October 28 facts for kids

October 28th is a day filled with many interesting events throughout history, from ancient Roman times to modern-day space missions and political changes. It's a day when important people were born and passed away, and when different cultures celebrate special holidays. Let's explore some of the most notable moments that happened on this date!

Important Events in History

Ancient Times and Middle Ages

• 97 – The Roman Emperor Nerva was made to choose general Trajan as his future successor by his own guards.
• 306 – Maxentius became the new Roman emperor.
• 312 – Constantine I won a big battle against Maxentius, becoming the only Roman emperor in the West.
• 969 – The Byzantine Empire took back the city of Antioch from Arab rule.
• 1344 – Crusaders captured the lower part of Smyrna because of piracy.
• 1420 – Beijing was officially named the capital of the Ming dynasty when the Forbidden City was finished.
• 1449 – Christian I of Denmark was crowned king of Denmark.
• 1453 – Ladislaus the Posthumous was crowned king of Bohemia in Prague.
• 1492 – Christopher Columbus landed in Cuba during his first trip to the New World, thinking it was Japan.
• 1520 – The famous explorer Ferdinand Magellan reached the Pacific Ocean.
• 1538 – The Universidad Santo Tomás de Aquino, a very old university, was founded in what is now the Dominican Republic.

From the 1600s to the 1900s

• 1628 – The Siege of La Rochelle, a long battle, ended with the surrender of the Huguenots after fourteen months.
• 1636 – The Massachusetts Bay Colony decided to create a college, which later became the famous Harvard University.
• 1664 – The Royal Marines, a special part of the British military, were created.
• 1726 – The classic book Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift was published.
• 1776 – During the American Revolutionary War, British troops captured Chatterton Hill from the Continental Army.
• 1834 – A sad event called the Pinjarra massacre happened in the Swan River Colony, where many Noongar people were killed by British colonists.
• 1835 – The United Tribes of New Zealand were formed when they signed their Declaration of Independence.
• 1864 – In the American Civil War, a Union attack on the Confederate capital of Richmond was stopped.
• 1886 – US President Grover Cleveland officially opened the Statue of Liberty.
• 1893 – Pyotr Tchaikovsky's amazing Symphony No. 6, Pathétique, was performed for the first time.

Modern Events (1901–Present)

• 1918 – A new Polish government was formed, leading to the Polish–Ukrainian War.
• 1918 – Czech politicians peacefully took over Prague, creating the First Czechoslovak Republic.
• 1919 – The U.S. Congress passed the Volstead Act, which led to Prohibition (making alcohol illegal) in the U.S.
• 1922 – Italian fascists led by Benito Mussolini marched on Rome and took control of the Italian government.
• 1928 – Indonesia Raya, now the national anthem of Indonesia, was played for the first time.
• 1940 – During World War II, Greece said "no" to Italy's demands, and Italy invaded Greece a few hours later. This day is celebrated as Ohi Day in Greece.
• 1942 – The Alaska Highway was completed, connecting Alaska to the North American railway system.
• 1948 – Paul Hermann Müller won the Nobel Prize for discovering that DDT could kill insects.
• 1948 – An environmental disaster happened in Donora, Pennsylvania, due to severe smog.
• 1956 – During the Hungarian Revolution, a ceasefire began between revolutionaries and Soviet troops.
• 1958 – Pope John XXIII was chosen as the new Pope.
• 1962 – The Cuban Missile Crisis, a very tense time between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, ended when Soviet missiles were removed from Cuba.
• 1965 – Pope Paul VI issued Nostra aetate, where the Roman Catholic Church officially recognized other non-Christian religions.
• 1971 – Prospero became the only British satellite launched by a British rocket.
• 1995 – A terrible fire in the Baku Metro caused many deaths and injuries.
• 2007 – Cristina Fernández de Kirchner became the first woman to be directly elected President of Argentina.
• 2009 – A bombing in Peshawar, Pakistan, caused many deaths and injuries.
• 2009 – NASA successfully launched the Ares I-X mission, a test flight for a new rocket.
• 2009 – US President Barack Obama signed a law to prevent hate crimes.
• 2014 – A rocket carrying supplies for the International Space Station exploded shortly after launch.
• 2018 – Jair Bolsonaro was elected president of Brazil.

