May 28

May 28 is the 148th day of the year (149th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 217 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

• 585 BC – A solar eclipse occurs, as predicted by the Greek philosopher and scientist Thales, while Alyattes is battling Cyaxares in the Battle of Halys, leading to a truce. This is one of the cardinal dates from which other dates can be calculated.
• 621 – Battle of Hulao: Li Shimin, the son of the Chinese emperor Gao Zu, defeats the numerically superior forces of Dou Jiande near the Hulao Pass (Henan). This victory decides the outcome of the civil war that followed the Sui dynasty's collapse in favour of the Tang dynasty.
• 1503 – James IV of Scotland and Margaret Tudor are married according to a papal bull by Pope Alexander VI. A Treaty of Everlasting Peace between Scotland and England signed on that occasion results in a peace that lasts ten years.
• 1533 – The Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, declares the marriage of King Henry VIII of England to Anne Boleyn valid.
• 1588 – The Spanish Armada, with 130 ships and 30,000 men, sets sail from Lisbon, Portugal, heading for the English Channel. (It will take until May 30 for all ships to leave port.)
• 1644 – Bolton Massacre by Royalist troops under the command of James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby.
• 1754 – French and Indian War: In the first engagement of the war, Virginia militia under the 22-year-old Lieutenant colonel George Washington defeat a French reconnaissance party in the Battle of Jumonville Glen in what is now Fayette County in southwestern Pennsylvania.
• 1830 – U.S. President Andrew Jackson signs the Indian Removal Act which relocates Native Americans.
• 1871 – Fall of the Paris Commune.
• 1892 – In San Francisco, John Muir organizes the Sierra Club.
• 1900 – Gare d'Orsay railway station is inaugurated in Paris.
• 1905 – Russo-Japanese War: The Battle of Tsushima ends with the destruction of the Russian Baltic Fleet by Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō and the Imperial Japanese Navy.
• 1907 – The first Isle of Man TT race was held.
• 1918 – The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and the First Republic of Armenia declare their independence.
• 1926 – The 28 May 1926 coup d'état: Ditadura Nacional is established in Portugal to suppress the unrest of the First Republic.
• 1932 – In the Netherlands, construction of the Afsluitdijk is completed and the Zuiderzee bay is converted to the freshwater IJsselmeer.
• 1934 – Near Callander, Ontario, Canada, the Dionne quintuplets are born to Oliva and Elzire Dionne; they will be the first quintuplets to survive infancy.
• 1936 – Alan Turing submits On Computable Numbers for publication.
• 1936 – Klaipėda Radio Station begins regular broadcasting.
• 1937 – The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California, is officially opened by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in Washington, D.C., who pushes a button signaling the start of vehicle traffic over the span.
• 1937 – Volkswagen (VW), the German automobile manufacturer is founded.
• 1940 – World War II: Belgium surrenders to Nazi Germany to end the Battle of Belgium.
• 1940 – World War II: Norwegian, French, Polish and British forces recapture Narvik in Norway. This is the first allied infantry victory of the War.
• 1942 – World War II: In retaliation for the assassination attempt on Reinhard Heydrich, Nazis in Czechoslovakia kill over 1,800 people.
• 1948 – Daniel François Malan is elected as Prime Minister of South Africa. He later goes on to implement Apartheid.
• 1951 – The British radio comedy program The Goon Show is broadcast on the BBC for the first time.
• 1952 – The women of Greece are granted the right to vote.
• 1958 – Cuban Revolution: Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement, heavily reinforced by Frank Pais Militia, overwhelm an army post in El Uvero.
• 1961 – Peter Benenson's article The Forgotten Prisoners is published in several internationally read newspapers. This will later be thought of as the founding of the human rights organization Amnesty International.
• 1964 – The Palestine Liberation Organization is formed.
• 1974 – Northern Ireland's power-sharing Sunningdale Agreement collapses following a general strike by loyalists.
