December 28th in History

Michael Dobson | December 28

Poster advertising the first commercial showing of a motion picture before a paying audience, December 28, 1895

Today in History

  • Westminster Abbey is consecrated (1065)
  • Galileo observes Neptune (but incorrectly catalogs it as a fixed star) (1612)
  • Iowa becomes a US state (1846)
  • The Lumière brothers display the first motion picture before a paying audience (1895)
  • William Röntgen publishes a paper describing his discovery of x-rays (1895)
  • The first city-owned streetcars begin operation in San Francisco (1912)
  • In the “greatest game ever played,” the Baltimore Colts defeat the New York Giants in the first NFL sudden death overtime game (1958)
  • The US Endangered Species Act becomes law (1973)
  • Montgomery Ward announces it is going out of business (2000)

Birthdays

  • John Molson, brewer (1763)
  • Woodrow Wilson, 28th US President (1856)
  • Arthur Eddington, astronomer (1882)
  • Earl “Fatha” Hines, jazz pianist (1903)
  • John von Newmann, mathematician and physicist (1903)
  • Lew Ayres, actor (1908)
  • Lou Jacobi, actor (1913)
  • Stan Lee, comic book writer and editor (922)
  • Martin Milner, actor (1931)
  • Nichelle Nichols, actress (1932)
  • Denzel Washington, actor (1954)
  • Linus Torvalds, programmer, developer of the Linux kernel (1969)
  • Seth Meyers, comedian and talk show host (1973)

Deaths

  • Piero de’ Medici the Unfortunate, Florentine leader (1503)
  • Rob Roy McGregor, Scottish outlaw (1734)
  • Clarence Day, cartoonist, creator of Life With Father (1935)
  • Maurice Ravel, composer (1937)
  • Theodore Dreiser, author (1945)
  • Paul Hindemith, composer (1963)
  • William Demarest, actor (1983)
  • Dennis Wilson, member of The Beach Boys (1983)
  • Sam Peckinpah, director (1984)
  • John D. MacDonald, author (1986)
  • Hermann Oberst, rocket scientist (1989)
  • William L. Shirer, historian (1993)
  • Clayton Moore, actor who played the Lone Ranger (1999)
  • Jerry Orbach, actor and singer (2004)
  • Susan Sontag, author (2004)

Holidays and Celebrations

  • King Taksin Memorial Day (Thailand)
  • Proclamation Day (South Australia)
Informal and made-up holidays include Holy Innocents Day, National Card Playing Day, National Chocolate Candy Day, and Pledge of Allegiance Day.

• • •
December 28 is the 362nd day of the year (363rd in leap years). There are 3 days remaining until the end of the year.