October 28
date
October 28 is the 301st day of the year (302nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 64 days remaining until the end of the year.
Events change
Up to 1900 change
- 306 – Maxentius is proclaimed Roman Emperor. Also on this day, in 312, he is defeated in battle and drowns in the River Tiber.
- 312 - Battle of Milvain Bridge: Constantine I defeats Maxentius to become Roman Emperor.
- 1344 - The lower town of Smyrna (Izmir), in present-day Turkey, is captured by Crusaders.
- 1420 - Beijing officially becomes the capital city of Ming Dynasty China.
- 1492 – Christopher Columbus reaches Cuba.
- 1516 - Battle of Yaunis Khan: Turkish forces under Grand Vizier Sinan Pasha defeat the Mameluks near Gaza.
- 1531 - Battle of Amba Sel: Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi defeats the army of Lebna Dengel, Emperor of Ethiopia. Imam Ahmad takes control of southern Ethiopia.
- 1628 - The Siege of La Rochelle, France, is ended through forces loyal to King Louis XIII of France, following the surrender of the mainly Huguenot challenge.
- 1636 – Harvard University is founded.
- 1644 - The Regiment that later becomes the Royal Marines is founded by the then-Duke of York, later King James II of England/VII of Scotland.
- 1707 - The Hoei earthquake causes over 5,000 deaths in Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu, Japan.
- 1746 - An earthquake of Lima, Peru, of estimated magnitude 8.4, kills around 18,000 people. The coastal city of Callao is almost completely destroyed.
- 1775 - American Revolutionary War: A British proclamation forbids residents to leave Boston, Massachusetts.
- 1776 - American Revolutionary War: British forces arrive at White Plains, New York and attack and capture Chatterton Hill from the Americans.
- 1834 - Battle of Pinjarra: In present-day Western Australia, British colonists kill between 14 and 40 Aborigines.
- 1835 - The United Tribes of New Zealand are founded, signed by 31 Maori chiefs.
- 1836 - The Peruvian-Bolivian Confederation is formed.
- 1848 – Spain's first railway line is opened.
- 1856 – Portugal's first railway line is completed.
- 1869 – Dmitri Mendeleev publishes the Periodic Table of the elements.
- 1886 – The Statue of Liberty is dedicated by Grover Cleveland.
- 1891 - An earthquake in Japan kills 7,273 people.
- 1900 - The 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris end after five months.
1901 – 2000 change
- 1904 - Panama and Uruguay start diplomatic relations.
- 1918 – Czechoslovakia becomes independent.
- 1918 - A new Polish government is created in Galicia.
- 1919 - United States Congress passes the Volstead Act over President Woodrow Wilson's veto, paving the way for prohibition to begin in January 1920.
- 1922 – Fascists led by Benito Mussolini take over the Italian government.
- 1929 - Black Monday during the Wall Street Crash.
- 1940 - World War II: Italy invades Greece through Albania.
- 1942 – The Alaska Highway is completed.
- 1951 - Juan Manuel Fangio wins the Formula One championship.
- 1954 - Ernest Hemingway wins the Nobel Prize in Literature.
- 1954 – The Modern Kingdom of the Netherlands is re-founded as a federal monarchy.
- 1958 – Pope John XXIII becomes Pope.
- 1962 – The Cuban Missile Crisis ends.
- 1964 - Vietnam War: US officials deny involvement in the bombing of North Vietnam.
- 1965 - The Gateway Arch in Saint Louis, Missouri is completed.
- 1974 - In Woomera, South Australia, the British rocket Black Arrow is launched, along the satellite Prospero.
- 1981 – The band Metallica is founded.
- 1982 – Felipe González is elected Prime Minister of Spain.
- 1990 - The Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic holds its first election involving more than one political party.
- 1995 – A train fire in the Baku Metro kills 289 people.
- 1995 - Antonio Guterres becomes Prime Minister of Portugal.
- 1998 - An Air China jetliner is hijacked by disgruntled pilot Yuan Bin and flown to Taiwan.
From 2001 change
- 2005 - American politician Lewis Libby resigns over the Valerie Plame Affair.