• 1975 – Fifteen West African countries sign the Treaty of Lagos, creating the Economic Community of West African States.
• 1977 – In Southgate, Kentucky, the Beverly Hills Supper Club is engulfed in fire, killing 165 people inside.
• 1979 – Konstantinos Karamanlis signs the full treaty of the accession of Greece with the European Economic Community.
• 1987 – West German pilot Mathias Rust, who was 18-years-old, evades Soviet Union air defenses and lands a private plane in the Red Square in Moscow, Russia. He is immediately detained and would not be released until August 3, 1988.
• 1991 – The capital city of Addis Ababa falls to the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front, ending both the Derg regime in Ethiopia and the Ethiopian Civil War.
• 1993 – Eritrea and Monaco join the United Nations.
• 1995 – The Russian town of Neftegorsk is hit by a 7.6 magnitude earthquake that kills at least 2,000 people, half of the total population.
• 1996 – U.S. President Bill Clinton's former business partners in the Whitewater land deal, Jim McDougal and Susan McDougal, and the Governor of Arkansas Jim Guy Tucker, are convicted of fraud.
• 1998 – Nuclear testing: Pakistan responds to a series of nuclear tests by India with five of its own codenamed Chagai-I, prompting the United States, Japan, and other nations to impose economic sanctions. Pakistan celebrates Youm-e-Takbir annually.
• 1999 – In Milan, Italy, after 22 years of restoration work, Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece The Last Supper is put back on display.
• 2002 – The last steel girder is removed from the original World Trade Center site. Cleanup duties officially end with closing ceremonies at Ground Zero in Manhattan, New York City.
• 2002 – NATO declares Russia a limited partner in the Western alliance.
• 2002 – The Mars Odyssey finds signs of large ice deposits on the planet Mars.
• 2003 – Peter Hollingworth becomes the first Governor-General of Australia to resign his office as a result of criticism of his conduct.
• 2004 – The Iraqi Governing Council chooses Ayad Allawi, a longtime anti-Saddam Hussein exile, as prime minister of Iraq's interim government.
• 2008 – The first meeting of the Constituent Assembly of Nepal formally declares Nepal a republic, ending the 240-year reign of the Shah dynasty.
• 2010 – In West Bengal, India, a train derailment and subsequent collision kills 141 passengers.
• 2011 – Malta votes on the introduction of divorce.

Births

• 1140 – Xin Qiji, Chinese poet, general, and politician (d. 1207)
• 1371 – John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy (d. 1419)
• 1524 – Selim II, Ottoman sultan (d. 1574)
• 1588 – Pierre Séguier, French politician, Lord Chancellor of France (d. 1672)
• 1660 – George I of Great Britain (d. 1727)
• 1676 – Jacopo Riccati, Italian mathematician and academic (d. 1754)
• 1692 – Geminiano Giacomelli, Italian composer (d. 1740)
• 1738 – Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, French physician (d. 1814)
• 1759 – William Pitt the Younger, English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1806)
• 1763 – Manuel Alberti, Argentinian priest and journalist (d. 1811)
• 1764 – Edward Livingston, American jurist and politician, 11th United States Secretary of State (d. 1836)
• 1779 – Thomas Moore, Irish poet and composer (d. 1852)
• 1807 – Louis Agassiz, Swiss-American paleontologist and geologist (d. 1873)
• 1818 – P. G. T. Beauregard, American general (d. 1893)
• 1836 – Friedrich Baumfelder, German pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1916)
