October 28......

October 28 is the 301st day of the year (302nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 64 days remaining in the year on this date.

EVENTS

● 306 - Maxentius is proclaimed Roman Emperor.

● 312 - Battle of Milvian Bridge: Constantine I defeats Maxentius, becoming the only Roman Emperor.

● 1492 - Christopher Columbus lands in Cuba.

● 1516 - Battle of Yaunis Khan: Turkish forces under the Grand Vizier Sinan Pasha defeat the Mameluks near Gaza.

● 1531 - Battle of Amba Sel: Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi again defeats the army of Lebna Dengel, Emperor of Ethiopia. The southern part of Ethiopia falls under Imam Ahmad's control.

● 1538 - The first university in the New World, the Universidad Santo Tomás de Aquino, is established.

● 1628 - The Siege of La Rochelle, which had been ongoing for 14 months, ends with Huguenot surrender

● 1636 - A vote of the Great and General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony establishes the first college in what would become the United States, today known as Harvard University.

● 1664 - The Duke of York and Albany's Maritime Regiment of Foot later to be known as the Royal Marines is established.

● 1776 - American Revolutionary War: Battle of White Plains - British Army forces arrive at White Plains, attack and capture Chatterton Hill from the Americans.

● 1793 - Eli Whitney applied for a patent for the cotton gin.

● 1834 - The Battle of Pinjarra occurs in the Swan River Colony in present-day Pinjarra, Western Australia. Between 14-40 Aborigines are killed by British colonists.

● 1848 - The first railway in Spain between Barcelona and Mataró is opened.

● 1864 - American Civil War: Second Battle of Fair Oaks ends - Union Army forces under General Ulysses S. Grant withdraw from Fair Oaks, Virginia, after failing to breach the Confederate defenses around Richmond, Virginia.

● 1868 - Thomas Edison applied for his first patent, the electric vote recorder.

● 1886 - The Statue of Liberty, a gift from the people of France, was dedicated in New York Harbor by President Cleveland.

● 1914 - The single largest one-day decline in terms of percentage by the Dow Jones Industrial Average in recorded stock market history.

● 1918 - Czechoslovakia gains its independence from Austria-Hungary.

● 1918 - New Polish government in Western Galicia (Central Europe).

● 1919 - The U.S. Congress passes the Volstead Act over President Woodrow Wilson's veto, paving the way for Prohibition to begin the following January.

● 1922 - March on Rome: Italian fascists led by Benito Mussolini march on Rome and take over the Italian government with the assistance of the Catholic Church; pope Pius XI declares that "Mussolini is a man sent by divine providence."

● 1936 - US President Franklin Roosevelt rededicates the Statue of Liberty on its 50th anniversary.

● 1940 - World War II: Italy invades Greece through Albania and is the selected anniversary of Greece's entry into World War II. It is celebrated in Greece as Oxi (No) Day (Όχι=No) Day.

● 1941 - Holocaust in Kaunas, Lithuania: German SS arrange the massacre of more than 9,000 Jews of Kaunas ghetto. All Jews, men, women, children at 6 am, assembled on the big Demokratu square to be shot and burried later into the gigantic ditches.

● 1942 - The Alaska Highway is completed.

● 1942 - Holocaust: 2,000 Jewish children and 6,000 Jewish adults from Cracow are deported by Germans to Belzec death camp.

● 1942 - Holocaust: SS directive orders all Jewish children's mittens and stockings to be sent from the death camps to the SS families.

● 1943 - The Philadelphia Experiment supposedly occurred.

● 1948 - Swiss chemist Paul Müller is awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his discovery of the insecticidal properties of DDT.

● 1949 - Georges Bidault becomes Prime Minister of France

● 1950 - The Jack Benny Show, starring Jack Benny, premieres (it ran for 15 years).

● 1958 - The Roman Catholic patriarch of Venice, Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, was elected pope, taking the name John XXIII.

● 1962 - Cuban Missile Crisis: Soviet Union leader Nikita Khrushchev announces that he had ordered the removal of Soviet missile bases in Cuba. World relief as Cuban missile crisis ends; US President John F Kennedy welcomes Russia's announcement that it will dismantle its missiles based in Cuba.

● 1965 - French foreign minister Couve de Murville travels to Moscow.