- 2007 – Cristina Fernández de Kirchner is elected President of Argentina.
- 2009 - A bombing in Peshawar, Pakistan, kills 117 people and injures 213.
- 2009 - Angela Merkel begins her second term as Chancellor of Germany.
- 2012 - People along the east coast of the United States prepare for the arrival of Hurricane Sandy, which had already caused a lot of destruction in the Caribbean.
- 2013 - The St Jude Storm, also known as "Christian", "Carmen" and "Simone", hits the southern UK, northern France, the Low Countries, Germany, Denmark and southern Sweden. At least 15 people are killed, either from falling trees or getting swept out to sea, and transport is disrupted. Denmark records its highest wind-speed during this storm.
- 2017 - Two bomb attacks in Mogadishu, Somalia, kill at least 19 people, after a massive bomb attack in the city had killed over 350 people two weeks earlier.
- 2018 - Far-right candidate Jair Bolsonaro is elected President of Brazil.
Births change
Up to 1900 change
- 1017 - Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1056)
- 1510 – Francisco Borgia, Spanish Jesuit (d. 1572)
- 1536 - Felix Platter, Swiss writer and physician (d. 1614)
- 1585 - Cornelius Jansen, Dutch bishop and theologian (d. 1638)
- 1667 - Maria Anna of Neuburg, Queen of Spain (d. 1740)
- 1691 – Peder Tordenskjold, Norwegian naval hero (d. 1720)
- 1697 – Canaletto, Italian artist (d. 1768)
- 1703 - Antoine Deparcieux, French mathematician (d. 1768)
- 1718 - Ignacije Szentmartony, Croatian Jesuit missionary (d. 1793)
- 1733 - Franz Ignaz von Beecke, German composer (d. 1803)
- 1751 - Dmitry Bortniansky, Russian and Ukrainian composer (d. 1825)
- 1767 – Marie Sophie of Hesse-Kassel, Queen of Denmark and Norway (d. 1852)
- 1793 – Caroline of Denmark (d. 1881)
- 1803 - Caroline Unger, Austrian singer (d. 1877)
- 1804 - Pierre François Verhulst, Belgian mathematician (d. 1849)
- 1818 - Ivan Turgenev, Russian writer (d. 1883) (November 9 in Gregorian calendar)
- 1823 - William Simpson, Scottish artist and war correspondent (d. 1899)
- 1837 – Tokugawa Yoshinobu, Japanese shogun (d. 1913)
- 1839 - Edward P. Allen, American captain, lawyer and politician (d. 1909)
- 1840 - Joseph W. Fifer, 19th Governor of Illinois (d. 1938)
- 1845 - Zymunt Florenty Wroblewski, Polish physicist (d. 1888)
- 1846 - Auguste Escoffier, French chef (d. 1935)
- 1854 - Jean-Marie Guyau, French philosopher and poet (d. 1888)
- 1860 - Jigoro Kano, Japanese martial artist (d. 1938)
- 1860 - Hugo Preuss, German politician (d. 1938)
- 1864 - Adolfo Camarillo, American-born Mexican land owner and rancher (d. 1958)
- 1866 - Ramón del Valle-Inclán, Galician writer (d. 1936)
- 1875 - Gilbert H. Grosvenor, American geographer and editor (d. 1966)
- 1879 - Channing H. Cox, 49th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1968)
- 1882 - Grigol Robakidze, Georgian writer (d. 1962)
- 1885 – Per Albin Hansson, Prime Minister of Sweden (d. 1946)
- 1886 - O. G. S. Crawford, English archaeologist (d. 1957)
- 1889 - Juliette Béliveau, Canadian actress and singer (d. 1975)
- 1891 - Ormer Locklear, American pilot (d. 1980)
- 1892 - Dink Johnson, American pianist, drummer and clarinettist (d. 1954)
- 1896 – Howard Hanson, American composer (d. 1981)
- 1897 – Edith Head, American costume designer (d. 1981)
1901 – 1950 change
- 1901 - Eileen Shanahan, Irish poet (d. 1979)
- 1902 – Elsa Lanchester, Anglo-American actress (d. 1986)
