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Revision as of 13:38, 25 May 2008

August 28 is the 240th day of the year (241st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 125 days remain until the end of the year.

Events

• 475 - The Roman general Orestes forces western Roman Emperor Julius Nepos to flee his capital city, Ravenna, and appoints Romulus Augustus, his own son, as emperor.
• 489 - Theodoric, king of the Ostrogoths defeats Odoacer at the Battle of Isonzo, forcing his way into Italy.
• 1189 - The Crusaders begin the Siege of Acre under Guy of Lusignan
• 1349 - 6,000 Jews are killed in Mainz, accused to be the cause of the plague.
• 1511 - Portuguese conquer Malacca.
• 1521 - The Ottoman Turks occupy Belgrade.
• 1542 - Reinforced with at least 600 arquebusiers and cavalry, Imam Ahmad Gragn attacks the Portuguese camp in the Battle of Wofla. The Portuguese are scattered, their leader Christovão da Gama captured and afterwards executed.
• 1565 - St. Augustine, Florida, established. It is the oldest surviving European settlement in the United States.
• 1609 - Henry Hudson discovers Delaware Bay.
• 1619 - Ferdinand II is elected emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
• 1640 - King Charles I's English army loses to a Scottish Covenanter force at the Battle of Newburn
• 1830 - The Tom Thumb presages the first railway service in the United States.
• 1845 - Scientific American magazine publishes its first issue.
• 1849 - After a month-long siege, Venice, which had declared itself independent, surrenders to Austria.
• 1859 - A geomagnetic storm causes the Aurora Borealis to shine so brightly that it is seen clearly over parts of USA, Europe, and even as further afield as Japan.
• 1862 - Second Battle of Bull Run, also known as the battle of Second Manassas.
• 1867 - The United States occupies Midway Island.
• 1879 - Cetshwayo, last king of the Zulus, is captured by the British.
• 1898 - Caleb Bradham renames his carbonated soft drink "Pepsi-Cola".
• 1899 - 122 houses, smelting factory, hospital, many facilities destroyed on hill, cause by heavy rain with debris blow, at Sumitomo Besshi bronze mine erea, Niihama, Shikoku, Japan, at least 512 killed.
• 1907 - UPS is founded by James E. Casey in Seattle, Washington.
• 1913 - Queen Wilhelmina opens the Peace Palace in The Hague.
• 1914 - The Royal Navy beats the German fleet in the Battle of Heligoland Bight.
• 1914 - German troops conquer Namur.
• 1916 - Germany declares war on Romania.
• 1916 - Italy declares war on Germany.
• 1917 - Ten suffragists are arrested when picketing the White House.
• 1924 - Georgian opposition stages the August Uprising against the Soviet Union.
• 1931 - France and Soviet Union sign a trety of non-aggression.
• 1937 - Toyota Motors becomes an independent company.
• 1943 - In Denmark, a general strike against the Nazi occupation is started.
• 1944 - Marseille and Toulon are liberated.
• 1953 - Nippon Television broadcasts Japan's first television show, including its first TV advertisement.
• 1961 - Motown releases what would be its first number one hit, "Please Mr. Postman" by The Marvelettes.
• 1963 - During a 200,000-person civil rights rally in at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., Martin Luther King, Jr. gives his famous I have a dream speech.
• 1964 - The Philadelphia race riot begins.
• 1968 - Riots in Chicago, Illinois, during the Democratic National Convention.
• 1971 - The dollar is allowed to float against the yen for the first time.
• 1979 - An IRA bomb explodes on the Grand Place in Brussels.
• 1981 - The National Centers for Disease Control announce a high incidence of Pneumocystis and Kaposi's sarcoma in gay men. Soon, these will be recognized as symptoms of an immune disorder, which will be called AIDS.
• 1982 - The first Gay Games are held in San Francisco.
• 1986 - US Navy officer Jerry A. Whitworth is sentenced to 365 years imprisonment for espionage for the Soviet Union.
• 1988 - Ramstein airshow disaster: Three aircraft of the Frecce Tricolori demonstration team collide and fall into the crowd. 75 are killed, 346 seriously injured.
• 1990 - Iraq declares Kuwait to be its newest province.
• 1990 - The Plainfield Tornado: An F5 tornado hits in Plainfield, Illinois, and Joliet, Illinois, killing 28 people.
• 1991 - Ukraine declares its independence from the Soviet Union.
• 1991 - Mikhail Gorbachev resigns from Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party.
• 1996 - Britons Charles, Prince of Wales, and Diana, Princess of Wales, are divorced.
• 1998 - 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.

