May 28th is the 148th day of the year (149th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 217 days remaining in the year.
585 BC • A solar eclipse occurs, as predicted by Greek philosopher and scientist Thales, while Alyattes is battling Cyaxares in the Battle of the Eclipse, leading to a truce. This is one of the cardinal dates from which other dates can be calculated.
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 heading for the English Channel. (It will take until May 30th for all ships to leave port).
1754 • French and Indian War: in the first engagement of the war, Virginia militia under 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.
1774 • American Revolutionary War: the First Continental Congress convenes.
1830 • President Andrew Jackson signs The Indian Removal Act which relocates Native Americans.
1859 • Big Ben is drawn on a carriage pulled by 16 horses from Whitechapel Bell Foundry to the Palace of Westminster.
1860 • One of the worst storms ever to hit the region lashes the east coast of England, sinking more than 100 ships and killing at least 40 people. Among those rescued at sea is the crew of the brig Hannah, captained by George Jezzard, the great-great-great-grandfather of the actor David Suchet
1863 • American Civil War: The 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, the first African American regiment, leaves Boston, MA, to fight for the Union.
1892 • In San Francisco, CA, John Muir organizes the Sierra Club.
1928 • Chrysler Corporation merged with Dodge Brothers, Inc.
1929 • Warner Brothers debuted On With The Show in New York City. It was the first all color talking picture.
1930 • The Chrysler Building in New York City officially opens.
1934 • Near Callander, Ontario, the Dionne quintuplets are born to Ovila and Elzire Dionne, and later become the first quintuplets to survive infancy.
1936 • Alan Turing submits On Computable Numbers for publication.
1937 • The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, CA, is officially opened by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in Washington, DC, who pushes a button signaling the start of vehicle traffic over the span.
1937 • Neville Chamberlain becomes British Prime Minister.
1940 • World War Two: Belgium surrenders to Germany.
1940 • World War Two: Norwegian, French, Polish and British forces recapture Narvik. This is the first allied infantry victory of the War.
1942 • World War Two: in retaliation for the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, Nazis in Czechoslovakia kill over 1,800 people.
1952 • Memphis Kiddie Park opens in Brooklyn, OH. The park’s Little Dipper roller coaster would become the oldest operating steel roller coaster in North America.
1952 • The women of Greece win the right to vote.
1953 • The Walt Disney film Melody premiered in the Paramount Theatre in Hollywood. The picture was the first 3D cartoon.
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.
1976 • The Peaceful Nuclear Explosion Treaty was signed, limiting any nuclear explosion —— regardless of its purpose —— to a yield of 150 kilotons.
1977 • In Southgate, KY, the Beverly Hills Supper Club is engulfed in fire, killing 165 people inside.
1982 • Falklands War: British forces defeat the Argentines at the Battle of Goose Green.
1985 • The first issue of Vanity Fair magazine went on sale. The issue had a picture of Ronnie Raygun and Nancy smooching on the cover.
1985 • David Jacobsen, director of the American University Hospital in Beirut, Lebanon, was abducted by pro-Iranian kidnappers. He was freed 17 months later.
1987 • 19-year-old West German pilot Mathias Rust evades Soviet Union air defenses and lands a private plane in Red Square in Moscow. He is immediately detained and is not released until August 3rd, 1988.
1987 • A robot probe finds the wreckage of the USS Monitor near Cape Hatteras, NC.
1995 • The Russian town of Neftegorsk is hit by a 7.6 earthquake that kills at least 2,000 people, 1/2 the total population.
1996 • Bill Clintoon’s former business partners in the Whitewater land deal, James McDougal and Susan McDougal, and Arkansas Governor Jim Guy Tucker, are convicted of fraud.
1998 • Dr. Susan Terebey discoved a planet outside of our solar system with the use of photos taken by the Hubble Space Telescope.
1998 • Phil Hartman was shot to death at his home by his wife, Brynn, who then killed herself.
1998 • Nuclear testing: Pakistan responds to a series of nuclear tests by India with five of its own, prompting the United States, Japan, and other nations to impose economic sanctions.
1999 • In Milan, Italy, after 22 years of restoration work, Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece The Last Supper is put back on display.
1999 • Two Swedish police officers are murdered with their own fire arms by the bank robbers Jackie Arklöv and Tony Olsson after a car chase.
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 (U.S. puppet government) 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.
2012 • The discovery of Flame, a complex malware program targeting computers in Middle Eastern countries, is announced.