● 1965 - Nostra Aetate, the "Declaration on the Relation of the Church with Non-Christian Religions" of the Second Vatican Council, is promulgated by Pope Paul VI; it absolves the Jews of the alleged killing of Jesus, reversing Innocent III's declaration from 760 years ago. In short, Pope Paul VI announces that the ecumenical council has decided that Jews are not collectively responsible for the killing of Christ.

● 1965 - In St. Louis, Missouri, the 630-foot-tall parabolic (catenarian) steel Gateway Arch is completed.

● 1970 - Land speed record set by Gary Gabelich in a rocket powered automobile called the Blue Flame

● 1974 - Minister's wife survives bomb attack; Sports Minister Denis Howell's wife and young son survive a bomb attack on their car.

● 1976 - John D. Ehrlichman, former domestic policy adviser of President Nixon and convicted Watergate felon, arrives at the Swift Trail Camp minimum-security facility in Safford, Arizona to begin serving his sentence for Watergate-related convictions.

● 1979 - Chairman Hua arrives in London; Chairman Hua Kuo-Feng, the first Chinese leader to visit Britain, is welcomed at Heathrow by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

● 1980 - Republican nominee Ronald Reagan asked voters during a debate with President Jimmy Carter in Cleveland ''are you better off than you were four years ago?''

● 1981 - The heavy metal band Metallica is founded in San Francisco.

● 1986 - The centennial of the Statue of Liberty's dedication is celebrated in New York Harbor.

● 1986 - A 24-year-old Essex man, Jeremy Bamber is found guilty of the murder of his parents, sister and twin nephews and is given five life sentences.

● 1988 - French manufacturer Roussel Uclaf states that it will resume distribution of the abortion drug RU-486.

● 1997 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average gains a record 337.17 points to close at 7,498.32.

● 1998 - An Air China jetliner is hijacked by disgruntled pilot Yuan Bin and flown to Taiwan.

● 2001 - Christians killed in Pakistan massacre; Masked gunmen burst into a church in eastern Pakistan killing 18 people including children who were at prayer.

● 2002 - American diplomat Laurence Foley was assassinated in front of his house in Amman, Jordan.

● 2004 - Insurgents executed 11 Iraqi soldiers and declared on an Islamic militant Web site that Iraqi fighters would avenge ''the blood'' of women and children killed in U.S. strikes on the guerrilla stronghold of Fallujah.

● 2005 - Plame affair: Lewis Libby, vice president Dick Cheney's chief of staff, is indicted in the Valerie Plame case. Libby resigns later that day.

BIRTHS

● 1510 - Henry III, King of Holy Roman Empire and Germany (1046-56) (d. 1056)

● 1510 - Francis Borgia, Spanish duke and Jesuit priest (d. 1572)

● 1585 - Cornelius Otto Jansen, Flemish Roman Catholic reform leader (d. 1638)

● 1691 - Peder Tordenskjold, Norwegian naval hero (d. 1720)

● 1703 - Antoine Deparcieux, French mathematician (d. 1768)

● 1718 - Ignacije Szentmartony, Croatian Jesuit missionary (d. 1793)

● 1793 - Eliphalet Remington, American firearms manufacturer and inventor (d. 1861)

● 1804 - Pierre François Verhulst, Belgian mathematician (d. 1849)

● 1818 (O.S.) - Ivan Turgenev, Russian writer (d. 1883)

● 1845 - Zygmunt Florenty Wróblewski, Polish physicist (d. 1888)

● 1846 - Georges Auguste Escoffier, French chef (d. 1935)

● 1875 - Gilbert H. Grosvenor, American geographer; president of National Geographic Society (1920-54) (d. 1966)

● 1877 - Joe Adams, Baseball player (d. 1952)

● 1885 (O.S.) - Velimir Khlebnikov, Russian poet (d. 1922)

● 1892 - Dink Johnson, American musician (d. 1954)

● 1896 - Howard Hanson, American composer (d. 1981)

● 1897 - Edith Head, American motion-picture costume designer (d. 1981)

● 1902 - Elsa Lanchester, British-born actress (d. 1986)

● 1903 - Evelyn Waugh, English writer (d. 1966)

● 1907 - Edith Head, American costume designer (d. 1981)

● 1907 - John Hewitt, Northern Irish poet (d. 1987)

● 1908 - Arturo Frondizi, President of Argentina (d. 1995)

● 1909 - Francis Bacon, Anglo-Irish painter (d. 1992)

● 1912 - Richard Doll, English epidemiologist (d. 2005)

● 1914 - Jonas Salk, American physician and medical researcher who developed the first vaccine against polio. (d. 1995)

