December 28

Events

• 418 - A papal conclave begins, resulting in the election of Pope Boniface I.
• 457 - Majorian is acclaimed emperor of the Western Roman Empire and recognized by Emperor Leo I the Thracian.
• 484 - Alaric II succeeds his father Euric and becomes king of the Visigoths. He establishes his capital at Aire-sur-l'Adour.
• 893 - An earthquake destroys the city of Dvin, Armenia.
• 1065 - Edward the Confessor's Romanesque monastic church at Westminster Abbey is consecrated.
• 1308 - The reign of Emperor Hanazono of Japan begins.
• 1659 - The Marathas defeat the Adilshahi forces in the Battle of Kolhapur.
• 1768 - King Taksin's coronation achieved through conquest as a king of Thailand and established Thonburi as a capital.
• 1795 - Construction of Yonge Street, formerly recognized as the longest street in the world, begins in York, Upper Canada.
• 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 with the signing of the Santa María–Calatrava Treaty.
• 1846 - Iowa is admitted as the 29th U.S. state.
• 1879 - Tay Bridge disaster: The central part of the Tay Rail Bridge in Dundee, Scotland, United Kingdom collapses as a train passes over it, killing 75.
• 1885 - Indian National Congress, a political party of India, is founded in Bombay Presidency, British India.
• 1895 - The Lumière brothers perform for their first paying audience at the Grand Cafe in Boulevard des Capucines.
• 1895 - Wilhelm Röntgen publishes a paper detailing his discovery of a new type of radiation, which later will be known as x-rays.
• 1902 - The Syracuse Athletic Club defeated the New York Philadelphians, 5–0, in the first indoor professional football game, which was held at Madison Square Garden.
• 1908 - The 7.1 Messina earthquake shakes Southern Italy with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI, killing between 75,000 and 200,000.
• 1912 - The first municipally owned streetcars take to the streets in San Francisco.
• 1918 - Constance Markievicz, while detained in Holloway prison, became the first woman to be elected MP to the British House of Commons.
• 1941 - World War II: Operation Anthropoid, the plot to assassinate high-ranking Nazi officer Reinhard Heydrich, commences.
• 1943 - Soviet authorities launch Operation Ulussy, beginning the deportation of the Kalmyk nation to Siberia and Central Asia.
• 1943 - World War II: After eight days of brutal house-to-house fighting, the Battle of Ortona concludes with the victory of the 1st 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 eight points in one game of NHL ice hockey.
• 1948 - The DC-3 airliner NC16002 disappears 50 miles south of Miami.
• 1956 - Chin Peng, David Marshall and Tunku Abdul Rahman meet in Baling, Malaya to try and resolve the Malayan Emergency situation.
• 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 United States Endangered Species Act is signed into law by Pres. Richard Nixon.
• 1989 - A magnitude 5.6 earthquake hits Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, killing 13 people.
• 2006 - War in Somalia: The militaries of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government and Ethiopian troops capture Mogadishu unopposed.
• 2009 - Forty-three people die in a suicide bombing in Karachi, Pakistan, where Shia Muslims are observing the Day of Ashura.
• 2014 - Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501 crashes into the Karimata Strait en route from Surabaya to Singapore, killing all 162 people aboard.
• 2014 - Nine people die and another 19 are reported missing, when the MS Norman Atlantic catches fire in the Strait of Otranto, in the Adriatic Sea, in Italian waters.