- 1903 – Evelyn Waugh, British writer (d. 1966)
- 1904 - George Dangerfield, English-American historian, journalist and writer (d. 1986)
- 1907 - Tommy Hampson, British athlete (d. 1965)
- 1908 – Arturo Frondizi, President of Argentina (d. 1995)
- 1909 – Francis Bacon, Anglo-Irish painter (d. 1992)
- 1912 – Richard Doll, British epidemiologist (d. 2005)
- 1914 – Jonas Salk, American doctor, developed the Polio vaccine (d. 1995)
- 1914 – Richard Laurence Millington Synge, British biochemist (d. 1994)
- 1921 - Azumafuji Kin'ichi, Japanese sumo wrestler (d. 1973)
- 1922 - Simon Muzenda, Zimbabwean politician (d. 2003)
- 1925 - Ian Hamilton Findlay, Scottish poet, writer, artist and gardener (d. 2006)
- 1927 - Roza Makagonova, Russian writer (d. 1995)
- 1927 – Cleo Laine, British singer
- 1928 – Muhammad Sayyid Tantawy, Egyptian Muslim cleric (d. 2010)
- 1928 - Marcel Bozzuffi, French actor (d. 1988)
- 1928 - Lawrie Reilly, Scottish footballer (d. 2013)
- 1928 - William Rodgers, Baron Rodgers of Quarry Bank, British politician
- 1929 – Joan Plowright, British actress
- 1929 - John Hollander, American poet
- 1929 - Virginia Held, American philosopher and writer
- 1930 – Bernie Ecclestone, British Formula 1 executive
- 1931 - Harold Battiste, American composer, arranger, performer and teacher (d. 2015)
- 1932 - Gerhart Baum, German politician
- 1932 – Spyros Kyprianou, President of Cyprus (d. 2002)
- 1933 – Garrincha, Brazilian footballer (d. 1983)
- 1935 - Alan Clarke, British movie director (d. 1990)
- 1936 - Horst Antes, German artist and sculptor
- 1936 - Carl Davis, American-born British conductor and composer
- 1936 - Charlie Daniels, American country musician
- 1937 - Lenny Wilkins, American basketball player
- 1938 – David Dimbleby, British broadcaster
- 1938 - Dave Budd, American basketball player
- 1938 - Bernadette Lafont, French actress (d. 2013)
- 1938 - Anne Perry, British writer
- 1939 – Jane Alexander, American actress
- 1939 - Miroslav Cerar, Yugoslavian gymnast
- 1941 - Hank Marvin, English guitarist
- 1941 - Curtis Lee, American singer
- 1942 - Kees Verkerk, Dutch speed skater
- 1943 – Cornelia Froboess, German actress
- 1944 – Anton Schlecker, German businessman
- 1944 - Dennis Franz, American actor
- 1944 - Gerry Anderson, Northern Irish broadcaster (d. 2014)
- 1944 - Ian Marter, English actor and writer (d. 1986)
- 1945 - Sandy Berger, American lawyer and politician (d. 2015)
- 1945 - Wayne Fontana, American singer
- 1946 - Wim Jansen, Dutch footballer and coach
- 1949 – Caitlyn Jenner, American athlete and television personality
- 1950 - Ludo Delcroix, Belgian cyclist
- 1950 - Sihem Bensedrine, Tunisian journalist and activist
1951 – 1975 change
- 1951 - Ronnie and Donnie Galyon, American conjoined twins
- 1951 - Peter Hitchens, English journalist and writer
- 1952 - Annie Potts, American actress
- 1954 - Christopher Benfey, American literary critic
- 1955 - Digby Jones, English politician and businessman
- 1955 - Yves Simoneau, Canadian movie and television director
- 1955 – Bill Gates, American entrepreneur
- 1956 – Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, former President of Iran
- 1956 - Sandy Clark, Scottish footballer and coach
- 1956 - Franky Vercateuren, Belgian footballer and coach
- 1957 - Florence Arthaud, French sailor (d. 2015)
- 1957 - Stephen Paul David Morris, British musician
- 1957 - Scott Hahn, American theologian
