Vintage News · Odd history for August 28

What Happened On August 28

Q: What happened on August 28?

1909: The 1909 Monterrey hurricane dissipated; one of the deadliest Atlantic tropical cyclones on record, it killed an estimated 4,000 people throughout Mexico. 1830: Tom Thumb (replica pictured), the first American-built steam locomotive, took part in an impromptu race against a horse-drawn car in Maryland. 1789: With the first use of his 1.2-metre (3.9 ft) telescope, then the largest in the world, William Herschel discovered a new moon of Saturn, later named Enceladus (pictured). 1879: Anglo-Zulu War: Cetshwayo, last king of the Zulus, is captured by the British. 1861: American Civil War: Union forces attack Cape Hatteras, North Carolina in the Battle of Hatteras Inlet Batteries which lasts for two days. 1859: The Carrington event is the strongest geomagnetic storm on record to strike the Earth. Electrical telegraph service is widely disrupted. 1845: The first issue of Scientific American magazine is published. 1993: The NASA spacecraft Galileo flew by the asteroid 243 Ida and took photographs that later revealed the first known asteroid moon (both pictured). 1993: The NASA spacecraft Galileo flew by the asteroid 243 Ida and took photographs that later revealed the first known asteroid moon. 1950: American tennis player Althea Gibson became the first African-American woman to compete at the U.S. National Championships.

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10 odd things that happened on August 28

1909 Oddly true
The 1909 Monterrey hurricane dissipated; one of the deadliest Atlantic tropical cyclones on record, it killed an estimated 4,000 people throughout Mexico.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1830 First ever
Tom Thumb (replica pictured), the first American-built steam locomotive, took part in an impromptu race against a horse-drawn car in Maryland.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1789 First ever
With the first use of his 1.2-metre (3.9 ft) telescope, then the largest in the world, William Herschel discovered a new moon of Saturn, later named Enceladus (pictured).
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1879 Oddly true
Anglo-Zulu War: Cetshwayo, last king of the Zulus, is captured by the British.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1861 Oddly true
American Civil War: Union forces attack Cape Hatteras, North Carolina in the Battle of Hatteras Inlet Batteries which lasts for two days.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1859 Oddly true
The Carrington event is the strongest geomagnetic storm on record to strike the Earth. Electrical telegraph service is widely disrupted.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1845 First ever
The first issue of Scientific American magazine is published.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1993 First ever
The NASA spacecraft Galileo flew by the asteroid 243 Ida and took photographs that later revealed the first known asteroid moon (both pictured).
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1993 First ever
The NASA spacecraft Galileo flew by the asteroid 243 Ida and took photographs that later revealed the first known asteroid moon.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1950 First ever
American tennis player Althea Gibson became the first African-American woman to compete at the U.S. National Championships.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Observed today