● 1914 - Richard Laurence Millington Synge, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1994)

● 1914 - Glenn Robert Davis, U.S. Congressman (d. 1988)

● 1915 - Paul Jarrico, American screenwriter (d. 1997)

● 1922 - Gershon Kingsley, German composer

● 1922 - Simon Muzenda, Zimbabwe politician (d. 2003)

● 1926 - Bowie Kuhn, Former baseball commissioner

● 1927 - Cleo Laine, Jazz singer

● 1928 - Ion Mihai Pacepa, Romanian general

● 1929 - Joan Plowright, Actress

● 1930 - Bernie Ecclestone, English racing official

● 1932 - Suzy Parker, American actress (d. 2003)

● 1936 - Charlie Daniels, American musician

● 1937 - Lenny Wilken, Hall-of-fame basketball coach

● 1938 - Anne Perry, English-born novelist

● 1939 - Jane Alexander, American actress

● 1939 - Miroslav Cerar, Yugoslav gymnast

● 1940 - Susan Harris, American TV writer and producer

● 1941 - John Hallam, Irish actor

● 1941 - Curtis Lee, Singer

● 1942 - Kees Verkerk, Dutch speed skater

● 1943 - Conny Froboess, German singer

● 1944 - Dennis Franz, American actor (''NYPD Blue'')

● 1944 - Anton Schlecker, German billionaire

● 1945 - Wayne Fontana, Pop singer

● 1946 - Wim Jansen, Dutch football player and coach

● 1948 - Telma Hopkins, American singer

● 1949 - Bruce Jenner, American athlete; Olympic track and field gold medalist

● 1950 - Sihem Bensedrine, Tunisian human rights activist

● 1952 - Annie Potts, American actress (''Designing Women'')

● 1955 - Bill Gates, American software pioneer and Microsoft founder and chairman.

● 1956 - Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of Iran

● 1957 - Stephen Morris, Rock musician (New Order)

● 1958 - Ron Hemby, Country musician (The Buffalo Club)

● 1958 - William Reid, Rock musician (The Jesus & Mary Chain)

● 1962 - Daphne Zuniga, Actress (''Melrose Place'')

● 1963 - Lauren Holly, American actress

● 1963 - Eros Ramazzotti, Italian singer

● 1965 - Jami Gertz, Actress

● 1966 - Andy Richter, Actor-comedian

● 1966 - Steve Atwater, American football player

● 1967 - Julia Roberts, American actress

● 1967 - John Romero, American video game designer

● 1967 - Sophie, Hereditary Princess of Liechtenstein

● 1968 - Caitlin Cary, Country musician

● 1969 - Jeremy Davies, Actor

● 1969 - Ben Harper. American musician

● 1972 - Terrell Davis, American football player

● 1972 - Brad Paisley, Country singer

● 1974 - Joaquin Phoenix, Puerto Rican-born actor

● 1974 - Dejan Stefanović, Serbian footballer

● 1974 - Braden Looper, baseball player

● 1975 - Antonio Banks, American professional wrestler

● 1978 - Justin Guarini, Singer (''American Idol'')

● 1979 - Kai Budde, Magic: The Gathering player

● 1979 - Aki Hakala, Finnish drummer (The Rasmus)

● 1980 - Alan Smith, English footballer

● 1980 - Christy Hemme, American professioonal wrestler

● 1981 - Milan Baroš, Czech footballer

● 1982 - Mai Kuraki, Japanese pop singer

● 1982 - Anthony Lerew, baseball player

● 1982 - Jeremy Bonderman, baseball player

● 1983 - Jarrett Jack, basketball player

DEATHS

● 312 - Maxentius, Roman emperor (b. c. 278)

● 1225 - Jien, Japanese poet and historian (b. 1155)

● 1412 - Margaret I of Denmark, wife of Haakon VI of Norway (b. 1353)

● 1485 - Rodolphus Agricola, Dutch humanist (b. 1443)

● 1520 - Pier Gerlofs Donia, Frisian pirate and freedom fighter

● 1568 - Ashikaga Yoshihide, Japanese shogun (b. 1539)

● 1627 - Jahangir, Mughal Emperor of India (b. 1569)

● 1639 - Stefano Landi, Italian composer (b. 1587)

● 1646 - William Dobson, English painter (b. 1610)

● 1661 - Agustín Moreto y Cavana, Spanish playwright (b. 1518)