- 1958 - William Reid, Scottish musician
- 1958 - Concha García Campoy, Spanish journalist (d. 2013)
- 1958 - Ashok Chavan, Indian politician, 16th Chief Minister of Maharashtra
- 1962 - Scotty Nguyen, Vietnamese-born American professional poker player
- 1962 - Erik Thorstvedt, Norwegian footballer
- 1962 – Daphne Zuniga, American actress
- 1963 - Lauren Holly, American actress
- 1963 - Eros Ramazzotti, Italian singer-songwriter and musician
- 1963 - Sheryl Underwood, American comedian and talk show host
- 1964 - Andrew Bridgen, English politician
- 1965 - Jami Gertz, American actress
- 1966 - Andy Richter, American actor and comedian
- 1967 - Richard Bona, Cameroonian musician
- 1967 - Kevin Macdonald, Scottish movie director
- 1967 – Sophie, Hereditary Princess of Liechtenstein
- 1967 – Julia Roberts, American actress
- 1967 - John Romero, American video game designer
- 1968 – Marc Lièvremont, French rugby player and coach
- 1969 - Ben Harper, American rock musician
- 1969 - Jeremy Davies, American actor
- 1972 – Brad Paisley, American musician
- 1973 – Alvin Burke, Jr., American professional wrestler known under the ring name Montel Vontavious Porter or MVP.
- 1974 – Joaquin Phoenix, American actor
- 1974 - Vicente Moreno, Spanish footballer and manager
- 1974 - Dayanara Torres, Puerto Rican actress and singer
From 1976 change
- 1979 – Aki Hakala, Finnish drummer
- 1979 - Isabella Ochichi, Kenyan athlete
- 1979 - Martin Skoula, Czech ice hockey player
- 1979 - Jawed Karim, German-American internet entrepreneur and co-founder of YouTube
- 1979 - Natina Reed, American actress, rapper and singer-songwriter (d. 2012)
- 1980 – Alan Smith, English footballer
- 1981 – Milan Baros, Czech footballer
- 1981 - Solomon Andargachew, Ethiopian footballer
- 1982 - Jeremy Bonderman, American baseball player
- 1982 - Mai Kuraki, Japanese singer-songwriter, pianist and producer
- 1982 – Matt Smith, British actor
- 1983 - Jarrett Jack, American basketball player
- 1984 – Obafemi Martins, Nigerian footballer
- 1984 - Kári Kristjánsson, Icelandic handball player
- 1984 - Bryn Evans, New Zealand rugby player
- 1985 - Troian Bellisario, American actress
- 1986 - Aki Toyosaki, Japanese voice actress
- 1987 - Frank Ocean, American singer-songwriter
- 1988 - Jamie xx, English musician, DJ and record producer
- 1988 - Go Eun-ah, South Korean actress
- 1989 - Camille Muffat, French swimmer (d. 2015)
- 1991 - Lucy Bronze, English footballer
- 1996 - Jack Eichel, American ice hockey player
- 1996 - Jasmine Jessica Anthony, American actress
- 1997 - Sierra McCormick, American actress
- 1997 - Taylor Hinz, American tennis player
- 1998 - Nolan Gould, American actor
- 2004 - Miss Beazley, George W. Bush's pet dog (d. 2014)
Deaths change
Up to 1900 change
- 312 – Maxentius, Roman Emperor (b. 278)
- 1225 - Jien, Japanese poet and historian (b. 1155)
- 1312 - Elisabeth of Tirol (b. 1262)
- 1412 – Margaret I of Denmark (b. 1353)
- 1485 - Rodolphus Agricola, Dutch humanist (b. 1443)
- 1568 - Ashikaga Yoshihide, Japanese shogun (b. 1539)
- 1627 – Jahangir, Mughal Emperor (b. 1569)
- 1639 - Stefano Landi, Italian composer (b. 1587)
- 1646 - William Dobson, English painter (b. 1610)
- 1661 - Agustín Moreto y Cavana, Spanish playwright (b. 1618)
- 1703 – John Wallis, English mathematician (b. 1616)
- 1704 – John Locke, English philosopher (b. 1632)
- 1708 – Prince George of Denmark, Prince Consort of Great Britain (b. 1653)
