August 28

Events

*475 - The Roman general Orestes forces western Roman Emperor Julius Nepos to flee his capital city, Ravenna.
*489 - Theodoric, king of the Ostrogoths defeats Odoacer at the Battle of Isonzo, forcing his way into Italy.
*1189 - Third Crusade: the Crusaders begin the Siege of Acre under Guy of Lusignan
*1349 - 6,000 Jews are killed in Mainz, accused of being the cause of the plague.
*1511 - The Portuguese conquer Malacca.
*1521 - The Ottoman Turks occupy Belgrade.
*1542 - Turkish-Portuguese War (1538-1557) - Battle of Wofla: the Portuguese are scattered, their leader Christovão da Gama is captured and afterwards executed.
*1565 - St. Augustine, Florida, is established. It is the oldest surviving European settlement in the United States.
*1609 - Henry Hudson discovers Delaware Bay.
*1619 - Ferdinand II is elected emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
*1640 - Second Bishop's War: King Charles I's English army loses to a Scottish Covenanter force at the Battle of Newburn
*1777 - American Revolutionary War - Battle of Cooch's Bridge takes place near Newark, Delaware.
*1789 - William Herschel discovers a new moon of Saturn.
*1830 - The "Tom Thumb" presages the first railway service in the United States.
*1845 - "Scientific American" magazine publishes its first issue.
*1849 - After a month-long siege, Venice, which had declared itself independent, surrenders to Austria.
*1859 - A geomagnetic storm causes the Aurora Borealis to shine so brightly that it is seen clearly over parts of USA, Europe, and even as far afield as Japan.
*1862 - American Civil War: Second Battle of Bull Run, also known as the battle of Second Manassas.
*1867 - The United States takes possession of the, at this point unoccupied, Midway Island.
*1879 - Cetshwayo, last king of the Zulus, is captured by the British.
*1898 - Caleb Bradham renames his carbonated soft drink "Pepsi-Cola".
*1907 - UPS is founded by James E. Casey in Seattle, Washington.
*1913 - Queen Wilhelmina opens the Peace Palace in The Hague.
*1914 - World War I: the Royal Navy beats the German fleet in the Battle of Heligoland Bight.
* 1914 - World War I: German troops conquer Namur.
*1916 - World War I: Germany declares war on Romania.
* 1916 - World War I: Italy declares war on Germany.
*1917 - Ten suffragists are arrested when picketing the White House.
*1924 - Georgian opposition stages the August Uprising against the Soviet Union.
*1931 - France and Soviet Union sign a treaty of non-aggression.
*1937 - Toyota Motors becomes an independent company.
*1943 - World War II: in Denmark, a general strike against the Nazi occupation is started.
*1944 - World War II: Marseille and Toulon are liberated.
*1953 - Nippon Television broadcasts Japan's first television show, including its first TV advertisement.
*1961 - Motown releases what would be its first number one hit, "Please Mr. Postman" by The Marvelettes.
*1963 - March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom: Martin Luther King, Jr. gives his "I Have a Dream" speech.
* 1964 - The Philadelphia race riot begins.
*1968 - Riots in Chicago, Illinois, during the Democratic National Convention.
*1971 - The dollar is allowed to float against the yen for the first time.
*1979 - An IRA bomb explodes on the Grand Place in Brussels.
*1981 - The National Centers for Disease Control announce a high incidence of Pneumocystis and Kaposi's sarcoma in gay men. Soon, these will be recognized as symptoms of an immune disorder, which will be called AIDS.
*1982 - The first Gay Games are held in San Francisco.
*1986 - United States Navy officer Jerry A. Whitworth is sentenced to 365 years imprisonment for espionage for the Soviet Union.
*1988 - Ramstein airshow disaster: three aircraft of the Frecce Tricolori demonstration team collide and the wreckage falls into the crowd. 75 are killed and 346 seriously injured.
*1990 - Iraq declares Kuwait to be its newest province.
* 1990 - The Plainfield Tornado: an F5 tornado hits in Plainfield, Illinois, and Joliet, Illinois, killing 28 people.
*1991 - Collapse of the Soviet Union: Ukraine declares its independence from the Soviet Union.
* 1991 - Collapse of the Soviet Union - Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party.
*1996 - Charles, Prince of Wales and Diana, Princess of Wales are divorced.
*1998 - Pakistan's National Assembly passes a constitutional amendment to make the "Qur'an and Sunnah" the "supreme law" but the bill is defeated in the Senate.
*2003 - An electricity blackout cuts off power to around 500,000 people living in south east England and brings 60% of London's underground rail network to a halt.

