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. [edit] Events - 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, the longest street in the world, begins in York, Upper Canada (present-day Toronto, Ontario).
- 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 – The Tay Bridge Disaster: The central part of the Tay Rail Bridge in Dundee, Scotland collapses as a train passes over it, killing 75.
- 1895 – The Lumière brothers perform for their first paying audience at the Grand Cafe in Boulevard des Capucines marking the debut of the cinema.
- 1908 – An earthquake rocks Messina, Sicily killing over 75,000.
- 1912 – The first municipally owned streetcars take to the streets in San Francisco, California.
- 1929 – "Black Saturday" in Samoa: New Zealand colonial police kill 11 unarmed male demonstrators, an event which leads the Mau movement to demand independence for Samoa.
- 1935 – Pravda publishes a letter by Pavel Postyshev, who revives New Year tree tradition in the Soviet Union.
- 1943 – World War II – After eight days of brutal house-to-house fighting, the battle of Ortona concludes with the victory of the1st 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.
- 1945 – The United States Congress officially recognizes the Pledge of Allegiance.
- 1948 – The DC-3 airliner NC16002 disappears 50 miles south of Miami, Florida.
- 1950 – The Peak District becomes the United Kingdom's first National Park.
- 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.
- 1973 – The Endangered Species Act is passed in the United States.
- 1974 – Senegalese marxist group Reenu-Rew founds the political movement And-Jëf at a clandestine congress.
- 1981 – The first American test-tube baby, Elizabeth Jordan Carr, is born in Norfolk, Virginia.
- 1989 – A magnitude 5.6 earthquake hits Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, killing 13 people.
- 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.
[edit] Births - 1164 – Emperor Rokujō of Japan (d. 1176)
- 1522 – Margaret of Austria, regent of the Netherlands (d. 1583)
- 1619 – Antoine Furetière, French writer (d. 1688)
- 1635 – Princess Elizabeth of England (d. 1650)
- 1655 – Charles Cornwallis, 3rd Baron Cornwallis, First Lord of the British Admiralty (d. 1698)
- 1665 – George FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Northumberland, British general (d. 1716)
- 1763 – John Molson, English-born Canadian brewer (d. 1836)
- 1778 – Franciszek Ksawery Drucki-Lubecki, Polish politician (d. 1846)
- 1842 – Calixa Lavallée, French-Canadian composer (O Canada) (d. 1891)
- 1856 – Woodrow Wilson, 28th President of the United States, Nobel laureate (d. 1924)
- 1866 – Szymon Askenazy, Polish historian and diplomat (d. 1935)
- 1879 – Billy Mitchell, American military aviation pioneer (d. 1936)
- 1882 – Arthur Stanley Eddington, British astronomer (d. 1944)
- 1888 – Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau, German film director (d. 1931)
- 1898 – Carl-Gustaf Rossby, Swedish meteorologist (d. 1957)
- 1898 – Shigematsu Sakaibara, Japanese admiral (d. 1947)
- 1899 – Eugeniusz Bodo, Polish actor (d. 1943)
- 1902 – Mortimer Adler, American philosopher (d. 2001)
- 1902 – Shen Congwen, Chinese writer (d. 1988)
- 1903 – Earl Hines, American musician (d. 1983)
- 1903 – John von Neumann, Hungarian-born mathematician (d. 1957)
- 1905 – Cliff Arquette, American actor (d. 1974)
- 1908 – Lew Ayres, American actor (d. 1996)
- 1910 – Billy Williams, American singer (d. 1972)
- 1913 – Lou Jacobi, Canadian actor
- 1914 – Bernard Youens, English actor (d. 1984)
- 1915 – Pops Staples, American musician (The Staple Singers) (d. 2000)
- 1922 – Stan Lee, American comic book writer
- 1924 – Milton Obote, President of Uganda (d. 2005)
- 1925 – Hildegard Knef, German actress (d. 2002)
- 1928 – Moe Koffman, Canadian musician (d. 2001)
- 1929 – Brian Redhead, British journalist (d. 1994)
- 1929 – Terry Sawchuk, Canadian hockey player (d. 1970)
- 1931 – Guy Debord, French writer (d. 1994)
- 1932 – Dhirubhai Ambani, Indian businessman (d. 2002)
- 1932 – Dorsey Burnette, American singer (d. 1979)
- 1932 – Roy Hattersley, British politician
- 1932 – Harry Howell, Canadian hockey player
- 1932 – Nichelle Nichols, American actress and singer
- 1932 – Manuel Puig, Argentine writer (d. 1990)
- 1933 – John Y. Brown, Jr., American politician
- 1934 – Dame Maggie Smith, British actress
- 1934 – Yujiro Ishihara, Japanese actor (d. 1987)
- 1936 – Jacques Mesrine, French criminal (d. 1979)