• 1836 – Alexander Mitscherlich, German chemist and academic (d. 1918)
• 1837 – George Ashlin, Irish architect, co-designed St Colman's Cathedral (d. 1921)
• 1837 – Tony Pastor, American businessman (d. 1908)
• 1841 – Sakaigawa Namiemon, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 14th Yokozuna (d. 1887)
• 1853 – Carl Larsson, Swedish painter and author (d. 1919)
• 1858 – Carl Richard Nyberg, Swedish inventor and businessman, developed the blow torch (d. 1939)
• 1872 – Marian Smoluchowski, Polish physicist and mountaineer (d. 1917)
• 1878 – Paul Pelliot, French sinologist and explorer (d. 1945)
• 1879 – Milutin Milanković, Serbian mathematician, astronomer, and geophysicist (d. 1958)
• 1883 – Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Indian poet and politician (d. 1966)
• 1883 – Clough Williams-Ellis, English-Welsh architect, designed the Portmeirion Village (d. 1978)
• 1884 – Edvard Beneš, Czech academic and politician, 2nd President of Czechoslovakia (d. 1948)
• 1886 – Santo Trafficante, Sr., Italian-American mobster (d. 1954)
• 1888 – Kaarel Eenpalu, Estonian journalist and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Estonia (d. 1942)
• 1888 – Vivienne Haigh-Wood Eliot, English author and educator (d. 1947)
• 1888 – Jim Thorpe, American decathlete, football player, and coach (d. 1953)
• 1889 – Richard Réti, Slovak-Czech chess player and author (d. 1929)
• 1892 – Sepp Dietrich, German general (d. 1966)
• 1892 – Minna Gombell, American actress (d. 1973)
• 1896 – Konstantin Märska, Estonian director and cinematographer (d. 1951)
• 1900 – Tommy Ladnier, American trumpet player (d. 1939)
• 1903 – S. L. Kirloskar, Indian businessman, founded Kirloskar Group (d. 1994)
• 1906 – Henry Thambiah, Sri Lankan lawyer, judge, and diplomat, Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Canada (d. 1997)
• 1908 – Léo Cadieux, Canadian journalist and politician, 17th Canadian Minister of National Defence (d. 2005)
• 1908 – Ian Fleming, English journalist and author, created James Bond (d. 1964)
• 1909 – Red Horner, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2005)
• 1910 – Georg Gaßmann, German politician, Mayor of Marburg (d. 1987)
• 1910 – Rachel Kempson, English-American actress (d. 2003)
• 1910 – T-Bone Walker, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1975)
• 1911 – Thora Hird, English actress (d. 2003)
• 1911 – Fritz Hochwälder, Austrian playwright (d. 1986)
• 1912 – Herman Johannes, Indonesian scientist, academic, and politician (d. 1992)
• 1912 – Ruby Payne-Scott, Australian physicist and astronomer (d. 1981)
• 1912 – Patrick White, English-Australian author, poet, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1990)
• 1914 – W. G. G. Duncan Smith, English captain and pilot (d. 1996)
• 1915 – Joseph Greenberg, American linguist and academic (d. 2001)
• 1916 – Walker Percy, American author and academic (d. 1990)
• 1917 – Barry Commoner, American biologist, academic, and politician (d. 2012)
• 1917 – Papa John Creach, American violinist (Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna, and The Dinosaurs) (d. 1994)
• 1918 – Johnny Wayne, Canadian actor and screenwriter (d. 1990)
• 1921 – Heinz G. Konsalik, German journalist and author (d. 1999)
• 1921 – Tom Uren, Australian soldier, boxer, and politician (d. 2015)
• 1922 – Lou Duva, American boxer, trainer, and manager
• 1922 – Roger Fisher, American author and academic (d. 2012)
• 1922 – Tuomas Gerdt, Finnish sergeant
• 1923 – György Ligeti, Romanian-Austrian composer and educator (d. 2006)
