Historical events on August 28

AUGUST 28, 1963
American civil-rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. delivered the speech "I Have a Dream" during the March on Washington, calling for civil and economic rights and an end to racism in the United States.
Martin Luther King Jr. was an American Baptist minister, activist, and political philosopher who was one of the most prominent leaders in Read More
AUGUST 28, 1789
William Herschel discovered Enceladus, a moon of Saturn, during the first use of his new telescope which was then the largest in the world.
Frederick William Herschel was a German-British astronomer and composer. He frequently collaborated with his younger sister and fellow astronomer Caroline Herschel. Born Read More
AUGUST 28, 1973
Swedish police used gas bombs to end a seven-day hostage situation in Stockholm; during the incident the hostages had bonded with their captors, leading to the term Stockholm syndrome.
The Norrmalmstorg robbery was a bank robbery and hostage crisis that occurred at the Norrmalmstorg Square in Stockholm, Sweden, in August 1973 Read More
AUGUST 28, 1909
The 1909 Monterrey hurricane dissipated; one of the deadliest Atlantic tropical cyclones on record, it killed an estimated 4,000 people throughout Mexico.
The 1909 Monterrey hurricane was one of the deadliest Atlantic tropical cyclones on record, killing an estimated 4,000 people throughout Mexico. Originating Read More
AUGUST 28, 2003
A pizza delivery man in Erie, Pennsylvania, was killed during a complex bank robbery when a bomb that was locked around his neck exploded.
Erie is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. It Read More
AUGUST 28, 1987
Construction began on the Ryugyong Hotel (pictured) in Pyongyang, the tallest building in North Korea.
The Ryugyong Hotel, or Yu-Kyung Hotel, is a 330 m (1,080 ft) tall unfinished pyramid-shaped skyscraper in Pyongyang, North Korea. Its name is also Read More
AUGUST 28, 1993
The first direct Presidential election in Singapore was held.
Presidential elections were held in Singapore on 28 August 1993. Following amendments to the Constitution in 1991, presidential elections since then are Read More
AUGUST 28, 475
Orestes took control of Ravenna, the capital of the Western Roman Empire, forcing Emperor Julius Nepos to flee.
Orestes was a Roman general and politician of Pannonian ancestry. He joined the court of Attila the Hun in his native Pannonia, Read More
AUGUST 28, 1833
The Slavery Abolition Act 1833, officially abolishing slavery in most of the British Empire, received royal assent.
The Slavery Abolition Act 1833 was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which abolished slavery in the British Empire Read More
AUGUST 28, 1542
Ottoman–Portuguese conflicts: During the Battle of Wofla, the Portuguese commander Cristóvão da Gama was captured by the Adal Sultanate and executed the next day.
The Ottoman-Portuguese conflicts also known as the Ottoman-Portuguese War, were a period of conflict during the Ottoman–Portuguese confrontations and series of armed Read More
AUGUST 28, 1640
Bishops' Wars: Scottish Covenanter forces led by Alexander Leslie defeated the English army near Newburn, England.
The Bishops' Wars were two separate conflicts fought in 1639 and 1640 between Scotland and England, with Scottish Royalists allied to England. Read More
AUGUST 28, 1914
In the first naval battle of the First World War, British ships ambushed a German naval patrol in the Heligoland Bight (pictured).
World War I or the First World War, also known as the Great War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Read More
AUGUST 28, 1830
Tom Thumb, the first American-built steam locomotive, engaged in an impromptu race against a horse-drawn car in Maryland.
Tom Thumb was the first American-built steam locomotive to operate on a common-carrier railroad. It was designed and constructed by Peter Cooper Read More
AUGUST 28, 2021
The second phase of the Thomson-East Coast MRT line opens for service
The Thomson–East Coast Line (TEL) is a high-capacity Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line in Singapore. Coloured brown on the rail map, it Read More
AUGUST 28, 1941
Abolition of the Volga German ASSR as part of the mass deportation of Soviet Germans.
The Volga German Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Volga German ASSR, was an autonomous republic of the Russian SFSR. Its Read More
AUGUST 28, 1950
In tennis, Althea Gibson became the first African-American woman to compete at the U.S. National Championships.
Althea Neale Gibson was an American tennis player and professional golfer, and one of the first Black athletes to cross the color Read More
AUGUST 28, 1993
The NASA spacecraft Galileo flew by the asteroid 243 Ida and took photographs that later revealed the first known asteroid moon (both pictured).
Galileo was an American robotic space probe that studied the planet Jupiter and its moons, as well as the asteroids Gaspra and Read More
AUGUST 28, 1619
Ferdinand II, King of Bohemia and Hungary, was unanimously elected Holy Roman Emperor.
Ferdinand II was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, Hungary, and Croatia from 1619 until his death in 1637. He was the Read More

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