Date·Lore

On This Day · The 240th day of the year

August 28

August 28 carries 10 recorded events spanning between 1542 and 2022. Turkish–Portuguese War: Battle of Wofla: The Portuguese are scattered, their leader Christovão da Gama is captured and later executed.

♍ZodiacVirgo ◈BirthstonePeridot ❀Birth flowerGladiolus

Compiled & reviewed by · Last reviewed July 13, 2026

What happened on August 28?

August 28 is the 240th day of the year. It marks 10 notable events in history, dated between 1542 and 2022. Famous people born on August 28 include Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Taichang Emperor and Michael Craig-Martin.

The shape of the day

From 1542 to 2022, August 28 gathers 480 years of history. Most of the weight falls in the 20th century, where conflict is a recurring thread.

Virgo is the sign for August 28 — read more on the Virgo page, or see August's birthstone & birth flower.

Released on August 28

Movies, games, albums & shows

2025

  • Game Destiny: Rising
  • Game Super Robot Wars Y
  • Game The Knightling
  • Movie Food Truck: Stolen Love... and Moo Deng

2024

  • Game Supermoves: World of Parkour

2023

  • Game Sea of Stars

Release data from TMDB & IGDB.

Events

10 notable moments
  1. 1542

    Ottoman–Portuguese conflicts (1538–1560)

    Turkish–Portuguese War: Battle of Wofla: The Portuguese are scattered, their leader Christovão da Gama is captured and later executed.

  2. 1619

    Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor

    Election of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor.

  3. 1640

    Bishops' Wars

    Second Bishop's War: King Charles I's English army loses to a Scottish Covenanter force at the Battle of Newburn.

  4. 1789

    William Herschel

    William Herschel discovers a new moon of Saturn: Enceladus.

  5. 1914

    World War I

    World War I: The Royal Navy defeats the German fleet in the Battle of Heligoland Bight.

  6. 1944

    World War II

    World War II: Marseille and Toulon are liberated.

  7. 1973

    Norrmalmstorg robbery

    Norrmalmstorg robbery: Stockholm police secure the surrenders of hostage-takers Jan-Erik Olsson and Clark Olofsson, defusing the Norrmalmstorg hostage crisis. The behaviours of the hostages later give rise to the term Stockholm syndrome.

  8. 1993

    Bosnia and Herzegovina

    The autonomous Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia in Bosnia and Herzegovina is transformed into the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia.

  9. 1998

    Pakistan

    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.

  10. 2022

    2022 Phoenix shooting

    Phoenix shooting: A man opens fire on pedestrians outside of a hotel in Phoenix, Arizona, resulting in the deaths of three people, including the perpetrator.

Famous birthday twins

Born on August 28

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

b. 1749

German novelist, poet, playwright, and diplomat

Taichang Emperor

b. 1582

emperor of China

Michael Craig-Martin

b. 1941

Irish painter and illustrator

Ivo Josipović

b. 1957

Croatian lawyer, jurist, and politician, 3rd President of Croatia

Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel

b. 1691

Holy Roman Empress

Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow

b. 1667

queen of Denmark and Norway

Lilli Schwarzkopf

b. 1983

German heptathlete

Duke Anthony Ulrich of Brunswick

b. 1714

duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg

Deaths

  • 2008Phil Hill
  • 1955Emmett Till
  • 1149Mu'in ad-Din Unur
  • 1055Emperor Xingzong of Liao
  • 476Orestes (father of Romulus Augustulus)
  • 430Augustine of Hippo

Holidays & observances

  • —Christian feast day: Alexander of Constantinople
  • —Christian feast day: Augustine of Hippo
  • —Christian feast day: Edmund Arrowsmith
  • —Christian feast day: Hermes
  • —Christian feast day: Moses the Black
  • —Christian feast day: August 28 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • —National Grandparents Day (Mexico)

Historical facts, event summaries, and biographical lines above are adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) license. DateLore adds curation, structure, and original editorial commentary. DateLore is not affiliated with the Wikimedia Foundation.

About the author

Roman Tailor compiles and reviews every date on DateLore. He's the writer and editor behind the site's editorial essays and the day-by-day almanac. Corrections and questions are welcome — read more about DateLore or get in touch.

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