
- 1953: WLBT TV channel 3 in Jackson MS (NBC) begins broadcasting.
- 1954: 43rd Davis Cup: USA beats Australia in Sydney (3-2).
- 1954: KEPR TV channel 19 in Pasco-Kennewick-Richl WA (CBS) 1st broadcast.
- 1955: 44th Davis Cup: Australia beats USA in New York (5-0).
- 1956: Dr. Frances Horwich [Miss Frances], Ding Dong School on NBC-TV.
- 1957: CBS states it won't broadcast baseball where minor league games are on.
- 1957: USSR performs atmospheric nuclear test.
- 1958: What might be called greatest NFL game, Colts beat Giants 23-17.
- 1958: Chipmunks (Alvin, Simon & Theodore with David Seville) hit #1.
- 1961: Tennessee Williams' "Night of the Iguana" premieres in New York NY.
- 1962: UN troops occupy Elizabethstad Katanga.
- 1963: "Double Dublin" closes at Little Theater NYC after 4 performances.
- 1963: "Jennie" closes at Majestic Theater NYC after 82 performances.
- 1963: Merle Haggard's 1st appearance on country chart with "Sing a Sad Song".
- 1964: Premier of Dmitri Shostakovich's Stefan Rasin.
- 1964: Principal filming of "Dr Zhivago" begins.
- 1966: 13 die in a train crash in Everett MA.
- 1966: China People's Republic performs nuclear test at Lop Nor People's Rebublic of China.
- 1967: KTSB (now KSNT) TV channel 27 in Topeka KS (NBC) begins broadcasting.
- 1967: Muriel Siebert is 1st women to own a seat on New York Stock Exchange.
- 1968: 100,000 attend Miami Pop Festival.
- 1968: Beatles' "Beatles-The White Album" goes #1 & stays #1 for 9 weeks.
- 1968: 57th Davis Cup: USA beats Australia in Adelaide (4-1).
- 1968: Israeli assault on Beirut Airport.
- 1968: KVOF (KUDO, now KWBB) TV channel 38 in San Francisco CA (IND) 1st broadcast.
- 1969: Dallas Cowboy kicker Mike Clark, attempting an on-side kick against Cleveland, misses the ball.
- 1969: Neil Simon's "Last of the Red Hot Lovers" premieres in New York NY.
- 1969: USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakhstan/Semipalitinsk USSR.
- 1970: "Lovely Ladies, Kind Gentlemen" opens at Majestic NYC for 19 performances.
- 1970: Yemen Arab Republic (North Yemen) adopts constitution.
- 1971: Hasj falls from now on under(neath) the Opiumwet.
- 1972: Kim Il-song, becomes President of North Korea.
- 1972: Martin Bormann's skeleton found in Berlin (Hitlers deputy).
- 1972: USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakhstan/Semipalitinsk USSR.
- 1973: Alexander Solzhenitsyn publishes "Gulag Archipelag".
- 1973: Akron OH's Chamber of Commerce terminates itself from Soap Box Derby.
- 1973: Comet Kohoutek at perihelion.
- 1974: 6.3 earthquake strikes Pakistan: 5200 killed.
- 1975: "Hail Mary Pass" - Cowboys beat Vikings 17-14 on last second pass.
- 1975: Red Army beats New York Rangers 7-3 at Madison Square Garden.
- 1975: 1st broadcast of radio Hilversum IV (classic music).
- 1976: "Fiddler on the Roof" opens at Winter Garden Theater NYC for 167 performances.
- 1976: US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.
- 1976: Winnie Mandela banished in South Africa.
- 1978: 30th hat trick in Islander history (Mike Bossy).
- 1980: México terminated fishing agreements with US.
- 1981: Cleveland Metroparks Administrative offices move from downtown to Zoo.
- 1981: Warner-Elektra-Atlantic raises price of 45 records from $1.68 to $1.98.
- 1983: 72nd Davis Cup: Australia beats Sweden in Melbourne (3-2).
- 1983: Gavaskar achieves his 30th century, beating Bradman's 29.
- 1983: US says they will leave UNESCO on Dec 31, 1984.
- 1983: Warren Cromartie signs 3 year $2.5 million contract with Yomiuri Giants.
- 1984: TV soap "The Edge of Night" ends 28 year run.
- 1984: Creosote bush determined to be 11,700 years old.
- 1984: Rajiv Gandhi's Congress party wins election in India.
- 1984: USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakhstan/Semipalitinsk USSR.
- 1985: Warring Lebanese Moslem & Christian leaders sign peace agreement.
- 1985: US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.
- 1986: Pat Davis, ranked 412th among world tennis competitors, wins Davis Cup.
- 1987: In Arkansas R Gene Simmons kills 2, later bodies of 14 of his relatives are found at his home near Dover AR.
- 1988: US 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals affirms Yonkers is guilty of racism.
- 1988: John Tarrant, 1st Australian born Zen teacher, receives Dharma Transmission.
- 1988: USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakhstan/Semipalitinsk USSR.
- 1989: Alexander Dubcek elected parliament chairman of Czechoslovakia.
- 1989: Earthquake at Newcastle Australia, 11 die.
- 1990: 2 die in a NYC subway accident.
- 1990: Blockbuster Bowl 1: Florida State beats Penn State, 24-17.
- 1991: 8 are crushed to death at a RAP basketball game at City College, New York NY.
- 1991: Irene the Icon of the Greek Orthodox church returns after being stolen.
- 1991: Ted Turner is named Time Magazine Man of the Year.
- 1991: Blockbuster Bowl 2: Alabama beats Colorado, 30-25.
- 1991: Ninibeth Beatriz Leal Jiminez, 20, of Venez, crowned 41st Miss World.
- 1993: Dow-Jones hits record 3793.49.
- 1993: Dutch Antilles government of Yandi Paula forms.
- 1993: John Maclean passes Kirk Muller as all-time New Jersey Devils scorer (521 points).
- 1994: Billy Ray Cyrus (Achy Breaky Heart) weds Leticia Finley.
- 1994: Boon completes his 20th Test Cricket century (131 vs England, MCG).
- 1994: Tammy Wynette admitted to the hospital with bile duct infection.
- 1996: India all out for 66 at Durban after making 100 in cricket 1st inning.
- 1999: Saparmurat Niyazov is proclaimed President for Life in Turkmenistan.
- 2000: U.S. retail giant Montgomery Ward announces it is going out of business after 128 years.
- 2007: Nepal declares a federal democratic Republic by interim parliament, abolishing the monarchy.
- 2008: The Detroit Lions finished the season 0-16 with a 31-21 lost to the Green Bay Packers The first time in National Football League history that a team went winless in a 16-game season.