• 1923 – N. T. Rama Rao, Indian actor, director, producer, and politician, 10th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh (d. 1996)
• 1924 – Edward du Cann, English lieutenant and politician
• 1924 – Paul Hébert, Canadian actor
• 1925 – Bülent Ecevit, Turkish journalist, scholar, and politician, 16th Prime Minister of Turkey (d. 2006)
• 1925 – Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, German opera singer and conductor (d. 2012)
• 1928 – Sally Forrest, American actress and dancer (d. 2015)
• 1929 – Patrick McNair-Wilson, English politician
• 1930 – Edward Seaga, American-Jamaican academic and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Jamaica
• 1931 – Carroll Baker, American actress
• 1931 – Gordon Willis, American cinematographer (d. 2014)
• 1932 – Neil Black, English oboe player and educator
• 1932 – Tim Renton, Baron Renton of Mount Harry, English politician, Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries
• 1932 – S. Selvanayagam, Ceylon geographer and academic (d. 1979)
• 1933 – John Karlen, American actor
• 1933 – Zelda Rubinstein, American actress and activist (d. 2010)
• 1934 – Bill Baillie, New Zealand runner
• 1935 – Anne Reid, English actress
• 1936 – Claude Forget, Canadian academic and politician
• 1936 – Ole K. Sara, Norwegian politician (d. 2013)
• 1936 – Betty Shabazz, American educator and activist (d. 1997)
• 1938 – Jerry West, American basketball player, coach, and manager
• 1938 – Maurice Woods, American actor (d. 1983)
• 1940 – Maeve Binchy, Irish author and playwright (d. 2012)
• 1940 – David William Brewer, English politician, Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London
• 1940 – Shlomo Riskin, American rabbi and academic, founded the Lincoln Square Synagogue
• 1941 – Beth Howland, American actress and singer
• 1942 – Happy Pieterse, South African boxer (d. 2013)
• 1942 – Stanley B. Prusiner, American neurologist and biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1943 – Terry Crisp, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1943 – Elena Souliotis, Greek soprano and actress (d. 2004)
• 1944 – Faith Brown, English actress and singer
• 1944 – Rudy Giuliani, American lawyer and politician, 107th mayor of New York City
• 1944 – Gladys Knight, American singer-songwriter and actress (Gladys Knight & the Pips)
• 1944 – Jean-Pierre Léaud, French actor and director
• 1944 – Sondra Locke, American actress, singer, and director
• 1944 – Rita MacNeil, Canadian singer and actress (d. 2013)
• 1944 – Patricia Quinn, Irish actress and singer
• 1944 – Gary Stewart, American singer-songwriter (d. 2003)
• 1944 – Billy Vera, American singer-songwriter and actor
• 1945 – Patch Adams, American physician and author, founded the Gesundheit! Institute
• 1945 – John N. Bambacus, American sergeant and politician
• 1945 – John Fogerty, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Creedence Clearwater Revival and The Golliwogs)
• 1945 – Jean Perrault, Canadian politician, Mayor of Sherbrooke
• 1945 – Helena Shovelton, English physician
• 1946 – Skip Jutze, American baseball player
• 1946 – Janet Paraskeva, Welsh politician
• 1946 – K. Satchidanandan, Indian poet and critic
• 1946 – William Shawcross, English journalist and author
• 1947 – Zahi Hawass, Egyptian archaeologist and academic
• 1947 – Lynn Johnston, Canadian author and illustrator
• 1947 – Leland Sklar, American singer-songwriter and bass player (The Section and Era)
• 1948 – Pierre Rapsat, Belgian singer-songwriter (d. 2002)
• 1949 – Susan Fitzgerald, English-Irish actress (d. 2013)
• 1949 – Sue Holderness, English actress
