# On this day: December 28

December 28 is the 362nd day of the year (363rd in leap years), with 3 days left until the end of the year.

## December 28 in one line

Headline entries for December 28, from Wikipedia: in 1612, Galileo Galilei became the first person to observe the planet Neptune, although he mistakenly catalogued it as a fixed star; born 1856: Woodrow Wilson, American historian and politician, 28th President of the United States, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1924); died 2025: Brigitte Bardot, French actress, singer and activist (born 1934). In 2026 it is a Monday, in 2027 a Tuesday.

## Events on December 28

- 418 A papal election begins, resulting in the election of Pope Boniface I. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Boniface_I)
- 484 Alaric II succeeded his father Euric as King of the Visigoths. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaric_II)
- 893 An earthquake destroyed the city of Dvin, Armenia, resulting in about 30,000 casualties. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/893_Dvin_earthquake)
- 1065 Westminster Abbey, built by Edward the Confessor as the first Romanesque church in England, was first consecrated. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westminster_Abbey)
- 1612 Galileo Galilei became the first person to observe the planet Neptune, although he mistakenly catalogued it as a fixed star. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neptune)
- 1767 Taksin the Great was crowned king of the newly established Thonburi Kingdom at the new capital of Thonburi in present-day Thailand. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taksin)
- 1846 Iowa is admitted as the 29th U.S. state. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._state)
- 1862 American Civil War: Union forces defeated a Confederate cavalry unit in the Van Buren raid, capturing three steamboats, Confederate troops, and various supplies. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Buren_raid)
- 1895 Wilhelm Röntgen publishes a paper detailing his discovery of a new type of radiation, which later will be known as x-rays. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_R%C3%B6ntgen)
- 1895 The Lumière brothers perform for their first paying audience at the Grand Cafe in Boulevard des Capucines. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lumi%C3%A8re_brothers)
- 1907 The last confirmed sighting of the now-extinct huia occurred in the Tararua Range on New Zealand's North Island. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huia)
- 1908 An earthquake registering 7.1 Mw struck near Messina, which, along with the subsequent tsunami, killed at least 75,000 people in southern Italy. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1908_Messina_earthquake)
- 1916 Up to 1,000 lumber workers initiated a labor strike against the Virginia and Rainy Lake Lumber Company in Minnesota, United States, which lasted over a month. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1916%E2%80%931917_northern_Minnesota_lumber_strike)
- 1918 At the general election in Ireland, Constance Markievicz was elected to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom as the first female member of Parliament, although she never took her seat. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constance_Markievicz)
- 1925 The Tokyo Grand Sumo Association became the All Japan Sumo Association at the instigation of Prince-Regent Hirohito, laying the foundations for the world's sole professional sumo association. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_Sumo_Association)
- 1943 World War II: After eight days of brutal house-to-house fighting, the 1st Canadian Infantry Division captured the Italian town of Ortona. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ortona)
- 1964 Vietnam War: Viet Cong regiments penetrated the eastern perimeters of the village of Bình Giã, beginning the Battle of Binh Gia. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Binh_Gia)
- 1967 American businesswoman Muriel Siebert became the first woman to own a seat on the New York Stock Exchange. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muriel_Siebert)
- 1991 An unidentified body, later identified as Vivianne Ruiz, was found in garbage bags. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Vivianne_Ruiz)
- 2006 Somali Civil War: Troops of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government and their Ethiopian allies captured Mogadishu unopposed. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_Mogadishu)
- 2009 A suicide bomber attacked a Shia procession commemorating the day of Ashura in Karachi, Pakistan, causing 43 deaths. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Karachi_bombing)
- 2009 Tibetan dissident filmmaker Dhondup Wangchen was imprisoned for subversion by Chinese authorities after a secret trial. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhondup_Wangchen)
- 2011 Kurdish–Turkish conflict: Acting on information that Kurdish militants were crossing the border from Iraqi territory, two Turkish F-16 jets fired at a group of villagers, killing 34 people. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roboski_massacre)
- 2014 The passenger ferry Norman Atlantic caught fire in the Adriatic Sea, killing an estimated 28 people. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_Norman_Atlantic)
- 2014 Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501 crashed into the Java Sea after the pilots mishandled a non-critical error in the cockpit, which resulted in all 162 people on board being killed in the crash. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesia_AirAsia_Flight_8501)
- 2018 Netflix released Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, its first interactive content for adults. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Mirror:_Bandersnatch)

## Born on December 28

- 1856 Woodrow Wilson, American historian and politician, 28th President of the United States, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1924) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodrow_Wilson)
- 1882 Arthur Eddington, English astronomer, physicist, and mathematician (died 1944) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Eddington)
- 1882 Lili Elbe, Danish model and painter (died 1931) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lili_Elbe)
- 1888 F. W. Murnau, German-American director, producer, and screenwriter (died 1931) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F._W._Murnau)
- 1903 John von Neumann, Hungarian-American mathematician and physicist (died 1957) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_von_Neumann)
- 1922 Stan Lee, American publisher, producer, and actor (died 2018) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stan_Lee)
- 1924 Girma Wolde-Giorgis, Ethiopian politician; President of Ethiopia (died 2018) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girma_Wolde-Giorgis)
- 1925 Milton Obote, Ugandan engineer and politician, 2nd President of Uganda (died 2005) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milton_Obote)
- 1931 Guy Debord, French theorist and author (died 1994) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Debord)
- 1932 Dhirubhai Ambani, Indian businessman, founded Reliance Industries (died 2002) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhirubhai_Ambani)
- 1934 Maggie Smith, English actress (died 2024) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maggie_Smith)
- 1937 Ratan Tata, Indian businessman and philanthropist (died 2024) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ratan_Tata)
- 1944 Kary Mullis, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2019) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kary_Mullis)
- 1945 Birendra, King of Nepal (died 2001) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birendra_of_Nepal)
- 1953 Richard Clayderman, French pianist [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Clayderman)
- 1954 Denzel Washington, American actor, director, and producer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denzel_Washington)
- 1955 Liu Xiaobo, Chinese author, academic, and activist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2017) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liu_Xiaobo)
- 1969 Linus Torvalds, Finnish-American computer programmer, developed Linux kernel [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linus_Torvalds)
- 1978 John Legend, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and actor [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Legend)
- 1979 Noomi Rapace, Swedish actress [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noomi_Rapace)
- 1981 Sienna Miller, American-British actress and fashion designer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sienna_Miller)
- 1981 Khalid Boulahrouz, Dutch footballer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khalid_Boulahrouz)