Births

*1025 - Emperor Go-Reizei of Japan (d. 1068)
*1582 - Taichang Emperor, of the Ming dynasty of China (d. 1620)
*1592 - George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, English statesman (d. 1628)
*1612 - Marcus Zuerius van Boxhorn, Dutch scholar (d. 1653)
*1667 - Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, queen of Denmark and Norway (d. 1721)
*1691 - Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Holy Roman Empire Empress (d. 1750)
*1714 - Anthony Ulrich II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (d. 1774)
*1749 - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German writer and scientist (d. 1832)
*1774 - Elizabeth Ann Seton, American-born Catholic saint (d. 1821)
*1789 - Stéphanie de Beauharnais, Grand Duchess of Baden (d. 1860)
*1801 - Antoine Augustin Cournot, French mathematician (d. 1877)
*1814 - Sheridan le Fanu, Irish writer (d. 1873)
*1827 - Grand Duchess Catherine Mikhailovna of Russia (d. 1894)
*1828 - Leo Tolstoy, Russian author (birthdate according to O.S.) (d. 1910)
*1840 - Alexander Cameron Sim, Scottish merchant (d. 1900)
*1853 - Vladimir Shukhov, Russian engineer and inventor (d. 1939)
*1867 - Umberto Giordano, Italian composer (d. 1948)
*1878 - George Whipple, American scientist and Nobel laureate (d. 1976)
*1885 - Vance Palmer, Australian author (d. 1959)
*1894 - Karl Böhm, Austrian conductor (d. 1981)
*1898 - Charlie Grimm, American baseball player (d. 1983)
*1899 - Charles Boyer, French actor (d. 1978)
*1903 - Bruno Bettelheim, American psychologist (d. 1990)
*1904 - Secondo Campini, Italian jet engine pioneer (d. 1980)
*1905 - Cyril Walters, England cricketer (d. 1992)
*1906 - John Betjeman, English poet (d. 1984)
*1908 - Roger Tory Peterson, American ornithologist (d. 1996)
*1910 - Tjalling Koopmans, Dutch-born economist Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1985)
*1911 - Joseph Luns, Dutch politician (d. 2002)
*1913 - Robertson Davies, Canadian writer (d. 1995)
* 1913 - Richard Tucker, American tenor (d. 1975)
* 1913 - Terence Reese, British bridge player (d. 1996)
* 1913 - Boris Pahor, Slovenian writer
* 1913 - Lindsay Hassett, Australian cricketer (d. 1993)
*1915 - Max Robertson, British sports commentator
*1915 - Tasha Tudor, American illustrator (d. 2008)
*1916 - Jack Vance, American author
* 1916 - Hélène Baillargeon, Quebec singer and folklorist (d. 1997)
*1917 - Jack Kirby, American comic book artist (d. 1994)
*1919 - Godfrey Hounsfield, English electrical engineer Nobel Laureate (d. 2004)
*1920 - Frits Bernard, pedophile activist (d. 2006)
*1921 - Fernando Fernán Gómez, Spanish actor, director, academic and playwright (d. 2007)
* 1921 - Nancy Kulp, American actress (d. 1991)
*1924 - Janet Frame, New Zealand author (d. 2004)
* 1924 - Peggy Ryan, American actress (d. 2004)
* 1924 - Tony MacGibbon, New Zealand cricketer
*1925 - Donald O'Connor, American singer, dancer, and actor (d. 2003)
* 1925 - Billy Grammer, American country music singer and guitarist
*1928 - F. William Free, American advertising executive (d. 2003)
*1929 - Istvan Kertesz, Hungarian conductor (d. 1973)
* 1929 - Ken Gampu, South African actor (d. 2003)
*1930 - Windsor Davies, British actor
* 1930 - Ben Gazzara, American actor
*1931 - John Shirley-Quirk, English bass-baritone
* 1931 - Tito Capobianco, Argentinian stage impresario
*1932 - Andy Bathgate, Canadian ice hockey player
*1935 - Gilles Rocheleau, French Canadian politician (d. 1998)
*1936 - Don Denkinger, American baseball umpire
*1938 - Paul Martin, Canadian politician
* 1938 - Maurizio Costanzo, Italian television journalist
*1940 - Ken Jenkins, American actor
* 1940 - Roger Pingeon, French cylist
* 1940 - Nik Turner, English musician (Hawkwind)
*1941 - Sybille de Selys Longchamps, Belgian aristocrat
* 1941 - Paul Plishka, American bass
