0 After hearing news that the anointed King of the Jews had recently been born, King Herod, announced his intention of slaying all children aged two years or younger in the vicinity of Bethlehem, Mary and Joseph, along with the baby Jesus, fled to Egypt to escape the massacre. Holy Innocents Day on December 28th commemorates The Massacre of the Innocents, the biblical recount of Herod the Great's infanticide.
1065 King Edward the Confessor completed Westminster Abbey on the site of a small monastic building on Thorney Island in the marshes near the River Thames in 1065. It was to be served by Benedictine monks and intended to be the royal church. Unfortunately Edward was too ill to attend the ceremony of dedication on December 28, 1065. Edward the Confessor died the following month at his new palace at Westminster which was built so he could be close to his beloved abbey
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| The Massacre of the Innocents at Bethlehem, by Matteo di Giovanni |
1065 King Edward the Confessor completed Westminster Abbey on the site of a small monastic building on Thorney Island in the marshes near the River Thames in 1065. It was to be served by Benedictine monks and intended to be the royal church. Unfortunately Edward was too ill to attend the ceremony of dedication on December 28, 1065. Edward the Confessor died the following month at his new palace at Westminster which was built so he could be close to his beloved abbey
1612 Galileo Galilei became the first astronomer to observe the planet Neptune on December 28, 1612. Galileo's drawings on December 28, 1612 and January 27, 1613, contain plotted points that match up with what is now known to be the position of Neptune. It appears that on both occasions, Galileo mistook the planet for a fixed star when it appeared close—in conjunction—to Jupiter in the night sky.
1694 Mary II of England fell ill with smallpox in the cold winter of 1694. She refused visits or assistance from anyone who had not already had the disease and died on December 28. Barristers in the UK still dress in all black in law courts because they are still officially in mourning for Mary.
1768 Taksin the Great was a leader in the liberation of Siam from Burmese occupation after the Kingdom of Ayutthaya was brought down by invading Burmese armies in 1767. Despite its complete defeat and occupation by Burma, Siam made a rapid recovery and was unified. Taksin was crowned king of the newly established Thonburi Kingdom in Siam's new capital Thonburi, present-day Thailand, on December 28, 1768.
1836 In 1836 a fleet of eight ships under John Hindmarsh, first Governor of South Australia, camped at Holdfast Bay. South Australia was officially proclaimed as a new British colony on December 28, 1836, near The Old Gum Tree in what is now the Adelaide suburb of Glenelg North.
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| European settlers with Aborigines, 1850 |
1846 After the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, Iowa was placed under United States control, but it was not until the construction of Fort Madison in 1808 that the U.S. established tenuous military control over the region. On December 28, 1846, Iowa became the 29th state in the Union when President James K. Polk signed Iowa's admission bill into law. Its first settlers were mostly farmers.
1856 The 28th president of the United States, Woodrow Wilson, was born in Staunton, Virginia, on December 28, 1856. "Woodrow" was his middle name. His first name was Thomas. In 1885, he obtained a Ph.D. in history and political science at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Wilson was the only US President to hold a doctorate degree, making him the highest educated head of state in American history.
1869 State of Maine Spruce Gum, invented by John B Curtis in 1848 was the first chewing gum to be sold commercially in America. However it was not a success as it’s taste was too harsh, texture too tough and it needed frequent dipping in powdered sugar to stay sweet. On December 28, 1869 Ohio dentist William F Semple filed a patent for his improved chewing gum, which featured added sugar.
1879 On December 28, 1879, during a violent storm, the Tay Bridge in Scotland collapsed as a train was crossing over it on the way to Dundee, killing at least 56 people on board. The bridge had only opened the previous year.
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| A contemporary illustration of the Tay Bridge Disaster |
1885 The first session of the Indian National Congress was held in Bombay from December 28-31, 1885. In the early 1900s, millions of people peacefully started to protest against British control and Bombay became a strong base for the Indian independence movement. In 1947, India peacefully became free and independent from the British Empire.
1895 After French inventor Auguste Lumière was invited to attend a demonstration of the Kinetoscope invented by Thomas Edison, he and his brother Louis worked on improving the device. In 1895, they patented their combination movie camera and projector, the Cinématographe. The Lumière brothers screened their first film for a paying audience at the Grand Cafe in Boulevard des Capucines, Paris on December 28, 1895 marking the debut of the cinema.