## Died on December 28

- 1622 Francis de Sales, French bishop and saint (born 1567) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_de_Sales)
- 1694 Mary II of England (born 1662) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_II)
- 1706 Pierre Bayle, French philosopher and author (born 1647) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Bayle)
- 1859 Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay, English historian and politician, Secretary at War (born 1800) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Babington_Macaulay)
- 1937 Maurice Ravel, French pianist and composer (born 1875) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Ravel)
- 1945 Theodore Dreiser, American novelist and journalist (born 1871) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Dreiser)
- 1947 Victor Emmanuel III of Italy (born 1869) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Emmanuel_III)
- 1959 Ante Pavelić, Croatian fascist dictator during World War II (born 1889) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ante_Paveli%C4%87)
- 1963 Paul Hindemith, German violist, composer, and conductor (born 1895) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Hindemith)
- 1984 Sam Peckinpah, American director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1925) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Peckinpah)
- 2004 Susan Sontag, American novelist, essayist, critic, and playwright (born 1933) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Sontag)
- 2015 Lemmy, English musician, singer, and songwriter (born 1945) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemmy)
- 2016 Debbie Reynolds, American actress, singer and dancer (born 1932) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debbie_Reynolds)
- 2025 Brigitte Bardot, French actress, singer and activist (born 1934) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigitte_Bardot)

## Holidays and observances

- Christian feast day: Abel (Coptic Church) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cain_and_Abel)
- Christian feast day: Caterina Volpicelli [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caterina_Volpicelli)
- Christian feast day: Feast of the Holy Innocents or Childermas; in Spain and Latin American countries the festival is celebrated with pranks (inocentadas), similar to April Fools' Day (Catholic Church, Church of England, Lutheran Church), and its related observances: Els Enfarinats (Ibi, Spain) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Els_Enfarinats)
- Christian feast day: Simon the Athonite [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_the_Athonite)
- Christian feast day: December 28 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/December_28_(Eastern_Orthodox_liturgics))
- King Taksin Memorial Day (Thailand) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_holidays_in_Thailand)
- Proclamation Day (South Australia), celebration started on the day following Christmas (South Australia) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proclamation_Day)
- Republic Day (South Sudan) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_holidays_in_South_Sudan)
- The fourth of the Twelve Days of Christmas (Western Christianity) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_Days_of_Christmas)

## Sources

- [Wikipedia — “December 28”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/December_28) — events, births, deaths and observances (text under CC BY-SA 4.0) (checked 2026-10-15)
- [Wikipedia — “Selected anniversaries/December 28”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Selected_anniversaries/December_28) — the anniversaries editors chose for the date and the article each one is about (checked 2026-10-15)
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/) — in how many language editions each entry's own article exists, used to fill the lists (CC0) (checked 2026-10-15)
- [vacanza/holidays (open-source holiday rules, MIT licence)](https://github.com/vacanza/holidays) — holiday rules used to build the lists (checked 2026-10-15)

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article [“December 28”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/December_28) and the articles it links to ([authors and history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/December_28?action=history)), retrieved 2026-10-15 through the Wikimedia “On this day” feed. They are licensed under [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/); this selection is shared under the same licence. Every anniversary that Wikipedia's editors selected for December 28 stays on the list; the remaining places, up to 26 events, 22 births and 14 deaths, go to the entries whose own article — about the event itself, or else the person or thing it is about — appears in the most language editions (counted from Wikidata); an article about a person or thing, which covers far more than one day, counts half. An entry with no article of its own counts, also at half, by the least covered article it links, and one that links only places counts for nothing. Each list runs by year, and the wording is unchanged apart from removing references to pictures, audio and video.

## December 28 in the calendar

| Year | Weekday | ISO week | Moon (UTC) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026 | Monday | 2026-W53 | 🌖 Waning Gibbous |
| 2027 | Tuesday | 2027-W52 | 🌒 Waxing Crescent |
| 2028 | Thursday | 2028-W52 | 🌔 Waxing Gibbous |
| 2029 | Friday | 2029-W52 | 🌗 Last Quarter |
| 2030 | Saturday | 2030-W52 | 🌒 Waxing Crescent |

Moon phases are for the day in UTC; at the edges of a phase your local date can differ.

## Public holidays on December 28

- [🇬🇧 United Kingdom](https://whathappen.today/holidays/united-kingdom/): Boxing Day (day off in lieu) (2026 and 2027)
- [🇦🇺 Australia](https://whathappen.today/holidays/australia/): Boxing Day (day off in lieu) (2026 and 2027)
- [🇳🇿 New Zealand](https://whathappen.today/holidays/new-zealand/): Boxing Day (day off in lieu) (2026 and 2027)

[Today's holidays in 28 countries →](https://whathappen.today/holidays/)

## Nearby dates

[← December 27](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/december-27/) · [December 29 →](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/december-29/)

[All 366 days](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/)

Last updated: 15 October 2026

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Web page: https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/december-28/