• 1949 – Wendy O. Williams, American singer-songwriter and actress (Plasmatics) (d. 1998)
• 1950 – Kamala, American wrestler
• 1950 – Ian Bradley, English minister, author, and academic
• 1952 – Roger Briggs, American pianist, composer, conductor, and educator
• 1953 – Pierre Gauthier, Canadian ice hockey player and manager
• 1953 – Arto Lindsay, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer (DNA, The Golden Palominos, The Lounge Lizards, and Ambitious Lovers)
• 1954 – Townsend Coleman, American voice actor
• 1954 – João Carlos de Oliveira, Brazilian jumper (d. 1999)
• 1954 – Youri Egorov, Russian pianist and composer (d. 1988)
• 1954 – Andy Hamilton, English actor, director, and screenwriter
• 1954 – Charles Saumarez Smith, English historian and academic
• 1954 – Péter Szilágyi, Hungarian conductor and politician (d. 2013)
• 1954 – John Tory, Canadian lawyer and politician, 65th Mayor of Toronto
• 1955 – Laura Amy Schlitz, American author and librarian
• 1955 – Mark Howe, American ice hockey player and coach
• 1956 – Jerry Douglas, American guitarist and producer (The Country Gentlemen and Strength in Numbers)
• 1956 – Markus Höttinger, Austrian race car driver (d. 1980)
• 1956 – Michael Musyoki, Kenyan runner
• 1956 – Julie Peasgood, English actress
• 1956 – Peter Wilkinson, English admiral
• 1957 – Colin Barnes, English footballer
• 1957 – Kirk Gibson, American baseball player and manager
• 1957 – Ben Howland, American basketball player and coach
• 1959 – Risto Mannisenmäki, Finnish race car driver
• 1959 – John Morgan, English etiquette expert and author (d. 2000)
• 1959 – Steve Strange, Welsh singer (Visage, The Moors Murderers, and Strange Cruise) (d. 2015)
• 1960 – Mark Sanford, American captain and politician, 115th Governor of South Carolina
• 1960 – Mary Portas, English journalist and author
• 1961 – Michelle Collins, English actress
• 1962 – Brandon Cruz, American actor and singer
• 1961 – Roland Gift, English singer-songwriter and actor (Fine Young Cannibals and Akrylykz)
• 1962 – James Michael Tyler, American actor
• 1963 – Gavin Harrison, English drummer (Porcupine Tree, King Crimson, and OSI)
• 1963 – Houman Younessi, Australian-American biologist and academic
• 1964 – David Baddiel, American-English comedian, actor, and author
• 1964 – Jeff Fenech, Australian boxer and trainer
• 1964 – Armen Gilliam, American basketball player and coach (d. 2011)
• 1964 – Christa Miller, American actress
• 1964 – Zsa Zsa Padilla, Filipino singer and actress (Hotdog)
• 1964 – Phil Vassar, American singer-songwriter and pianist
• 1965 – Chris Ballew, American singer-songwriter and bass player (The Presidents of the United States of America and Caspar Babypants)
• 1966 – Roger Kumble, American director, screenwriter, and playwright
• 1966 – Ashley Laurence, American actress
• 1967 – Emma Kennedy, English actress
• 1967 – Glen Rice, American basketball player
• 1968 – Kylie Minogue, Australian singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
• 1969 – Mike DiFelice, American baseball player and manager
• 1969 – Rob Ford, Canadian politician, 64th Mayor of Toronto
• 1969 – Justin Kirk, American actor
• 1970 – Ian Cashmore, English paranormal investigator
• 1970 – Jimi Goodwin, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (Doves and Sub Sub)
• 1970 – Glenn Quinn, Irish-American actor (d. 2002)
• 1970 – Paul Sinha, English comedian and physician
• 1971 – Isabelle Carré, French actress and singer
• 1971 – Ekaterina Gordeeva, Russian figure skater and sportscaster
• 1971 – Marco Rubio, American lawyer and politician