2022Phoenix shooting: A man opens fire on pedestrians outside of a hotel in Phoenix, Arizona, resulting in the deaths of three people, including the perpetrator. Wikipedia →
2017China–India border standoff: China and India both pull their troops out of Doklam, putting an end to a two-month-long stalemate over China's construction of a road in disputed territory. Wikipedia →
2016The first experimental mission of ISRO's Scramjet Engine towards the realisation of an Air Breathing Propulsion System is successfully conducted from Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota. Wikipedia →
2009NASA's Space Shuttle Discovery launches on STS-128. Wikipedia →
2003In "one of the most complicated and bizarre crimes in the annals of the FBI", Brian Wells dies after becoming involved in a complex plot involving a bank robbery, a scavenger hunt, and a homemade explosive device. Wikipedia →
1999The Russian space mission Soyuz TM-29 reaches completion, ending nearly 10 years of continuous occupation on the space station Mir as it approaches the end of its life. Wikipedia →
1998Pakistan'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. Wikipedia →
1998Second Congo War: Loyalist troops backed by Angolan and Zimbabwean forces repulse the RCD and Rwandan offensive on Kinshasa. Wikipedia →
1996Chicago Seven defendant David Dellinger, antiwar activist Bradford Lyttle, Civil Rights Movement historian Randy Kryn, and eight others are arrested by the Federal Protective Service while protesting in a demonstration at the Kluczynski Federal Building in downtown Chicago during that year's Democratic National Convention. Wikipedia →
1993NASA's Galileo probe performs a flyby of the asteroid 243 Ida. Astronomers later discover a moon, the first known asteroid moon, in pictures from the flyby and name it Dactyl. Wikipedia →
1993Singaporean presidential election: Former Deputy Prime Minister Ong Teng Cheong is elected President of Singapore. Although it is the first presidential election to be determined by popular vote, the allowed candidates consist only of Ong and a reluctant whom the government had asked to run to confer upon the election the semblance of an opposition. Wikipedia →
1993The autonomous Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia in Bosnia and Herzegovina is transformed into the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia. Wikipedia →
1993A Tajikistan Airlines Yakovlev Yak-40 crashes during takeoff from Khorog Airport in Tajikistan, killing 82. Wikipedia →
1990Gulf War: Iraq declares Kuwait to be its newest province. Wikipedia →
1990An F5 tornado strikes the Illinois cities of Plainfield and Joliet, killing 29 people. Wikipedia →
1988Ramstein air show disaster: Three aircraft of the Frecce Tricolori demonstration team collide and the wreckage falls into the crowd. Seventy are killed and 346 seriously injured. Wikipedia →
1973Norrmalmstorg 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. Wikipedia →
1968Police and protesters clash during 1968 Democratic National Convention protests as protesters chant "The whole world is watching". Wikipedia →
1964The Philadelphia race riot begins. Wikipedia →
1963March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom: Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gives his I Have a Dream speech. Wikipedia →
1957U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond begins a filibuster to prevent the United States Senate from voting on the Civil Rights Act of 1957; he stopped speaking 24 hours and 18 minutes later. This would remain the longest speech ever conducted by a single Senator until Cory Booker spoke for 25 hours and five minutes, beginning on March 31, 2025. Wikipedia →
1955Black teenager Emmett Till is lynched in Mississippi for whistling at a white woman, galvanizing the nascent civil rights movement. Wikipedia →
1946The Workers' Party of North Korea, predecessor of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, is founded at a congress held in Pyongyang, North Korea. Wikipedia →
1944World War II: Marseille and Toulon are liberated. Wikipedia →
1943Denmark in World War II: German authorities demand that Danish authorities crack down on acts of resistance. The next day, martial law is imposed on Denmark. Wikipedia →
1937Toyota Motors becomes an independent company. Wikipedia →
1936Nazi Germany begins its mass arrests of Jehovah's Witnesses, who are interned in concentration camps. Wikipedia →
1924The Georgian opposition stages the August Uprising against the Soviet Union. Wikipedia →
1921Russian Civil War: The Red Army dissolves the Makhnovshchina after driving the Revolutionary Insurgent Army out of Ukraine. Wikipedia →
1917Ten suffragists, members of the Silent Sentinels, are arrested while picketing the White House in favor of women's suffrage in the United States. Wikipedia →
1916World War I: Germany declares war on Romania. Wikipedia →
1916World War I: Italy declares war on Germany. Wikipedia →
1914World War I: The Royal Navy defeats the German fleet in the Battle of Heligoland Bight. Wikipedia →
1913Queen Wilhelmina opens the Peace Palace in The Hague. Wikipedia →
1909A group of mid-level Greek Army officers launches the Goudi coup, seeking wide-ranging reforms. Wikipedia →
1901Silliman University is founded in the Philippines. It is the first American private school in the country. Wikipedia →
1898Caleb Bradham's beverage "Brad's Drink" is renamed "Pepsi-Cola". Wikipedia →
1890The strongest storm in Finnish history kills at least three people. Wikipedia →
1879Anglo-Zulu War: Cetshwayo, last king of the Zulus, is captured by the British. Wikipedia →
1867The United States takes possession of the (at this point unoccupied) Midway Atoll. Wikipedia →
1862American Civil War: The Second Battle of Bull Run, also known as the Battle of Second Manassas, begins in Virginia. The battle ends on August 30 with another Union defeat. Wikipedia →
1861American Civil War: Union forces attack Cape Hatteras, North Carolina in the Battle of Hatteras Inlet Batteries which lasts for two days. Wikipedia →
1859The Carrington event is the strongest geomagnetic storm on record to strike the Earth. Electrical telegraph service is widely disrupted. Wikipedia →
1850Richard Wagner's Lohengrin premieres at the Staatskapelle Weimar. Wikipedia →
1849Revolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Empire: After a month-long siege, Venice, which had declared itself independent as the Republic of San Marco, surrenders to Austria. Wikipedia →
1845The first issue of Scientific American magazine is published. Wikipedia →
1833The Slavery Abolition Act 1833 receives royal assent, making the purchase or ownership of slaves illegal in the British Empire with exceptions. Wikipedia →
1830The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's new Tom Thumb steam locomotive races a horse-drawn car, presaging steam's role in U.S. railroads. Wikipedia →
1810Napoleonic Wars: The French Navy accepts the surrender of a British Royal Navy fleet at the Battle of Grand Port. Wikipedia →
1789William Herschel discovers a new moon of Saturn: Enceladus. Wikipedia →
1709Meidingnu Pamheiba is crowned King of Manipur. Wikipedia →
1648Second English Civil War: The Siege of Colchester ends when Royalist Forces surrender to the Parliamentary Forces after eleven weeks. Wikipedia →
1640Second Bishop's War: King Charles I's English army loses to a Scottish Covenanter force at the Battle of Newburn. Wikipedia →
1619Election of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor. Wikipedia →
1609Henry Hudson discovers Delaware Bay. Wikipedia →
1565Pedro Menéndez de Avilés sights land near St. Augustine, Florida and founds the oldest continuously occupied European-established city in the continental United States. Wikipedia →
1542Turkish–Portuguese War: Battle of Wofla: The Portuguese are scattered, their leader Christovão da Gama is captured and later executed. Wikipedia →
1524The Kaqchikel Maya rebel against their former Spanish allies during the Spanish conquest of Guatemala. Wikipedia →
1521Ottoman wars in Europe: The Ottoman Turks occupy Belgrade. Wikipedia →
1290The second treaty of Birgham is ratified in which Margaret, Maid of Norway and granddaughter of king Alexander III of Scotland is to marry the English prince Edward of Caernarfon. Wikipedia →
1189Third Crusade: The Crusaders begin the Siege of Acre under Guy of Lusignan. Wikipedia →
663Silla–Tang armies crush the Baekje restoration attempt and force Yamato Japan to withdraw from Korea in the Battle of Baekgang. Wikipedia →
632Fatimah, daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, dies, with her cause of death being a controversial topic among the Sunni Muslims and Shia Muslims. Wikipedia →
489Theodoric, king of the Ostrogoths, defeats Odoacer at the Battle of Isonzo, forcing his way into Italy. Wikipedia →
475The Roman general Orestes forces western Roman Emperor Julius Nepos to flee his capital city, Ravenna. Wikipedia →

Facts from Wikipedia On This Day API (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Wikimedia. Thumbnails CC BY-SA. Headlines via The Guardian Open Platform. Historic pages via Library of Congress Chronicling America. Curated by OddlyTrue.