Births

• 1025 - Emperor Go-Reizei of Japan (d. 1068)
• 1582 - Taichang Emperor, of the Ming dynasty of China (d. 1620)
• 1592 - George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, English statesman (d. 1628)
• 1612 - Marcus Zuerius van Boxhorn, Dutch scholar (d. 1653)
• 1667 - Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, queen of Denmark and Norway (d. 1721)
• 1691 - Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Holy Roman Empire Empress (d. 1750)
• 1714 - Anthony Ulrich II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (d. 1774)
• 1749 - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German writer and scientist (d. 1832)
• 1774 - Elizabeth Ann Seton, American-born Catholic saint (d. 1821)
• 1789 - Stéphanie de Beauharnais, Grand Duchess of Baden (d. 1860)
• 1801 - Antoine Augustin Cournot, French mathematician (d. 1877)
• 1814 - Sheridan le Fanu, Irish writer (d. 1873)
• 1827 - Grand Duchess Catherine Mikhailovna of Russia (d. 1894)
• 1840 - Alexander Cameron Sim, Scottish merchant (d. 1900)
• 1853 - Vladimir Shukhov, Russian engineer and inventor (d. 1939)
• 1867 - Umberto Giordano, Italian composer (d. 1948)
• 1878 - George Whipple, American scientist and Nobel laureate (d. 1976)
• 1894 - Karl Böhm, Austrian conductor (d. 1981)
• 1898 - Charlie Grimm, baseball player (d. 1983)
• 1899 - Charles Boyer, French actor (d. 1978)
• 1903 - Bruno Bettelheim, American psychologist (d. 1990)
• 1904 - Secondo Campini, Italian jet engine pioneer (d. 1980)
• 1906 - John Betjeman, English poet (d. 1984)
• 1908 - Roger Tory Peterson, American ornithologist (d. 1996)
• 1910 - Tjalling Koopmans, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1985)
• 1911 - Joseph Luns, Dutch politician (d. 2002)
• 1913 - Robertson Davies, Canadian writer (d. 1995)
• 1913 - Richard Tucker, American tenor (d. 1975)
• 1913 - Terence Reese, British bridge player (d. 1996)
• 1913 - Boris Pahor, Slovenian writer
• 1915 - Max Robertson, British sports commentator
• 1916 - Jack Vance, American author
• 1916 - Hélène Baillargeon, Quebec singer and folklorist (d. 1997)
• 1917 - Jack Kirby, American comic book artist (d. 1994)
• 1919 - Godfrey Hounsfield, Nobel Laureate (d. 2004)
• 1920 - Frits Bernard, pedophile activist (d. 2006)
• 1921 - Fernando Fernán Gómez, Spanish actor, director, academic and playwright (d. 2007)
• 1921 - Nancy Kulp, American actress (d. 1991)
• 1924 - Janet Frame, New Zealand author (d. 2004)
• 1924 - Peggy Ryan, American actress (d. 2004)
• 1925 - Donald O'Connor, American singer, dancer, and actor (d. 2003)
• 1925 - Billy Grammer, American country music singer and guitarist
• 1928 - F. William Free, American advertising executive (d. 2003)
• 1929 - Istvan Kertesz, Hungarian conductor (d. 1973)
• 1929 - Ken Gampu, South African actor (d. 2003)
• 1930 - Windsor Davies, British actor
• 1930 - Ben Gazzara, American actor
• 1931 - John Shirley-Quirk, English bass-baritone
• 1931 - Tito Capobianco, Argentinian stage impresario
• 1932 - Andy Bathgate, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1935 - Gilles Rocheleau, French Canadian politician (d. 1998)
• 1936 - Don Denkinger, American baseball umpire
• 1938 - Paul Martin, Canadaian politician
• 1938 - Maurizio Costanzo, Italian television journalist
• 1940 - Ken Jenkins, American actor
• 1940 - Roger Pingeon, French cylist
• 1940 - Nik Turner, English musician (Hawkwind)
• 1941 - Sybille de Selys Longchamps, Belgian aristocrat
• 1941 - Paul Plishka, American bass