• 1972 – Doriva, Brazilian footballer and manager
• 1972 – Kate Ashfield, English actress
• 1972 – Michael Boogerd, Dutch cyclist and manager
• 1973 – Marco Paulo Faria Lemos, Portuguese footballer and manager
• 1974 – Hans-Jörg Butt, German footballer
• 1974 – Romain Duris, French actor and singer
• 1974 – Alicia Minshew, American actress
• 1975 – Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistani cricketer
• 1975 – Marc Bauer, Swiss illustrator
• 1975 – Maura Johnston, American journalist, critic, and academic
• 1975 – Charmaine Sheh, Hong Kong actress and singer
• 1976 – Zaza Enden, Georgian-Turkish wrestler, basketball player, and coach
• 1976 – Roberto Goretti, Italian footballer
• 1976 – Glenn Morrison, Australian rugby player and coach
• 1976 – Alexei Nemov, Russian gymnast
• 1976 – Liam O'Brien, American voice actor, director, and screenwriter
• 1977 – Jeremy Borash, American ring announcer and sportscaster
• 1977 – Elisabeth Hasselbeck, American talk show host and author
• 1979 – Abdulaziz al-Omari, Saudi Arabian terrorist, hijacker of American Airlines Flight 11 (d. 2001)
• 1979 – Jesse Bradford, American actor
• 1979 – Ronald Curry, American football player and coach
• 1979 – Joeri Jansen, Belgian runner
• 1979 – Monica Keena, American actress
• 1980 – Markus Feehily, Irish singer-songwriter and pianist (Westlife)
• 1980 – Miguel Pérez, Spanish footballer
• 1980 – Lucy Shuker, English tennis player
• 1980 – Jørgen Strickert, Norwegian comedian, author, and radio host
• 1981 – Daniel Cabrera, Dominican-American baseball player
• 1981 – Eric Ghiaciuc, American football player
• 1981 – Adam Green, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Moldy Peaches)
• 1981 – Victoria Legrand, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player (Beach House)
• 1981 – Derval O'Rourke, Irish hurdler
• 1981 – Aaron Schock, American lawyer and politician
• 1981 – Uğur İnceman, German-Turkish footballer
• 1982 – Alexa Davalos, French-American actress
• 1982 – Desiree del Valle, Filipino actress
• 1982 – Jhonny Peralta, Dominican-American baseball player
• 1983 – Roman Atwood, American comedian and video blogger
• 1983 – Steve Cronin, American soccer player
• 1983 – Toby Hemingway, English actor
• 1983 – Humberto Sánchez, Dominican-American baseball player
• 1984 – Beth Allen, New Zealand actress
• 1985 – Colbie Caillat, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1985 – Pablo Andrés González, Argentinian footballer
• 1985 – Kostas Mendrinos, Greek footballer
• 1985 – Carey Mulligan, English actress and singer
• 1986 – Berrick Barnes, Australian rugby player
• 1986 – Joseph Cross, American actor
• 1986 – Charles N'Zogbia, French footballer
• 1986 – Michael Oher, American football player
• 1986 – Seth Rollins, American wrestler
• 1986 – Ingmar Vos, Dutch decathlete
• 1988 – NaVorro Bowman, American football player
• 1988 – Percy Harvin, American football player
• 1988 – Craig Kimbrel, American baseball player
• 1988 – Meisa Kuroki, Japanese actress and singer
• 1988 – David Perron, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1988 – Luke Prosser, English footballer
• 1990 – Kyle Walker, English footballer
• 1991 – Beauty Gonzalez, Filipino actress
• 1991 – Alexandre Lacazette, French footballer
• 1991 – Kail Piho, Estonian skier
• 1992 – Tom Carroll, English footballer
• 1992 – Mira Gonzalez, American poet
• 1992 – Huang Qiushuang, Chinese gymnast
• 1993 – Bárbara Luz, Portuguese tennis player
• 1993 – Jonnie Peacock, English sprinter
• 1993 – Mason Shefa, American director and producer
