Today In History, 28 December: What Happened On This Day
Today in History: 2023 is fast approaching. Most of the world is battling chilling winters right now and hoping that the new year will bring some warmth with it. Today is 28 December. We’re four days away from the end of a wonderful year.
December 28 may look like another mundane winter day, but it holds a critical place in world history.
From the births of one of the greatest actors in Hollywood, two prominent industrialists of India and the founder of the Marvel comics to the most shocking event in women's MMA, the formation of the Indian National Congress and the first commercial public screening of the film, several pivotal events occurred on 28 December.
Read on to know what happened on this day (Dec. 28) in sports, politics and art, along with famous birthdays and deaths in world history.
Historical Events On This Day
- In 1065, London’s iconic Westminster Abbey was consecrated.
- In 1612, Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei observed Neptune for the first time, although he incorrectly labelled it as a fixed star.
- In 1659, the Marathas of India defeated the Adilshahi forces in the Battle of Kolhapur.
- In 1836, Spain recognized the independence of Mexico after signing the Santa Maria-Calatrava Treaty.
- In 1885, the Indian National Congress was founded by Allan Octavian Hume. The party was a nationalist movement that played a key role in India’s independence from the British, after which it turned into a political party.
- In 1895, German physicist Wilhelm Rontgen published a paper about the discovery of a new type of radiation, later known as the X-ray.
- In 2002, American entrepreneur Reid Hoffman founded the business-oriented social media platform Linkedin.
- In 2013, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) formed the government in Delhi in a historic event. Arvind Kejriwal became the Chief Minister.
Sports Events On This Day
- In 1934, the first women’s international test cricket match was played by England and Australia.
- In 1983, Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar surpassed Australian batting legend Don Bradman’s record of 29 test centuries.
- In 2018, UFC bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes cemented her status as the greatest female mixed martial artist after knocking out Cris Cyborg and winning the UFC featherweight title.
Music and Cinema Events Today
- In 1895, the first commercial public screening of the film was conducted by the Lumiere brothers in Paris, which gave birth to the cinema.
- In 1927, Arthur Honegger’s opera "Antigone" premiered in Brussels, featuring a libretto by Jean Cocteau, sets by Pablo Picasso, and costumes by Coco Chanel.
- In 1928, Ma Rainey, aka the "Mother of the Blues," made her last record, "Big Feelin’ Blues."
Notable Deaths On This Day
| Sr No |
Death Year |
Personality |
| 1 |
1663 |
Francesco Maria Grimaldi, Italian mathematician and physicist who worked on the phenomenon of and coined the term “diffraction” |
| 2 |
1734 |
Rob Roy, Scottish outlaw and folk hero who |
| 3 |
1971 |
Max Steiner, Austrian-American pianist, composer and conductor known for his film scores like King Kong, Casablanca and Gone with the Wind |
| 4 |
1977 |
Sumitranandan Pant, a major figure in Hindi literature and poetry and winner of Padma Bhushan, Jnanpith Award and Sahitya Akademi Awards |
| 5 |
2016 |
Debbie Reynolds, American actress and singer who starred in musical films like Singin’ in the Rain and The Unsinkable Molly Brown |
Famous Birthdays On This Day
| Sr No |
Birth Year |
Personality |
| 1 |
1903 |
John von Neumann, Hungarian-American mathematician who pioneered modern computer, game theory and nuclear deterrence |
| 2 |
1922 |
Stan Lee, American comic book writer and publisher who founded the popular Marvel comics and created iconic superheroes like Spider-Man, Hulk and Iron Man |
| 3 |
1932 |
Dhirubhai Ambani, Indian business tycoon and founder of Reliance Industries |
| 4 |
1934 |
Maggie Smith, English stage and film actor best known for starring in the Harry Potter series as Professor McGonagall and Violet Crawley in Downtown Abbey |
| 5 |
1937 |
Ratan Tata, Indian industrialist and philanthropist who headed the Tata Group from 1990 to 2012 |
| 6 |
1952 |
Arun Jaitley, Indian lawyer, politician and government servant who served as the leader of the nationalist BJP party and became the finance minister |
| 7 |
1954 |
Denzel Washington, American actor considered one of the greatest actors of all time for his performances in films like Training Day, Malcolm X and Philadelphia |
| 8 |
1969 |
Linus Torvalds, Finnish computer scientist who developed the popular Linux operating system |
| 9 |
1978 |
John Legend, American singer and pianist known for the songs “Glory” and “All of Me” |
Also Read | Today in History (27 December)
Also Read | Today in History (26 December)