- 1740 – Empress Anna of Russia (b. 1693)
- 1754 - Friedrich von Hagedorn, German poet (b. 1708)
- 1768 - Michel Blavet, French flautist and composer (b. 1700)
- 1792 - John Smeaton, British civil engineer (b. 1724)
- 1818 – Abigail Adams, First Lady of the United States (b. 1744)
- 1857 - Louis-Eugène Cavaignac, 26th Prime Minister of France (b. 1802)
- 1899 - Ottmar Mergenthaler, German-American inventor (b. 1854)
- 1900 – Max Müller, German philologist (b. 1823)
1901 – 2000 change
- 1916 - Oswald Boelcke, German pilot (b. 1891)
- 1917 - Dimitrios Votsis, Greek politician (b. 1841)
- 1918 – Ulisse Dini, Italian mathematician (b. 1845)
- 1929 – Bernhard von Bülow, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1849)
- 1939 - Alice Brady, American actress (b. 1892)
- 1952 – Billy Hughes, 7th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1862)
- 1959 – Camilo Cienfuegos, Cuban revolutionary (b. 1932)
- 1969 - Constance Dowling, American actress (b. 1920)
- 1973 - Taha Hussein, Egyptian historian, writer and academic (b. 1889)
- 1973 - Sergio Topano, Italian actor, director and playwright (b. 1883)
- 1975 - Georges Carpentier, French boxer (b. 1894)
- 1978 - Rukmani Devi, Sri Lankan actress and singer (b. 1923)
- 1983 - Otto Messmer, American animator (b. 1892)
- 1984 - Wells Kelly, American singer-songwriter and musician (b. 1949)
- 1986 - Ian Marter, English actor and writer (b. 1944)
- 1989 - Kateb Yacine, Algerian writer (b. 1929)
- 1998 – Ted Hughes, English poet (b. 1930)
From 2001 change
- 2005 – Richard Smalley, American chemist (b. 1943)
- 2005 - Tony Jackson, American basketball player (b. 1942)
- 2005 - Fernando Quejas, Cape Verdean singer and musician (b. 1922)
- 2006 – Red Auerbach, American basketball coach and executive (b. 1917)
- 2007 - Evelyn Hamann, German actress (b. 1942)
- 2007 – Porter Wagoner, American country singer (b. 1927)
- 2009 – Taylor Mitchell, Canadian singer-songwriter (b. 1990)
- 2010 – Jonathan Motzfeldt, 1st Prime Minister of Greenland (b. 1938)
- 2011 - Jiri Grusa, Czech writer and diplomat (b. 1938)
- 2012 - Terry Callier, American guitarist and singer-songwriter (b. 1945)
- 2013 - Tadeusz Mazowiecki, former Prime Minister of Poland (b. 1927)
- 2014 - Hans Schneider, Austrian-American mathematician (b. 1927)
- 2014 - Michael Sata, 5th President of Zambia (b. 1937)
- 2014 - Romualdas Granauskas, Lithuanian writer (b. 1939)
- 2014 - Koichiro Kimura, Japanese writer and martial artist (b. 1940)
- 2014 - Galway Kinnell, American poet (b. 1927)
- 2017 - Gert Timmerman, Dutch singer (b. 1935)
- 2017 - Josaphat-Robert Large, Haitian-American poet, novelist and art critic (b. 1942)
- 2018 - Luis Miguel Enciso Recio, Spanish historian and politician (b. 1930)
- 2018 - Richard Gill, Australian conductor and activist (b. 1941)
- 2018 - Colin Sylvia, Australian football player (b. 1985)
- 2018 - I. John Hesselink, American theologian (b. 1928)
- 2019 - Al Bianchi, American baseball player and coach (b. 1932)
- 2019 - Kay Hagan, American politician (b. 1953)
- 2019 - Zoltán Jeney, Hungarian composer (b. 1943)
- 2022 - Jerry Lee Lewis, American singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1935)
- 2023 - Matthew Perry, American-Canadian actor (b. 1969)
Observances change
- Czech Republic and Slovakia: National holiday marking the independence of Czechoslovakia in 1918
- Ochi Day in Greece, Cyprus and Greek communities