- 1936 – Lawrence Schiller, American journalist
- 1937 – Ratan Tata, Indian industrialist
- 1938 – Dick Sudhalter, American jazz musician (d. 2008)
- 1938 – Lagumot Harris, Nauruan politician and former President (d. 1999)
- 1939 – Philip Anschutz, American businessman
- 1940 – Don Francisco, Chilean television host
- 1942 – Roger Swerts, Belgian cyclist
- 1943 – Keith Floyd, British chef (d. 2009)
- 1943 – David Peterson, Canadian politician
- 1943 – Richard Whiteley, British television presenter (d. 2005)
- 1944 – Johnny Isakson, American politician
- 1944 – Kary Mullis, American chemist, Nobel laureate
- 1946 – Edgar Winter, American musician
- 1946 – Mike Beebe, American politician, governor of Arkansas
- 1946 – Pierre Falardeau, Quebec film director
- 1946 – Tim Johnson, American politician, senior senator from South Dakota
- 1947 – Aurelio Rodríguez, Mexican baseball player (d. 2000)
- 1950 – Alex Chilton, American musician (The Box Tops, Big Star)
- 1950 – Øivind Blunck, Norwegian comedian and actor
- 1951 – Ian Buruma, Anglo-Dutch scholar and writer on Japan and the Far East.
- 1952 – Arun Jaitley, Indian Politician
- 1953 – Richard Clayderman, French pianist
- 1953 – Tatsumi Fujinami, Japanese professional wrestler
- 1954 – Gayle King, American magazine editor
- 1954 – Denzel Washington, American actor
- 1954 – Lanny Poffo, American professional wrestler
- 1956 – Nigel Kennedy, British violinist
- 1957 – Anne Sargeant, Australian netballer
- 1959 – Ana Torroja, Spanish singer (Mecano)
- 1959 – Phil Abrams, American actor
- 1960 – Raymond Bourque, Canadian hockey player
- 1960 – Melvin Turpin, American basketball player
- 1961 – Kent Nielsen, Danish footballer and football coach
- 1962 – Rachel Z, American pianist
- 1962 – Michel Petrucciani, French pianist (d. 1999)
- 1962 – Melissa R. Kelly, former Maryland politician
- 1962 – Choi Soo Jong, South Korean actor
- 1962 – Niel van der Watt, South African composer
- 1964 – Maite Zúñiga, Spanish athlete
- 1967 – Chris Ware, American cartoonist
- 1969 – Linus Torvalds, Finnish computer programmer
- 1970 – Elaine Hendrix, American Actress
- 1970 – Francesca Le, American porn star
- 1971 – Frank Sepe, American bodybuilder
- 1971 – Benny Agbayani, American baseball player
- 1971 – William Gates, American basketball player
- 1972 – Patrick Rafter, Australian tennis player
- 1972 – Roberto Palacios, Peruvian footballer
- 1972 – Adam Vinatieri, American football player
- 1973 – Alex Dimitriades, Australian actor
- 1973 – Herborg Kråkevik, Norwegian singer and actress
- 1973 – Seth Meyers, American actor
- 1974 – Jason Ridge, American porn actor
- 1974 – Rob Niedermayer, Canadian-born ice-hockey player.
- 1975 – B.J. Ryan, American baseball player
- 1977 – Shane Elford, Australian rugby league player
- 1978 – Chris Coyne, Australian footballer
- 1978 – John Legend, American musician
- 1979 – James Blake, American tennis player
- 1979 – Bill Hall, American baseball player
- 1979 – Senna Guemmour, German Singer (Monrose)
- 1980 – Lomana LuaLua, Congo footballer
- 1980 – Vanessa Ferlito, American actress
- 1981 – Elizabeth Jordan Carr, American Test-Tube Baby
- 1981 – Sienna Miller, British actress
- 1981 – Khalid Boulahrouz, Dutch footballer
- 1981 – Mika Väyrynen, Finnish footballer
- 1982 – Cedric Benson, American football player
- 1982 – François Gourmet, Belgian decathlete
- 1982 – Kevin Pereira, American television host
- 1983 – Mike He, Taiwanese actor
- 1984 – Leroy Lita, English footballer
- 1984 – Beverly Mullins, American wrestler/model
- 1984 – Alex Lloyd, British racing driver
- 1985 – Kamani Hill, American footballer
- 1985 – Taryn Terrell, American wrestler/model
- 1986 – Tom Huddlestone, English footballer
- 1987 – Thomas Dekker, American actor
- 1989 – Mackenzie Rosman, American actress
- 1990 – David Archuleta, American Idol runner-up, American singer
- 1998 – Aaron Junatas, Filipino child actor
[edit] Deaths - 300 – Theonas, Patriarch of Alexandria
- 1367 – Ashikaga Yoshiakira, Japanese shogun (b. 1330)
- 1446 – Antipope Clement VIII
- 1503 – Piero di Lorenzo de' Medici, ruler of Florence (b. 1471)
- 1558 – Hermann Finck, German composer (b. 1527)
- 1622 – Francis de Sales, Bishop of Geneva and saint (b. 1567)
- 1663 – Francesco Maria Grimaldi, Italian mathematician and physicist (b. 1618)
- 1671 – Johann Friedrich Gronovius, German classical scholar (b. 1611)
- 1694 – Queen Mary II of England (b. 1662), of the joint monarchy William and Mary.