  Births

• 1164 - Emperor Rokujō of Japan
• 1461 - Louise of Savoy, French nun
• 1510 - Nicholas Bacon, English politician
• 1522 - Margaret of Parma
• 1535 - Martin Eisengrein, German theologian
• 1619 - Antoine Furetière, French author and scholar
• 1635 - Elizabeth Stuart, second daughter of King Charles I of England
• 1651 - Johann Krieger, German organist and composer
• 1655 - Charles Cornwallis, 3rd Baron Cornwallis, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Suffolk
• 1665 - George FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Northumberland, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire
• 1722 - Eliza Lucas, Caribbean-American agriculturalist
• 1763 - John Molson, English-Canadian brewer, founded the Molson Brewery
• 1775 - Jean-Gabriel Eynard, Swiss banker and photographer
• 1789 - Catharine Maria Sedgwick, American novelist of "domestic fiction"
• 1798 - Thomas Henderson, Scottish astronomer and mathematician
• 1818 - Carl Remigius Fresenius, German chemist and academic
• 1842 - Calixa Lavallée, Canadian-American lieutenant and composer
• 1856 - Woodrow Wilson, American historian and politician, 28th President of the United States, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1865 - Félix Vallotton, Swiss/French painter
• 1870 - Charles Bennett, English runner
• 1882 - Arthur Eddington, English astronomer, physicist, and mathematician
• 1882 - Lili Elbe, Danish model and painter
• 1887 - Werner Kolhörster, German physicist and academic
• 1888 - F. W. Murnau, German-American director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1890 - Quincy Wright, American political scientist, historian, and academic
• 1895 - Carol Ryrie Brink, American author and playwright
• 1898 - Carl-Gustaf Rossby, Swedish-American meteorologist and academic
• 1898 - Shigematsu Sakaibara, Japanese admiral
• 1902 - Mortimer J. Adler, American philosopher and author
• 1902 - Shen Congwen, Chinese author and educator
• 1903 - Earl Hines, American pianist and bandleader
• 1903 - John von Neumann, Hungarian-American mathematician and physicist
• 1907 - Ze'ev Ben-Haim, Ukrainian-Israeli linguist and academic
• 1908 - Lew Ayres, American actor
• 1910 - Billy Williams, American singer
• 1911 - Wil van Beveren, Dutch sprinter and journalist
• 1913 - Lou Jacobi, Canadian-American actor
• 1914 - Bidia Dandaron, Russian author and educator
• 1914 - Pops Staples, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1917 - Ellis Clarke, Trinidadian politician, 1st President of Trinidad and Tobago
• 1919 - Emily Cheney Neville, American author
• 1920 - Tufty Mann, South African cricketer
• 1920 - Bruce McCarty, American architect, designed the Knoxville City-County Building
• 1920 - Steve Van Buren, Honduran-American football player
• 1920 - Al Wistert, American football player and coach
• 1921 - Johnny Otis, American singer-songwriter and producer
• 1922 - Stan Lee, American publisher, producer, and actor
• 1924 - Girma Wolde-Giorgis, Ethiopian politician; President of Ethiopia
• 1925 - Hildegard Knef, German actress and singer
• 1925 - Milton Obote, Ugandan engineer and politician, 2nd President of Uganda
• 1926 - Donald Carr, German-English cricketer and referee
• 1928 - Moe Koffman, Canadian flute player, saxophonist, and composer
• 1929 - Brian Redhead, English journalist and author
• 1929 - Terry Sawchuk, Canadian-American ice hockey player
• 1930 - Mariam A. Aleem, Egyptian illustrator and academic
• 1931 - Guy Debord, French theorist and author
• 1931 - Martin Milner, American actor
• 1932 - Dhirubhai Ambani, Indian businessman, founded Reliance Industries
• 1932 - Dorsey Burnette, American singer-songwriter
• 1932 - Roy Hattersley, English journalist and politician, Shadow Home Secretary
• 1932 - Harry Howell, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1932 - Nichelle Nichols, American actress
• 1932 - Manuel Puig, Argentinian author and playwright
• 1933 - John Y. Brown Jr., American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 55th Governor of Kentucky
• 1934 - Rudi Faßnacht, German footballer and manager
• 1934 - Maggie Smith, English actress
• 1934 - Chieko Aioi, Japanese actress and voice actress