• 1994 – Son Yeon-jae, South Korean gymnast
• 1995 – Jacob Kogan, American actor
• 1998 – Riho Sayashi, Japanese singer and actress (Morning Musume)
• 1998 – Luis Gabriel Moreno, Filipino archer
• 1999 – Cameron Boyce, American actor and dancer

Deaths

• 576 – Germain of Paris, French bishop and saint (b. 496)
• 1023 – Wulfstan, English archbishop
• 1357 – Afonso IV of Portugal (b. 1291)
• 1509 – Caterina Sforza, Italian daughter of Galeazzo Maria Sforza (b. 1463)
• 1556 – Saitō Dōsan, Japanese samurai (b. 1494)
• 1672 – John Trevor, Welsh politician, Secretary of State for the Northern Department (b. 1626)
• 1747 – Luc de Clapiers, marquis de Vauvenargues, French author (b. 1715)
• 1750 – Emperor Sakuramachi of Japan (b. 1720)
• 1787 – Leopold Mozart, Austrian violinist, composer, and conductor (b. 1719)
• 1805 – Luigi Boccherini, Italian cellist and composer (b. 1743)
• 1808 – Richard Hurd, English bishop (b. 1720)
• 1811 – Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville, Scottish lawyer and politician, Secretary of State for War (b. 1742)
• 1816 – Wolde Selassie, Ethiopian warlord (b. 1745)
• 1828 – Daikokuya Kōdayū, Japanese castaway (b. 1751)
• 1831 – William Carnegie, 7th Earl of Northesk, Scottish-English admiral (b. 1756)
• 1843 – Noah Webster, American lexicographer and author (b. 1758)
• 1849 – Anne Brontë, English author and poet (b. 1820)
• 1864 – Simion Bărnuțiu, Romanian historian and politician (b. 1808)
• 1878 – John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1792)
• 1916 – Ivan Franko, Ukrainian economist, journalist, and poet (b. 1856)
• 1927 – Boris Kustodiev, Russian painter and stage designer (b. 1878)
• 1937 – Alfred Adler, Austrian-Scottish ophthalmologist and psychologist (b. 1870)
• 1940 – Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse (b. 1868)
• 1946 – Carter Glass, American publisher and politician, 47th United States Secretary of the Treasury (b. 1858)
• 1947 – August Eigruber, Austrian-German politician (b. 1907)
• 1952 – Philippe Desranleau, Canadian archbishop (b. 1882)
• 1953 – Tatsuo Hori, Japanese author and poet (b. 1904)
• 1968 – Fyodor Okhlopkov, Russian sergeant and sniper (b. 1908)
• 1971 – Audie Murphy, American lieutenant and actor, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1924)
• 1971 – Jean Vilar, French actor and director (b. 1912)
• 1972 – Edward VIII of the United Kingdom (b. 1894)
• 1975 – Ezzard Charles, American boxer (b. 1921)
• 1976 – Zainul Abedin, Bangladeshi painter and sculptor (b. 1914)
• 1976 – Steffan Danielsen, Faroese painter (b. 1922)
• 1978 – Arthur Brough, English actor (b. 1905)
• 1980 – Rolf Nevanlinna, Finnish mathematician and academic (b. 1895)
• 1981 – Mary Lou Williams, American pianist and composer (b. 1910)
• 1981 – Stefan Wyszyński, Polish cardinal (b. 1901)
• 1982 – H. Jones, English colonel, Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1940)
• 1983 – Erastus Corning 2nd, American soldier and politician, 72nd Mayor of Albany (b. 1909)
• 1984 – Eric Morecambe, English actor and singer (b. 1926)
• 1986 – Edip Cansever, Turkish poet and author (b. 1928)
• 1988 – Sy Oliver, American trumpet player, composer, and bandleader (b. 1910)
• 1994 – Julius Boros, American golfer (b. 1920)
• 1994 – Ely Jacques Kahn, Jr., American author and academic (b. 1916)
• 1998 – Phil Hartman, Canadian-American actor, singer, and screenwriter (b. 1948)
• 1999 – Michael Barkai, Israeli commander (b. 1935)
• 1999 – B. Vittalacharya, Indian director and producer (b. 1920)
• 2000 – George Irving Bell, American physicist, biologist, and mountaineer (b. 1926)