- 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 – Robert Roy MacGregor, Scottish folk hero (b. 1671)
- 1736 – Antonio Caldara, Italian composer (b. 1670)
- 1795 – Eugenio Espejo, Ecuadorian scientist (b. 1747)
- 1859 – Thomas Macaulay, British poet (b. 1800)
- 1872 – James Van Ness, Mayor of San Francisco (1855-1856) (b. 1808)
- 1877 – Nikolay Nekrasov, Russian poet (b. 1821)
- 1897 – Rev. William Corby, American Catholic priest (b. 1833)
- 1900 – Alexandre de Serpa Pinto, Portuguese explorer (b. 1846)
- 1916 – Eduard Strauss, Austrian composer (b. 1835)
- 1917 – Alfred Edwin McKay, Canadian World War One flying ace (b. 1892)
- 1918 – Olavo Bilac, Brazilian poet (b. 1865)
- 1919 – Johannes Rydberg, Swedish physicist (b. 1854)
- 1924 – Léon Bakst, Russian artist (b. 1866)
- 1932 – Jack Blackham, Australian cricketer (b. 1854)
- 1937 – Maurice Ravel, French composer (b. 1875)
- 1938 – Florence Lawrence, American actress (b. 1886)
- 1943 – Steve Evans, American baseball player (b. 1885)
- 1945 – Theodore Dreiser, American author (b. 1871)
- 1947 – King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy (b. 1869)
- 1949 – Jack Lovelock, New Zealand athlete (b. 1910)
- 1952 – Fletcher Henderson, American musician (b. 1897)
- 1959 – Ante Pavelić, leader of Nazi Germany puppet Independent State of Croatia (b. 1889)
- 1962 – Kathleen Clifford, American actress (b. 1887)
- 1963 – Paul Hindemith, German composer (b. 1895)
- 1967 – Katharine McCormick, American women's rights activist (b. 1875)
- 1971 – Max Steiner, Austrian-born American film music composer (b. 1888)
- 1976 – Katharine Byron, American politician (b. 1903)
- 1976 – Freddie King, American musician (b. 1934)
- 1981 – Allan Dwan, Canadian-born film director (b. 1885)
- 1983 – William Demarest, American actor (b. 1892)
- 1983 – Jimmy Demaret, American golfer (b. 1910)
- 1983 – Dennis Wilson, American musician (The Beach Boys) (b. 1944)
- 1984 – Sam Peckinpah, American film director (b. 1925)
- 1986 – Andrei Tarkovsky, Russian film director (b. 1932)
- 1989 – Hermann Oberth, German physicist (b. 1894)
- 1991 – Cassandra Harris, Australian actress (b. 1952)
- 1992 – Sal Maglie, American baseball player (b. 1917)
- 1993 – William L. Shirer, American journalist (b. 1904)
- 1994 – Jean-Louis Lévesque, French Canadian entrepreneur (b. 1911)
- 1999 – Clayton Moore, American actor (b. 1914)
- 2001 – Samuel A. Goldblith, American food scientist (b. 1919)
- 2001 – William X. Kienzle, American novelist (b. 1928)
- 2003 – Benjamin Hacker, American admiral (b. 1935)
- 2004 – Jerry Orbach, American actor (b. 1935)
- 2004 – Susan Sontag, American writer (b. 1933)
- 2006 – Jamal Karimi-Rad, Iranian Minister of Justice (b. 1956)
- 2007 – Aidin Nikkhah Bahrami, Iran national basketball team player (b. 1982)
[edit] Holidays and observances [edit] External links
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