• 1936 - Alan Coleman, English-Australian director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1936 - Lawrence Schiller, American journalist, director, and producer
• 1937 - Ratan Tata, Indian businessman and philanthropist
• 1938 - Dick Sudhalter, American trumpet player, scholar, and critic
• 1939 - Philip Anschutz, American businessman, founded Anschutz Entertainment Group
• 1939 - Frank McLintock, Scottish footballer and manager
• 1939 - Michelle Urry, American journalist and illustrator
• 1940 - A. K. Antony, Indian lawyer and politician, Indian Minister of Defence
• 1940 - Don Francisco, Chilean-American journalist and talk show host
• 1941 - Intikhab Alam, Indian-Pakistani cricketer and coach
• 1942 - Roger Swerts, Belgian cyclist
• 1943 - Juan Luis Cipriani Thorne, Peruvian cardinal
• 1943 - David Peterson, Canadian lawyer and politician, 20th Premier of Ontario
• 1943 - Joan Ruddock, Welsh politician
• 1944 - Sandra Faber, American astronomer and academic
• 1944 - Johnny Isakson, American sergeant and politician
• 1944 - Kary Mullis, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1944 - Gordon Taylor, English footballer
• 1945 - Birendra, King of Nepal
• 1945 - Max Hastings, English journalist, historian, and author
• 1946 - Mike Beebe, American lawyer and politician, 45th Governor of Arkansas
• 1946 - Pierre Falardeau, Canadian director, screenwriter, and activist
• 1946 - Hubert Green, American golfer
• 1946 - Tim Johnson, American lawyer and politician
• 1946 - Barbara, Lady Judge, American-English lawyer and businesswoman
• 1946 - Bill Lee, American baseball player and author
• 1946 - Laffit Pincay Jr., Panamanian jockey
• 1946 - Edgar Winter, American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
• 1947 - Dick Diamonde, Dutch-Australian rock bass player
• 1947 - Aurelio Rodríguez, Mexican baseball player, coach, and manager
• 1948 - Ziggy Modeliste, American drummer
• 1950 - Alex Chilton, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1950 - Clifford Cocks, English mathematician and cryptographer
• 1950 - Rainer Maria Latzke, German-American painter and academic
• 1952 - Arun Jaitley, Indian lawyer and politician, 9th Indian Minister of Law and Justice
• 1952 - Bridget Prentice, Scottish educator and politician
• 1953 - Richard Clayderman, French pianist
• 1953 - Tatsumi Fujinami, Japanese wrestler and promoter, founded Dradition wrestling promotion
• 1953 - Charlie Pierce, American journalist and author
• 1953 - Martha Wash, American singer-songwriter
• 1954 - Gayle King, American television journalist
• 1954 - Denzel Washington, American actor, director, and producer
• 1955 - Stephen Frost, English comedian, actor, and screenwriter
• 1955 - Liu Xiaobo, Chinese author, academic, and activist, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1956 - Nigel Kennedy, English violinist
• 1958 - Terry Butcher, English footballer and manager
• 1958 - Curt Byrum, American golfer
• 1958 - Zoran Gajić, Serbian volleyball trainer
• 1959 - Hansjörg Kunze, German runner and sportscaster
• 1959 - Daniel Léo Simpson, American composer
• 1959 - Ana Torroja, Spanish singer-songwriter
• 1960 - Ray Bourque, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1960 - John Fitzgerald, Australian tennis player, coach, and sportscaster
• 1960 - Melvin Turpin, American basketball player
• 1961 - Kent Nielsen, Danish footballer and manager
• 1962 - Michel Petrucciani, French jazz pianist
• 1964 - Tex Perkins, Australian singer-songwriter
• 1964 - Maite Zúñiga, Spanish runner
• 1965 - Allar Levandi, Estonian skier
• 1967 - Chris Ware, American illustrator
• 1968 - Akihiko Hoshide, Japanese engineer and astronaut
• 1969 - Linus Torvalds, Finnish-American computer programmer, developed Linux kernel
• 1970 - Elaine Hendrix, American actress
• 1970 - James Jett, American sprinter and football player
• 1970 - Brenda Schultz-McCarthy, Dutch tennis player
• 1971 - Benny Agbayani, American baseball player
• 1971 - Sergi Barjuán, Spanish footballer and manager
• 1971 - Anita Doth, Dutch singer-songwriter
• 1971 - William Gates, American basketball player
• 1972 - Roberto Palacios, Peruvian footballer