• 2001 – Francis Bebey, Cameroonian-French guitarist (b. 1929)
• 2001 – Joe Moakley, American lawyer and politician (b. 1927)
• 2001 – Francisco Varela, Chilean biologist and philosopher (b. 1946)
• 2002 – Mildred Benson, American journalist and author (b. 1905)
• 2002 – Jean Berger, German-American pianist, composer, and academic (b. 1909)
• 2003 – Oleg Grigoryevich Makarov, Russian engineer and astronaut (b. 1933)
• 2003 – Ilya Prigogine, Russian-Belgian chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1917)
• 2003 – Martha Scott, American actress and producer (b. 1912)
• 2004 – Umberto Agnelli, Swiss-Italian businessman and politician (b. 1934)
• 2004 – Francis Brunn, German juggler (b. 1922)
• 2004 – Michael Buonauro, American author and illustrator (b. 1979)
• 2006 – Thorleif Schjelderup, Norwegian ski jumper and author (b. 1920)
• 2007 – Marquise Hill, American football player (b. 1982)
• 2007 – Jörg Immendorff, German painter, sculptor, and academic (b. 1945)
• 2007 – David Lane, American white nationalist leader, co-founded The Order (b. 1938)
• 2007 – Toshikatsu Matsuoka, Japanese politician, Japanese Minister of Agriculture (b. 1945)
• 2008 – Beryl Cook, English painter and illustrator (b. 1926)
• 2008 – Robert H. Justman, American director and producer (b. 1926)
• 2010 – Gary Coleman, American actor (b. 1968)
• 2011 – Alys Robi, Canadian singer (b. 1923)
• 2011 – Gino Valenzano, Italian race car driver (b. 1920)
• 2012 – Hugh Dawnay, English polo player and author (b. 1932)
• 2012 – Bob Edwards, English journalist (b. 1925)
• 2012 – Ludovic Quistin, Caribbean footballer (b. 1984)
• 2012 – Yuri Susloparov, Ukrainian-Russian footballer and manager (b. 1958)
• 2012 – Matthew Yuricich, American special effects artist (b. 1923)
• 2013 – Eddi Arent, Polish-German actor (b. 1925)
• 2013 – Nino Bibbia, Italian bobsledder (b. 1922)
• 2013 – Viktor Kulikov, Russian commander (b. 1921)
• 2013 – Fotis Polymeris, Greek singer-songwriter (b. 1920)
• 2013 – Eddie Romero, Filipino director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1924)
• 2013 – Gerd Schmückle, German general (b. 1917)
• 2014 – Maya Angelou, American author, poet, and actress (b. 1928)
• 2014 – Stan Crowther, English footballer (b. 1935)
• 2014 – Oscar Dystel, American publisher (b. 1912)
• 2014 – Malcolm Glazer, American businessman (b. 1928)
• 2014 – Bob Houbregs, Canadian-American basketball player and manager (b. 1932)
• 2014 – Isaac Kungwane, South African footballer (b. 1971)
• 2014 – Azlan Shah of Perak (b. 1928)
• 2015 – Steven Gerber, American pianist and composer (b. 1948)
• 2015 – Johnny Keating, Scottish trombonist, composer, and producer (b. 1927)
• 2015 – Bruno Pesaola, Argentinian-Italian footballer and manager (b. 1925)
• 2015 – Reynaldo Rey, American actor and screenwriter (b. 1940)

Holidays and observances

• Armed Forces Day (Croatia)
• Christian feast day:
  • Bernard of Menthon
  • Germain of Paris
  • John Calvin (Episcopal Church)
  • Lanfranc
  • Margaret Pole
  • William of Gellone
  • May 28 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Downfall of the Derg Day, a National Day. (Ethiopia)
• Flag Day (Philippines)
• Menstrual Hygiene Day
• Republic Day (Nepal)
• TDFR Republic Day, celebrates the declaration of independence of the First Republic of Armenia and the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic from the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic in 1918. (Azerbaijan and Armenia)
• Youm-e-Takbir (Pakistan)

External links

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