On this day: October 28

Events on October 28

• 312 Civil wars of the Tetrarchy: Constantine the Great defeated Maxentius at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge in Rome. Wikipedia
• 312 Constantine I defeats Maxentius, becoming the sole Roman emperor in the West. Wikipedia
• 969 The Byzantine Empire recovers Antioch from Arab rule. Wikipedia
• 1420 Beijing is officially designated the capital of the Ming dynasty when the Forbidden City is completed. Wikipedia
• 1492 Christopher Columbus lands in Cuba on his first voyage to the New World, surmising that it is Japan. Wikipedia
• 1520 Ferdinand Magellan reaches the Pacific Ocean. Wikipedia
• 1636 The Massachusetts Bay Colony votes to establish a theological college, which would later become Harvard University. Wikipedia
• 1726 The novel Gulliver's Travels written by Jonathan Swift is published. Wikipedia
• 1776 American Revolutionary War: As George Washington's Continental Army retreated northward from New York City, the British Army captured the village of White Plains. Wikipedia
• 1776 American Revolutionary War: British troops under General William Howe attack General George Washington's Continental Army and capture Chatterton Hill in the Battle of White Plains during the New York and New Jersey campaign. Wikipedia
• 1864 American Civil War: A Union attack on the Confederate capital of Richmond is repulsed. Wikipedia
• 1886 In New York Harbor, U.S. president Grover Cleveland dedicated the Statue of Liberty, a gift from France commemorating the Declaration of Independence. Wikipedia
• 1886 US president Grover Cleveland dedicates the Statue of Liberty. Wikipedia
• 1893 Pyotr Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Pathétique receives its première performance only nine days before the composer's death. Wikipedia
• 1918 World War I: A new Polish government in western Galicia is established, triggering the Polish–Ukrainian War. Wikipedia
• 1919 The U.S. Congress passed the Volstead Act over president Woodrow Wilson's veto, reinforcing Prohibition in the United States. Wikipedia
• 1919 The U.S. Congress passes the Volstead Act over President Woodrow Wilson's veto, paving the way for Prohibition to begin the following January. Wikipedia
• 1940 World War II: Italy invaded Greece after Greek prime minister Ioannis Metaxas rejected Benito Mussolini's ultimatum demanding the cession of Greek territory. Wikipedia
• 1940 World War II: Greece rejects Italy's ultimatum. Italy invades Greece through Albania a few hours later. Wikipedia
• 1958 John XXIII is elected Pope. Wikipedia
• 1962 The Cuban Missile Crisis ends and Premier Nikita Khrushchev orders the removal of Soviet missiles from Cuba. Wikipedia
• 1965 Pope Paul VI promulgates Nostra aetate, by which the Roman Catholic Church officially recognizes the legitimacy of non-Christian faiths. Wikipedia
• 1965 In St. Louis, Missouri, U.S., the 630-foot (190 m)-tall steel catenary Gateway Arch was completed. Wikipedia
• 2009 US President Barack Obama signs the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. Wikipedia
• 2009 NASA successfully launches the Ares I-X mission, the only rocket launch for its short-lived Constellation program. Wikipedia
• 2018 Jair Bolsonaro is elected president of Brazil with 57 million votes, with Workers' Party candidate Fernando Haddad as the runner-up. It is the first time in 16 years that a Workers' Party candidate is not elected president. Wikipedia

Born on October 28

• 1017 Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor (died 1056) Wikipedia
• 1466 Erasmus, Dutch philosopher (died 1536) Wikipedia
• 1815 Ľudovít Štúr, Slovak philologist and politician (died 1856) Wikipedia
• 1860 Kanō Jigorō, Japanese martial artist (died 1938) Wikipedia
• 1902 Elsa Lanchester, English-American actress and singer (died 1986) Wikipedia
• 1903 Evelyn Waugh, English journalist, author, and critic (died 1966) Wikipedia
• 1909 Francis Bacon, Irish painter and illustrator (died 1992) Wikipedia
• 1914 Richard Laurence Millington Synge, English biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1994) Wikipedia
• 1914 Jonas Salk, American biologist and physician (died 1995) Wikipedia
• 1930 Bernie Ecclestone, English businessman Wikipedia
• 1933 Garrincha, Brazilian footballer (died 1983) Wikipedia
• 1949 Caitlyn Jenner, American decathlete and actress Wikipedia
• 1955 Bill Gates, American businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Microsoft Wikipedia
• 1955 Indra Nooyi, Indian-American businesswoman Wikipedia
• 1956 Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iranian engineer and politician, 6th President of Iran Wikipedia
• 1967 Julia Roberts, American actress and producer Wikipedia
• 1974 Joaquin Phoenix, American actor and producer Wikipedia
• 1978 Gwendoline Christie, English actress Wikipedia
• 1981 Milan Baroš, Czech footballer Wikipedia
• 1982 Matt Smith, English actor and director Wikipedia
• 1984 Obafemi Martins, Nigerian footballer Wikipedia
• 1987 Frank Ocean, American singer-songwriter Wikipedia

Died on October 28

• 312 Maxentius, Roman emperor (born 278) Wikipedia
• 816 Beggo, count of Toulouse and Paris Wikipedia
• 875 Remigius of Lyon, Frankish archbishop Wikipedia
• 1138 King Bolesław III Wrymouth of Poland Wikipedia
• 1627 Jahangir, Mughal Emperor of India (born 1569) Wikipedia
• 1704 John Locke, English physician and philosopher (born 1632) Wikipedia
• 1740 Anna of Russia (born 1693) Wikipedia
• 1818 Abigail Adams, American writer and second First Lady of the United States (born 1744) Wikipedia
• 1900 Max Müller, German philologist and orientalist (born 1823) Wikipedia
• 1952 Billy Hughes, English-Australian politician, 7th Prime Minister of Australia (born 1862) Wikipedia
• 2002 Erling Persson, Swedish businessman, founded H&M (born 1917) Wikipedia
• 2005 Richard Smalley, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1943) Wikipedia
• 2022 Jerry Lee Lewis, American singer-songwriter and pianist (born 1935) Wikipedia
• 2023 Matthew Perry, American-Canadian actor (born 1969) Wikipedia

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day: Abdias of Babylon Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Abgar V of Edessa (Eastern Orthodox Church) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Eadsige Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Faro Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Fidelis of Como (Roman Catholic Church) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Firmilian Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Godwin of Stavelot Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Job of Pochayiv (repose) (Eastern Orthodox Church) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: The Apostles Simon and Jude (Western Christianity) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Lord of Miracles (Lima) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: October 28 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) Wikipedia
• Day of the Establishment of an Independent Czecho-Slovak State, celebrates the independence of Czechoslovakia from Austria-Hungary in 1918. (Czech Republic and Slovakia) Wikipedia
• International Animation Day (ASIFA) Wikipedia
• Ohi Day (Greece, Cyprus and the Greek communities), a national day in Greece. Wikipedia
• Prefectural Earthquake Disaster Prevention Day (Gifu Prefecture) Wikipedia
• Youth Pledge Day or Hari Sumpah Pemuda (Indonesia) Wikipedia
• Anniversary of the liberation of Ukraine from the Nazis, celebrating the liberation from Nazi German troops of the territory of current Ukraine Wikipedia

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article “October 28” and the articles it links to (authors and history), retrieved 2026-10-09 through the Wikimedia “On this day” feed. They are licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; this selection is shared under the same licence. We picked the 26 events, 22 births and 14 deaths with the widest coverage across Wikipedia's language editions (counted from Wikidata) and sorted them by year; the wording is unchanged apart from removing references to pictures.