• 1972 - Patrick Rafter, Australian-Bermudian tennis player and model
• 1972 - Adam Vinatieri, American football player
• 1973 - Holger Blume, German sprinter
• 1973 - Marc Blume, German sprinter
• 1973 - Seth Meyers, American actor, producer, screenwriter, and talk show host
• 1973 - Ids Postma, Dutch speed skater
• 1974 - Jocelyn Enriquez, American singer
• 1974 - Rob Niedermayer, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1974 - Markus Weinzierl, German footballer and manager
• 1975 - B. J. Ryan, American baseball player
• 1976 - Ben Tune, Australian rugby player
• 1976 - Igor Žiković, Croatian footballer
• 1976 - Trond Nymark, Norwegian race walker
• 1977 - Derrick Brew, American sprinter
• 1977 - Shane Elford, Australian rugby league player
• 1977 - Seun Ogunkoya, Nigerian sprinter
• 1978 - Chris Coyne, Australian footballer and manager
• 1978 - John Legend, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and actor
• 1979 - James Blake, American tennis player
• 1979 - Zach Hill, American musician and artist
• 1979 - Senna Guemmour, German singer-songwriter
• 1979 - Bill Hall, American baseball player
• 1979 - Noomi Rapace, Swedish actress
• 1980 - Lomana LuaLua, Congolese footballer
• 1980 - Ryta Turava, Belarusian race walker
• 1981 - Narsha, South Korean singer and dancer
• 1981 - Khalid Boulahrouz, Dutch footballer
• 1981 - Elizabeth Jordan Carr, American journalist
• 1981 - Sienna Miller, American-born British actress and fashion designer
• 1981 - Frank Turner, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1981 - Mika Väyrynen, Finnish footballer
• 1982 - Cedric Benson, American football player
• 1982 - François Gourmet, Belgian decathlete
• 1982 - Ferry Rotinsulu, Indonesian footballer
• 1982 - Curtis Glencross, Canadian hockey player
• 1984 - Martin Kaymer, German golfer
• 1984 - Duane Solomon, American runner
• 1985 - Kamani Hill, American soccer player
• 1986 - Tom Huddlestone, English footballer
• 1987 - Matthias Schwarz, German footballer
• 1989 - Salvador Sobral, Portuguese singer and Eurovision winner
• 1990 - Ayele Abshero, Ethiopian runner
• 1990 - Bastiaan Lijesen, Dutch swimmer
• 1990 - David Archuleta, American singer-songwriter
• 1994 - Adam Peaty, English swimmer

  Deaths

• 925 - Wang Zongbi, general of the Chinese state of Former Shu
• 1218 - Robert II, Count of Dreux
• 1297 - Hugh Aycelin, French cardinal
• 1326 - Sir David II Strathbogie, Earl of Atholl, Constable of Scotland, and Chief Warden of Northumberland
• 1367 - Ashikaga Yoshiakira, Japanese shōgun
• 1394 - Maria Angelina Doukaina Palaiologina, queen of Epirus
• 1446 - Antipope Clement VIII
• 1491 - Bertoldo di Giovanni, Italian sculptor
• 1503 - Piero the Unfortunate, Italian ruler
• 1538 - Andrea Gritti, Doge of Venice
• 1547 - Konrad Peutinger, German humanist and antiquarian
• 1558 - Hermann Finck, German organist and composer
• 1622 - Francis de Sales, French bishop and saint
• 1663 - Francesco Maria Grimaldi, Italian mathematician and physicist
• 1671 - Johann Friedrich Gronovius, German scholar and critic
• 1694 - Mary II of England
• 1703 - Mustafa II, Ottoman Sultan
• 1706 - Pierre Bayle, French philosopher and author
• 1708 - Joseph Pitton de Tournefort, French botanist and mycologist
• 1715 - William Carstares, Scottish minister and academic
• 1734 - Rob Roy MacGregor, Scottish outlaw
• 1736 - Antonio Caldara, Italian composer
• 1785 - Peter Ernst Wilde, Polish-Estonian physician and journalist
• 1795 - Eugenio Espejo, Ecuadorian physician and lawyer
• 1859 - Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay, English historian and politician, Secretary at War
• 1872 - James Van Ness, American lawyer and politician, 7th Mayor of San Francisco
• 1890 - Dennis Miller Bunker, American painter
• 1897 - William Corby, American priest and academic
• 1900 - Alexandre de Serpa Pinto, Portuguese soldier and explorer
• 1907 - Louise Granberg, Swedish playwright
• 1913 - Ahmet Mithat Efendi, Turkish journalist and translator
• 1916 - Eduard Strauss, Austrian violinist and composer
• 1917 - Alfred Edwin McKay, Canadian captain and pilot
• 1918 - Olavo Bilac, Brazilian poet and journalist
• 1919 - Johannes Rydberg, Swedish physicist and academic