• 1942 - Sterling Morrison, American guitarist (The Velvet Underground) (d. 1995)
• 1943 - David Soul, American actor
• 1943 - Lou Piniella, American baseball manager
• 1944 - Marianne Heemskerk, Dutch swimmer
• 1945 - Robert Greenwald, American film director/producer
• 1945 - Bob Segarini, Musician and radio personality
• 1944 - Melvin Dummar, American claimant to the Howard Hughes estate
• 1947 - Liza Wang, Hong Kong actress
• 1947 - Shoto Tanemura, Japanese martial artist
• 1948 - Danny Seraphine, American musician (Chicago)
• 1949 - Hugh Cornwell, British musician (The Stranglers)
• 1949 - Svetislav Pešić, Serbian basketball player and coach
• 1951 - Keiichi Suzuki, Japanese composer
• 1951 - Wayne Osmond, American singer (The Osmonds)
• 1952 - Rita Dove, American poet
• 1952 - Wendelin Wiedeking, German businessman
• 1952 - Guy Nadon, Quebec actor
• 1952 - Jacques Chagnon, Quebec politician
• 1957 - Daniel Stern, American actor
• 1957 - Rick Rossovich, American actor
• 1958 - Scott Hamilton, American figure skater
• 1960 - Emma Samms, English actress
• 1961 - Kim Appleby, English singer
• 1961 - Cliff Benson, American football player
• 1962 - Paul Allen, English footballer
• 1962 - David Fincher, American music video and film director
• 1963 - Jennifer Coolidge, American actress
• 1965 - Amanda Tapping, Canadian actress
• 1965 - Shania Twain, Canadian singer
• 1966 - Priya Dutt, Indian social worker and politician
• 1967 - Frederick Kesner, Philippine-born Australian poet
• 1968 - Billy Boyd, Scottish actor
• 1969 - Jason Priestley, Canadian-born actor
• 1969 - Jack Black, American actor
• 1969 - Mary McCartney, English photographer
• 1969 - Pierre Turgeon, French Canadian ice hockey player
• 1970 - Sherrié Austin, Australian actress/singer
• 1970 - Rick Recht, Jewish singer
• 1971 - Todd Eldredge, American figure skater
• 1971 - Janet Evans, American swimmer
• 1971 - Raul Marquez, Mexican-born American boxer
• 1971 - Shane Andrews, American baseball player
• 1972 - Jay Witasick, American baseball player
• 1973 - Matthew John Armstrong, American actor
• 1973 - DJ Assault, American musician
• 1974 - Johan Andersson, Swedish game programmer
• 1974 - Carsten Jancker, German footballer
• 1974 - Takahito Eguchi, Japanese composer
• 1975 - Jamie Cureton, English footballer
• 1975 - Gareth Farrelly, Irish footballer
• 1978 - Jess Margera, American drummer (CKY)
• 1978 - Shaniqua, American wrestling valet
• 1979 - Robert Hoyzer, German football referee
• 1979 - Shaila Durcal, Spanish singer
• 1979 - Kristen Hughes, Australian netballer
• 1979 - Markus Pröll, German footballer
• 1979 - Ruth Riley, American basketball player
• 1980 - T.J. Beam, American baseball player
• 1981 - Martin Erat, Czech hockey player
• 1981 - Vaggelis Moras, Greek footballer
• 1981 - Agata Wróbel, Polish weightlifter,
• 1981 - Raphael Matos, Brazilian racing driver
• 1982 - Anderson Silva de França, Brazilian footballer
• 1982 - LeAnn Rimes, American singer
• 1982 - Kevin McNaughton, Scottish footballer
• 1982 - Thiago Motta, Brazilian footballer
• 1983 - Lasith Malinga, Sri Lankan cricketer
• 1983 - Alfonso Herrera, Mexican actor and singer (RBD)
• 1985 - Cove Reber, American singer (Saosin)
• 1985 - Ralph Woolfolk IV, American actor
• 1986 - Gilad Shalit, Israeli corporal
• 1988 - Ray Jones, English footballer (d. 2007)
• 1990 - Bojan Krkić, Serbian-Spanish footballer
• 1991 - Kyle Massey, American actor
• 1991 - Sarah Jane Santos, Filipino singer
• 1999 - Prince Nikolai of Denmark