1903 Chauffeur Richard Cain, of Bermondsey, London, became the first Briton to be issued with a driving licence on December 28, 1903. The cost was 5 shillings (25p). The 5 shillings (equivalent to about £33 in today's money) he paid for the license highlights the relative expense of motoring in its early days. Owning and operating a car was still a luxury reserved for the wealthy in 1903.
1907 The now extinct huia was the largest species of New Zealand wattlebird, endemic to the North Island of New Zealand. The last confirmed sighting of the huia took place on December 28, 1907 when W. W. Smith saw three birds in the forests of the Tararua Ranges, North Island, New Zealand.
1937 The French composer Maurice Ravel experienced health issues in the late 1920s, including a gradual onset of neurological symptoms. He underwent brain surgery in 1937 to alleviate his condition. However, the surgery was not successful, and Ravel passed away in Paris on December 28, 1937.
1907 The now extinct huia was the largest species of New Zealand wattlebird, endemic to the North Island of New Zealand. The last confirmed sighting of the huia took place on December 28, 1907 when W. W. Smith saw three birds in the forests of the Tararua Ranges, North Island, New Zealand.
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| Illustration of two birds on a tree branch |
1937 The French composer Maurice Ravel experienced health issues in the late 1920s, including a gradual onset of neurological symptoms. He underwent brain surgery in 1937 to alleviate his condition. However, the surgery was not successful, and Ravel passed away in Paris on December 28, 1937.
1944 Maurice Richard became the first ice hockey player to score 8 points in one NHL game, when he made five goals and three assists in a 9–1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on December 28, 1944. Richard achieved the feat despite arriving for the game exhausted from moving into his new home that afternoon.
1956 When a 15,000-gallon vinegar vat at the HP Sauce factory in Birmingham, England burst on December 28, 1956, houses were flooded as far as a quarter of a mile away. Nobody was injured but the smell lasted for weeks.
1956 When a 15,000-gallon vinegar vat at the HP Sauce factory in Birmingham, England burst on December 28, 1956, houses were flooded as far as a quarter of a mile away. Nobody was injured but the smell lasted for weeks.
1967 American businesswoman Muriel Siebert was the first woman to own a seat on the New York Stock Exchange, and the first woman to head one of the NYSE's member firms. She joined the 1,365 male members of the exchange on December 28, 1967.
1973 U.S. President Richard Nixon signed the Endangered Species Act into law on December 28, 1973. It was a wide-ranging environmental law designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of economic growth and development untempered by adequate concern and conservation." The Act is administered by two federal agencies, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
1973 U.S. President Richard Nixon signed the Endangered Species Act into law on December 28, 1973. It was a wide-ranging environmental law designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of economic growth and development untempered by adequate concern and conservation." The Act is administered by two federal agencies, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
1973 On December 28, 1973, after having worked for 16 hours a day without breaks for six weeks, the crew of the United States' space station, Skylab, mutinied and shut off communications with ground control for a day. They spent the day relaxing and looking at the Earth. It is the only strike to occur in space.
1981 Elizabeth Carr, the first American test-tube baby, was born at 7:46 am on December 28, 1981. She came into this world two and a half years after the world’s first test tube baby, Oldham, England-born Louise Brown. Elizabeth was delivered at Norfolk General Hospital in Norfolk, Virginia, weighing 5 pounds 12 ounces. She is now a journalist.
1996 Denise Rossi won $1.3 million in the California Lottery on December 28, 1996 and filed for divorce 11 days later. She didn’t tell her husband, Thomas, and two years later he found out all about his ex's huge win and sued her. The judge awarded Thomas all of Denise's winnings.
2012 "Happy Birthday" was named the highest-earning song of all time in the documentary The Richest Songs In The World, which aired on BBC Four on December 28, 2012. Runner-up was Irving Berlin's "White Christmas."
2012 Japanese Jiroemon Kimura (April 19, 1897 – June 12, 2013) became the verified oldest male in history on December 28, 2012, at the age of 115 years and 253 days when he surpassed the age of Christian Mortensen who died in 1998. He died at the age of 116 years, 54 days, having become the first and so far the only man who indisputably reached 116 years of age.
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