*1942 - Sterling Morrison, American guitarist (The Velvet Underground) (d. 1995)
*1943 - David Soul, American actor
* 1943 - Lou Piniella, American baseball manager
*1943 - Surayud Chulanont, Thai 24th Prime Minister (former)
*1944 - Marianne Heemskerk, Dutch swimmer
*1945 - Robert Greenwald, American film director/producer
*1945 - Bob Segarini, Musician and radio personality
* 1944 - Melvin Dummar, American claimant to the Howard Hughes estate
*1947 - Liza Wang, Hong Kong actress
* 1947 - Shoto Tanemura, Japanese martial artist
*1948 - Danny Seraphine, American musician (Chicago)
* 1948 - Murray Parker, New Zealand cricketer
*1949 - Hugh Cornwell, British musician (The Stranglers)
* 1949 - Svetislav Pešić, Serbian basketball player and coach
*1951 - Keiichi Suzuki, Japanese composer
* 1951 - Wayne Osmond, American singer (The Osmonds)
*1952 - Rita Dove, American poet
* 1952 - Wendelin Wiedeking, German businessman
* 1952 - Guy Nadon, Canadian actor
* 1952 - Jacques Chagnon, Canadian politician
*1954 - George Church, American geneticist
*1956 - Luis Guzmán, Puerto Rican actor
*1957 - Daniel Stern, American actor
* 1957 - Rick Rossovich, American actor
*1958 - Scott Hamilton, American figure skater
*1960 - Emma Samms, English actress
*1961 - Kim Appleby, English singer
* 1961 - Cliff Benson, American football player
*1962 - Paul Allen, English footballer
* 1962 - David Fincher, American music video and film director
*1963 - Jennifer Coolidge, American actress
* 1963 - Regina Jacobs, American athlete
*1965 - Amanda Tapping, Canadian actress
* 1965 - Shania Twain, Canadian singer
*1966 - Priya Dutt, Indian social worker and politician
*1967 - Frederick Kesner, Philippine-born Australian poet
*1968 - Billy Boyd, Scottish actor
*1969 - Jason Priestley, Canadian-born actor
* 1969 - Jack Black, American actor
* 1969 - Mary McCartney, English photographer
* 1969 - Pierre Turgeon, French Canadian ice hockey player
*1970 - Sherrié Austin, Australian actress/singer
* 1970 - Rick Recht, Jewish singer
*1971 - Todd Eldredge, American figure skater
* 1971 - Janet Evans, American swimmer
* 1971 - Raul Marquez, Mexican-born American boxer
* 1971 - Shane Andrews, American baseball player
*1972 - Jay Witasick, American baseball player
* 1972 - Ravindu Shah, Kenyan cricketer
*1973 - Matthew John Armstrong, American actor
* 1973 - DJ Assault, American musician
*1974 - Johan Andersson, Swedish game programmer
* 1974 - Carsten Jancker, German footballer
* 1974 - Takahito Eguchi, Japanese composer
*1975 - Jamie Cureton, English footballer
* 1975 - Gareth Farrelly, Irish footballer
* 1975 - Vera Jordanova, Finnish actress and model
*1976 - Federico Magallanes, Uruguayan footballer
*1978 - Jess Margera, American drummer (CKY)
* 1978 - Shaniqua, American wrestling valet
*1979 - Robert Hoyzer, German football referee
* 1979 - Shaila Durcal, Spanish singer
* 1979 - Kristen Hughes, Australian netballer
* 1979 - Markus Pröll, German footballer
* 1979 - Ruth Riley, American basketball player
*1980 - T.J. Beam, American baseball player
*1981 - Martin Erat, Czech hockey player
* 1981 - Daniel Gygax, Swiss footballer
* 1981 - Vaggelis Moras, Greek footballer
* 1981 - Agata Wróbel, Polish weightlifter
* 1981 - Raphael Matos, Brazilian racing driver
*1982 - Anderson Silva de França, Brazilian footballer
* 1982 - LeAnn Rimes, American singer
* 1982 - Kevin McNaughton, Scottish footballer
* 1982 - Thiago Motta, Brazilian footballer
*1983 - Lasith Malinga, Sri Lankan cricketer
* 1983 - Alfonso Herrera, Actor, and singer in the Latin pop group RBD
* 1985 - Ralph Woolfolk IV, American actor
*1986 - Gilad Shalit, Israeli corporal
*1988 - Ray Jones, English footballer (d. 2007)
*1990 - Bojan Krkić, Serbian-Spanish footballer
*1991 - Kyle Massey, American actor
*1991 - Sarah Jane Santos, Filipino singer
*1999 - Prince Nikolai of Denmark