Deaths

• 388 - Magnus Maximus, Roman usurper
• 430 - Augustine of Hippo, North African saint and theologian (b. 354)
• 1341 - King Leo V of Armenia (b. 1309)
• 1481 - King Afonso V of Portugal (b. 1432)
• 1645 - Hugo Grotius, Dutch philosopher and writer (b. 1583)
• 1654 - Axel Oxenstierna, Lord High Chancellor of Sweden (b. 1583)
• 1678 - John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton, English soldier (b. 1602)
• 1757 - David Hartley, English philosopher (b. 1705)
• 1784 - Junípero Serra, Spanish missionary (b. 1713)
• 1785 - Jean-Baptiste Pigalle, French sculptor (b. 1714)
• 1793 - Adam Philippe, Comte de Custine, French general (executed) (b. 1740)
• 1805 - Alexander Carlyle, Scottish church leader (b. 1722)
• 1818 - Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable, founder of Chicago
• 1820 - Andrew Ellicott, American surveyor (b. 1754)
• 1839 - William Smith, English geologist (b. 1769)
• 1900 - Henry Sidgwick, English philosopher (b. 1838)
• 1903 - Frederick Law Olmsted, American landscape architect (b. 1822)
• 1933 - Helen Dunbar, American actress (b. 1863)
• 1943 - King Boris III of Bulgaria (b. 1894)
• 1947 - Manolete, Spanish bullfighter (b. 1917)
• 1955 - Emmett Till, American civil rights movement icon (b. 1941)
• 1959 - Bohuslav Martinů, Czech composer (b. 1890)
• 1965 - Giulio Racah, Israeli physicist (b. 1909)
• 1975 - Fritz Wotruba, Austrian sculptor (b. 1907)
• 1976 - Anissa Jones, American actress (b. 1958)
• 1978 - Robert Shaw, English actor and writer (b. 1927)
• 1981 - Béla Guttman, Hungarian footballer (b. 1900)
• 1985 - Ruth Gordon, American actress (b. 1896)
• 1987 - John Huston, American movie director (b. 1906)
• 1988 - Jean Marchand, French Canadian union leader and politician (b. 1918)
• 1990 - Willy Vandersteen, Belgian cartoonist (b. 1913)
• 1993 - William Stafford, American writer (b. 1914)
• 1995 - Earl Bascom, American rodeo pioneer (b. 1906)
• 2003 - Brian Douglas Wells, American criminal (failed) (b. 1956)
• 2005 - Jacques Dufilho, French actor (b. 1914)
• 2005 - Esther Szekeres, Hungarian mathematician (b. 1910)
• 2005 - George Szekeres, Hungarian mathematician (b. 1911)
• 2006 - Benoît Sauvageau, French Canadian politician (b. 1963)
• 2006 - Melvin Schwartz, American physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1932)
• 2007 - Arthur Jones, American inventor of the Nautilus exercise machines (b. 1926)
• 2007 - Hilly Kristal, American Founder of CBGB/Punk rock legend (b. 1932)
• 2007 - Paul B. MacCready, Jr., American aeronautical engineer (b. 1925)
• 2007 - Antonio Puerta, Spanish footballer (b. 1984)
• 2007 - Francisco Umbral, Spanish journalist, novelist, biographer and essayist (b. 1935)
• 2007 - Miyoshi Umeki, Japanese-born American actress (b. 1929)
• 2007 - Nikola Nobilo, New Zealand winemaker (b. 1913)

Holidays and observances

• In Eastern Orthodox Churches using the Julian calendar: Feast day of the Assumption of Mary, the mother of Jesus, public holiday in the Republic of Macedonia, Serbia
• Hong Kong: Liberation Day (1945).
• Many Christian churches: feast day of Saint Augustine of Hippo.
• Philippines: National Heroes Day

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada

• August