✦ DateLore

On This Day · The 118th day of the year

April 28

A look at April 28 through the almanac — historic events, famous birthdays including Saddam Hussein and Elena Kagan, and the day's notable deaths and observances.

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Events

10 notable moments
  1. 1986

    Chernobyl disaster

    High levels of radiation resulting from the Chernobyl disaster are detected at Forsmark Nuclear Power Plant in Sweden, leading Soviet authorities to publicly announce the accident.

    1986 nuclear accident in
  2. 1983

    Stern (magazine)

    The West German news magazine Stern begins publishing excerpts from the purported diaries of Adolf Hitler, later revealed to be forgeries.

    German weekly news magazine
  3. 1973

    The Dark Side of the Moon

    The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd, recorded in Abbey Road Studios goes to number one on the US Billboard chart, beginning a record-breaking 741-week chart run.

    1973 studio album by
  4. 1952

    Treaty of Taipei

    The Sino-Japanese Peace Treaty (Treaty of Taipei) is signed in Taipei, Taiwan between Japan and the Republic of China to officially end the Second Sino-Japanese War.

    1952 peace treaty between
  5. 1944

    World War II

    World War II: Nine German E-boats attack US and UK units during Exercise Tiger, the rehearsal for the Normandy landings, killing 946.

    1939–1945 global conflict
  6. 1937

    South Africa

    South African medical researcher Max Theiler develops the yellow fever vaccine at the Rockefeller Foundation in New York City.

    Country in Southern Africa
  7. 1910

    Louis Paulhan

    Frenchman Louis Paulhan wins the 1910 London to Manchester air race, the first long-distance aeroplane race in the United Kingdom.

    Pioneering French aviator
  8. 1887

    Prussian Secret Police

    A week after being arrested by the Prussian Secret Police, French police inspector Guillaume Schnaebelé is released on order of Wilhelm I, German Emperor, defusing a possible war.

    19th and 20th-century political
  9. 1611

    University of Santo Tomas

    Establishment of the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, the Catholic University of the Philippines and the largest Catholic university in the world.

    Private university in Metro
  10. 1253

    Nichiren

    Nichiren, a Japanese Buddhist monk, propounds Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō for the first time and declares it to be the essence of Buddhism, in effect founding Nichiren Buddhism.

    Japanese Buddhist monk and
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Famous birthday twins

Born on April 28

Saddam Hussein

b. 1937

Iraqi general and politician, 5th President of Iraq

Elena Kagan

b. 1960

American lawyer and jurist, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States

James Monroe

b. 1758

American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 5th President of the United States

Tristan Tzara

b. 1896

Romanian-French poet and critic

Hertha Ayrton

b. 1854

Polish-British engineer, mathematician, and physicist.

AD 32

b. 32

Roman emperor (died 69 AD)

Penélope Cruz

b. 1974

Spanish actress and producer

Kurt Gödel

b. 1906

Czech-American mathematician, philosopher, and academic

Deaths

  • 1957Heinrich Bär, German colonel and pilot
  • 1945Benito Mussolini, Italian journalist, fascist dictator and politician, 27th Prime Minister of Italy
  • 1945Hermann Fegelein, German general
  • 1858Johannes Peter Müller, German physiologist and anatomist
  • 1853Ludwig Tieck, German author and poet
  • 1772Johann Friedrich Struensee, German physician and politician

Holidays & observances

  • —Christian feast day: Aphrodisius and companions
  • —Christian feast day: Gianna Beretta Molla
  • —Christian feast day: Kirill of Turov (Orthodox, added to Roman Martyrology in 1969)
  • —Christian feast day: Louis de Montfort
  • —Christian feast day: Blessed Marie Louise Trichet
  • —Christian feast day: Pamphilus of Sulmona
  • —Christian feast day: Peter Chanel
  • —Christian feast day: Vitalis and Valeria of Milan

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