Deaths

*388 - Magnus Maximus, Roman usurper
*430 - Augustine of Hippo, North African saint and theologian (b. 354)
*1341 - King Leo V of Armenia (b. 1309)
*1481 - King Afonso V of Portugal (b. 1432)
*1645 - Hugo Grotius, Dutch philosopher and writer (b. 1583)
*1654 - Axel Oxenstierna, Lord High Chancellor of Sweden (b. 1583)
*1678 - John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton, English soldier (b. 1602)
*1757 - David Hartley, English philosopher (b. 1705)
*1784 - Junípero Serra, Spanish missionary (b. 1713)
*1785 - Jean-Baptiste Pigalle, French sculptor (b. 1714)
*1793 - Adam Philippe, Comte de Custine, French general (executed) (b. 1740)
*1805 - Alexander Carlyle, Scottish church leader (b. 1722)
*1818 - Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable, founder of Chicago
*1820 - Andrew Ellicott, American surveyor (b. 1754)
*1839 - William Smith, English geologist (b. 1769)
*1900 - Henry Sidgwick, English philosopher (b. 1838)
*1903 - Frederick Law Olmsted, American landscape architect (b. 1822)
*1933 - Helen Dunbar, American actress (b. 1863)
*1943 - King Boris III of Bulgaria (b. 1894)
*1947 - Manolete, Spanish bullfighter (b. 1917)
*1955 - Emmett Till, American civil rights movement icon (b. 1941)
*1959 - Bohuslav Martinů, Czech composer (b. 1890)
*1965 - Giulio Racah, Israeli physicist (b. 1909)
*1975 - Fritz Wotruba, Austrian sculptor (b. 1907)
*1976 - Anissa Jones, American actress (b. 1958)
*1978 - Robert Shaw, English actor and writer (b. 1927)
*1981 - Béla Guttman, Hungarian footballer (b. 1900)
*1982 - Geoff Chubb, South African cricketer (b. 1911)
*1985 - Ruth Gordon, American actress (b. 1896)
*1987 - John Huston, American movie director (b. 1906)
*1988 - Jean Marchand, French Canadian union leader and politician (b. 1918)
*1990 - Willy Vandersteen, Belgian cartoonist (b. 1913)
*1993 - William Stafford, American poet (b. 1914)
*1995 - Earl Bascom, American rodeo pioneer (b. 1906)
*2003 - Brian Douglas Wells, American criminal (failed) (b. 1956)
*2005 - Jacques Dufilho, French actor (b. 1914)
* 2005 - Esther Szekeres, Hungarian mathematician (b. 1910)
* 2005 - George Szekeres, Hungarian mathematician (b. 1911)
*2006 - Benoît Sauvageau, French Canadian politician (b. 1963)
* 2006 - Melvin Schwartz, American physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1932)
*2007 - Arthur Jones, American inventor of the Nautilus exercise machines (b. 1926)
* 2007 - Hilly Kristal, American Founder of CBGB/Punk rock legend (b. 1932)
* 2007 - Paul B. MacCready, Jr., American aeronautical engineer (b. 1925)
* 2007 - Antonio Puerta, Spanish footballer (b. 1984)
* 2007 - Francisco Umbral, Spanish journalist, novelist, biographer and essayist (b. 1935)
* 2007 - Miyoshi Umeki, Japanese-born American actress (b. 1929)
* 2007 - Nikola Nobilo, New Zealand winemaker (b. 1913)
*2008 - Phil Hill, American race car driver and one-time F1 world champion (b. 1927)

Holidays and observances

* In Eastern Orthodox Churches using the Julian calendar: Feast day of the Assumption of Mary, the mother of Jesus, public holiday in the Republic of Macedonia, Serbia
*Many Christian churches: feast day of Saint Augustine of Hippo.

External links

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/28 BBC: On This Day]
*NYT On this day|month=08|day=28
* [http://www1.sympatico.ca/cgi-bin/on_this_day?mth=Aug&day=28 On This Day in Canada] ----