● 1676 - Jean Desmarets, French writer (b. 1595)

● 1703 - John Wallis, English mathematician (b. 1616)

● 1704 - John Locke, English philosopher (b. 1632)

● 1708 - Prince George of Denmark, consort of Queen Anne of England (b. 1653)

● 1716 - Stephen Fox, English politician (b. 1627)

● 1740 - Empress Anna of Russia (b. 1693)

● 1754 - Friedrich von Hagedorn, German poet (b. 1708)

● 1755 - Joseph Bodin de Boismortier, French composer (b. 1689)

● 1763 - Heinrich, count von Brühl, German statesman (b. 1700)

● 1768 - Michel Blavet, French flutist (b. 1700)

● 1792 - Paul Möhring, German physician and scientist (b. 1710)

● 1792 - John Smeaton, English civil engineer (b. 1724)

● 1800 - Artemas Ward, American politician and soldier (b. 1727)

● 1806 - Charlotte Turner Smith, English poet and novelist (b. 1749)

● 1818 - Abigail Adams, First Lady of the United States (b. 1744)

● 1841 - Johan August Arfwedson, Swedish chemist (b. 1792)

● 1857 - Louis Eugène Cavaignac, French soldier and politician (b. 1802)

● 1877 - Robert Swinhoe, British naturalist (b. 1835)

● 1879 - Marie Roch Louis Reybaud, French writer (b. 1799)

● 1897 - Hercules Robinson, British colonial administrator (b. 1824)

● 1899 - Ottmar Mergenthaler, German-born inventor (tuberculosis) (b. 1854)

● 1900 - Max Müller, German-born orientalist (b. 1823)

● 1916 - Cleveland Abbe, American meteorologist (b. 1838)

● 1916 - Oswald Boelcke, German pilot (b. 1891)

● 1917 - Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg (b. 1831)

● 1918 - Ulisse Dini, Italian mathematician (b. 1845)

● 1929 - Bernhard von Bülow, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1849)

● 1952 - Billy Hughes, seventh Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1862)

● 1957 - Ernst Gräfenberg, German physican and scientist (b. 1881)

● 1959 - Camilo Cienfuegos, Cuban revolutionary (b. 1932)

● 1965 - Earl Bostic, American saxophonist (b. 1913)

● 1973 - Taha Hussein, Egyptian writer (b. 1889)

● 1973 - Sergio Tofano, Italian actor (b. 1883)

● 1975 - Georges Carpentier, French boxer (b. 1894)

● 1986 - John Braine, English novelist (b. 1922)

● 1987 - André Masson, French artist (b. 1896)

● 1992 - Ed, Musician and various talents

● 1998 - Ted Hughes, English poet (b. 1930)

● 2000 - Lída Baarová, Czech actress (b. 1914)

● 2000 - Carlos Guastavino, Argentine composer (b. 1912)

● 2001 - Gerard Hengeveld, Dutch composer (b. 1910)

● 2002 - Margaret Booth, American film editor (b. 1898)

● 2002 - Erling Persson, Swedish entrepreneur (b. 1917)

● 2004 - Jimmy McLarnin, Northern Irish-born boxer (b. 1907)

● 2005 - Eugene K. Bird, German prison director (b. 1926)

● 2005 - Bob Broeg, American sports writer (b. 1918)

● 2005 - Raymond Hains, French artist (b. 1926)

● 2005 - Tony Jackson, American basketball player (b. 1942)

● 2005 - Fernando Quejas, Cape Verdean singer and musician (b. 1922)

● 2005 - Richard Smalley, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1943)

● 2005 - Ljuba Tadić, Serbian actor (b. 1929)

HOLIDAYS AND OBSERVANCES

● Roman Catholic Saints:
● Saint Jude (a.k.a Saint Thaddaeus or "of James")
● St. Simon the Zealot (erroneously a.k.a. "the Canaanite")
● St. Abraham
● St. Anastasia II
● St. Anglinus
● St. Eadsin
● St. Ferrutius
● St. Fidelis of Como
● Saint Godwin
● St. Honoratus of Vercelli
● St. John Dat
● St. Remigius
● St. Salvius

● Czechoslovakia - gains its independence from Austria-Hungary (1918); Holiday in the Czech Republic, Remembrance Day in Slovakia.

● Greece - Oxi (No) Day


Click on this LINK to see original Wikipedia list with many having links with details.

Additional facts taken from:

On this day in the New York Times

The BBC’s Take on the day

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