2015 • The Observatory at One World Trade Center officially opened.
2016 • Harambe, a gorilla, is shot to death after grabbing a three-year-old boy in his enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, resulting in widespread criticism and sparking various internet memes.
2017 • Takuma Sato becomes the first Japanese driver to win the Indianapolis 500.
Births
1818 • P.G.T. Beauregard, American Confederate general (d. 1893)
1886 • Santo Trafficante, Sr., Sicilian-born American mobster (d. 1954)
1888 • Jim Thorpe, American athlete (d. 1953)
1908 • Ian Fleming, English spy, journalist, and author (d. 1964)
1917 • Barry Commoner, American biologist, academic, and politician (d. 2012)
1918 • John Birch, American intelligence officer and missionary (d. 1945)
1922 • Roger Fisher, American author and academic (d. 2012)
1922 • Lou Duva, American boxer, trainer, and manager (d. 2017)
1926 • Marvin Panch, American race car driver (d. 2015)
1928 • Sally Forrest, American actress and dancer (d. 2015)
1930 • Frank Drake, American radio astronomer and astrophysicist (d. 2022)
1930 • Edward Seaga, American-Jamaican academic and politician,
fifth Prime Minister of Jamaica (d. 2019)
1931 • Gordon Willis, American cinematographer (d. 2014)
1931 • Don Oberdorfer, American journalist, author, and academic (d. 2015)
1931 • Carroll Baker, American actress
1932 • José Montoya, American poet and academic (d. 2013)
1933 • Zelda Rubinstein, American actress and activist (d. 2010)
1933 • John Karlen, American actor (d. 2020)
1934 • Annette Dionne, Dionne quintuplets
1934 • Cecile Dionne, Dionne quintuplets
1934 • Emilie Dionne, Dionne quintuplets (d. 1954)
1934 • Marie Dionne, Dionne quintuplets (d. 1970)
1934 • Yvonne Dionne, Dionne quintuplets(d. 2001)
1935 • Lawrence K. Karlton, American lawyer and judge (d. 2015)
1936 • Betty Shabazz, American civil rights activist (d. 1997)
1940 • John Bergamo, American drummer and composer (d. 2013)
1941 • Beth Howland, American actress (d. 2015)
1943 • David Waltz, American computer scientist and academic (d. 2012)
1944 • Sondra Locke, American actress and director (d. 2018)
1944 • Rudy Giuliani, American alcoholic, 107th Mayor of New York City
1944 • Gladys Knight, American singer-songwriter and actress
1945 • John Fogerty, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Creedence Clearwater Revival)
1945 • Hunter “Patch” Adams, American doctor
1947 • Zahi Hawass, Egyptian Egyptologist
1947 • Lynn Johnston, Canadian author and illustrator
1949 • Joseph Alfidi, American pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 2015)
1960 • Mark Sanford, American captain and Repuglican politician,
115th Governor of South Carolina
1962 • James Michael Tyler, American actor (d. 2021)
1964 • Armen Gilliam, American basketball player and coach (d. 2011)
1969 • Rob Ford, Canadian crack addict, businessman and politician,
64th Mayor of Toronto (d. 2016)
1977 • Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Right Wing Nut, American talk show host
and author
1981 • Aaron Schock, Right Wing Nut Repuglican politician
1999 • Cameron Boyce, American actor (d. 2019)
Deaths
1843 • Noah Webster, American author and lexicographer (b. 1758)
1849 • Anne Brontë, English novelist and poet (b. 1820)
1971 • Audie Murphy, American lieutenant and actor,
Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1925)
1998 • Phil Hartman, Canadian-American actor and comedian (b. 1948)
2010 • Gary Coleman, American actor (b. 1968)
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 • Maya Angelou, American author and poet (b. 1928)
2014 • David Nadien, American violinist (b. 1926)
2015 • Steven Gerber, American pianist and composer (b. 1948)
2015 • Reynaldo Rey, American actor and screenwriter (b. 1940)
2017 • Frank Deford, American journalist and author (b. 1938)
2018 • Chuck Stevens, American major baseball player (b. 1918)
2019 • Edward Seaga, American-Jamaican academic and politician,
fifth Prime Minister of Jamaica (b. 1930)
2021 • Mark Eaton, American basketball player (b. 1957)
2022 • Bo Hopkins, American actor (b. 1942)
2023 • Ernest Bertrand Boland, American Roman Catholic bishop (b. 1925)