• 1924 - Léon Bakst, Russian painter and costume designer
• 1932 - Jack Blackham, Australian cricketer
• 1935 - Clarence Day, American author and illustrator
• 1937 - Maurice Ravel, French pianist and composer
• 1938 - Florence Lawrence, Canadian actress
• 1942 - Alfred Flatow, German gymnast
• 1943 - Steve Evans, American baseball player
• 1945 - Theodore Dreiser, American novelist and journalist
• 1946 - Elie Nadelman, Polish-American sculptor
• 1947 - Victor Emmanuel III of Italy
• 1949 - Jack Lovelock, New Zealand runner and soldier
• 1959 - Ante Pavelić, Croatian fascist dictator during World War II
• 1960 - Philippe Panneton, Canadian physician, academic, and diplomat
• 1963 - Paul Hindemith, German violinist, composer, and conductor
• 1967 - Katharine McCormick, American biologist and philanthropist
• 1968 - David Ogilvy, 12th Earl of Airlie, Scottish peer, soldier and courtier
• 1971 - Max Steiner, Austrian-American pianist, composer, and conductor
• 1976 - Katharine Byron, American politician
• 1981 - Allan Dwan, Canadian-American director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1983 - William Demarest, American actor
• 1983 - Dennis Wilson, American drummer, songwriter, and producer
• 1984 - Sam Peckinpah, American director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1984 - Mary Stewart, Baroness Stewart of Alvechurch, British politician and educator
• 1986 - John D. MacDonald, American colonel and author
• 1986 - Jan Nieuwenhuys, Dutch painter
• 1989 - Hermann Oberth, Romanian-German physicist and engineer
• 1990 - Warren Skaaren, American screenwriter and producer
• 1992 - Sal Maglie, American baseball player and coach
• 1993 - William L. Shirer, American journalist and historian
• 1994 - Jean-Louis Lévesque, Canadian businessman and philanthropist
• 1999 - Clayton Moore, American actor
• 2001 - Samuel Abraham Goldblith, American lieutenant, biologist, and engineer
• 2001 - William X. Kienzle, American priest and author
• 2003 - Benjamin Thurman Hacker, American admiral
• 2004 - Jerry Orbach, American actor and singer
• 2004 - Susan Sontag, American novelist, essayist, critic, and playwright
• 2006 - Jamal Karimi-Rad, Iranian politician, Iranian Minister of Justice
• 2008 - Irene Lieblich, Polish-American painter and illustrator
• 2009 - Jimmy Sullivan, American musician, composer and songwriter. Known by his stage name The Rev
• 2010 - Billy Taylor, American pianist and composer
• 2012 - Nicholas Ambraseys, Greek-English seismologist and engineer
• 2012 - Mark Crispin, American computer scientist and academic, designed the IMAP
• 2012 - Václav Drobný, Czech footballer
• 2012 - Frankie Walsh, Irish hurler and manager
• 2013 - Halton Arp, American-German astronomer and critic
• 2013 - Esther Borja, Cuban soprano and actress
• 2013 - Harry C. Goode Jr., American soldier and politician, 51st Mayor of Melbourne, Florida
• 2013 - Andrew Jacobs, Jr., American soldier, lawyer, and politician
• 2013 - Alfred Marshall, American businessman, founded Marshalls
• 2013 - Joseph Ruskin, American actor and producer
• 2013 - Ilya Tsymbalar, Ukrainian-Russian footballer and manager
• 2014 - Vahan Hovhannisyan, Armenian politician
• 2014 - Frankie Randall, American singer-songwriter
• 2014 - Leelah Alcorn, American transgender teenager
• 2015 - John Bradbury, English drummer and songwriter
• 2015 - Eloy Inos, Mariana Islander businessman and politician, 8th Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands
• 2015 - Lemmy, English musician, singer, and songwriter
• 2016 - Debbie Reynolds, American actress, singer and dancer
• 2016 - Jean-Christophe Victor, French political scientist
• 2017 - Rose Marie, American actress and comedienne

  Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day:
• * Abel
• * Caterina Volpicelli
• * Feast of the Holy Innocents or Childermas; in Spain and Latin American countries the festival is celebrated with pranks, similar to April Fools' Day, and its related observances:
• **Els Enfarinats
• * Simon the Athonite
• * December 28
• King Taksin Memorial Day
• Proclamation Day, celebration started on the day following Christmas
• Republic Day
• The fourth of the Twelve Days of Christmas