Famous Birthdays

Born Before the 1600s

• 1017 – Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor, a powerful ruler.
• 1466 – Erasmus, a famous Dutch philosopher.
• 1550 – Stanislaus Kostka, a Polish saint.
• 1599 – Marie of the Incarnation, who founded a monastery in Quebec.

Born Between 1601 and 1900

• 1690 – Peter Tordenskjold, a brave Norwegian admiral.
• 1724 – John Smeaton, an English engineer who designed many bridges.
• 1793 – Eliphalet Remington, who founded the well-known company Remington Arms.
• 1804 – Pierre François Verhulst, a Belgian mathematician.
• 1837 – Tokugawa Yoshinobu, the last shōgun of Japan.
• 1846 – Auguste Escoffier, a very famous French chef.
• 1860 – Kanō Jigorō, the founder of Judo, a Japanese martial art.
• 1897 – Edith Head, a legendary American costume designer for movies.

Born After 1901

• 1902 – Elsa Lanchester, an English-American actress and singer.
• 1909 – Francis Bacon, a famous Irish painter.
• 1914 – Jonas Salk, an American biologist who developed the first polio vaccine.
• 1927 – Cleo Laine, a talented English singer and actress.
• 1929 – Joan Plowright, a respected English actress.
• 1930 – Bernie Ecclestone, an English businessman known for Formula One racing.
• 1933 – Garrincha, a legendary Brazilian footballer.
• 1936 – Charlie Daniels, an American singer-songwriter and fiddle player.
• 1938 – David Dimbleby, a well-known English journalist.
• 1939 – Jane Alexander, an American actress and producer.
• 1941 – Hank Marvin, an English singer and guitarist.
• 1944 – Dennis Franz, an American actor.
• 1948 – Caitlyn Jenner, an American decathlete and actress.
• 1955 – Bill Gates, the American businessman who co-founded Microsoft.
• 1955 – Indra Nooyi, a successful Indian-American businesswoman.
• 1956 – Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a former President of Iran.
• 1957 – Stephen Morris, an English drummer.
• 1963 – Lauren Holly, an American actress.
• 1966 – Andy Richter, an American actor and comedian.
• 1967 – Julia Roberts, a very famous American actress.
• 1967 – John Romero, an American video game designer.
• 1969 – Ben Harper, an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.
• 1972 – Brad Paisley, an American country singer-songwriter.
• 1974 – Joaquin Phoenix, a well-known American actor.
• 1978 – Gwendoline Christie, an English actress.
• 1979 – Jawed Karim, an American computer scientist who co-founded YouTube.
• 1982 – Matt Smith, an English actor.
• 1985 – Troian Bellisario, an American actress.
• 1987 – Frank Ocean, an American singer-songwriter.
• 1988 – Devon Murray, an Irish actor.
• 1991 – Lucy Bronze, an English footballer.
• 1997 – Taylor Fritz, an American tennis player.
• 1998 – Nolan Gould, an American actor.

Notable People Who Passed Away

Before the 1600s

• 312 – Maxentius, a Roman emperor.
• 1225 – Jien, a Japanese monk, historian, and poet.
• 1412 – Margaret I of Denmark, a powerful queen.
• 1468 – Bianca Maria Visconti, Duchess of Milan.

Between 1601 and 1900

• 1627 – Jahangir, the Mughal Emperor of India.
• 1704 – John Locke, a very important English philosopher.
• 1818 – Abigail Adams, the second First Lady of the United States.
• 1899 – Ottmar Mergenthaler, a German-American engineer who invented the Linotype machine.

After 1901

• 1916 – Oswald Boelcke, a famous German flying ace from World War I.
• 1929 – Bernhard von Bülow, a former Chancellor of Germany.
• 1952 – Billy Hughes, a former Prime Minister of Australia.
• 1957 – Ernst Gräfenberg, a German-American physician.
• 1975 – Georges Carpentier, a French boxer and actor.
• 1998 – Ted Hughes, a well-known English poet.
• 2005 – Richard Smalley, an American chemist who won a Nobel Prize.
• 2006 – Red Auerbach, a legendary American basketball coach.
• 2009 – Taylor Mitchell, a Canadian singer-songwriter.
• 2010 – James MacArthur, an American actor.
• 2013 – Tadeusz Mazowiecki, a former Prime Minister of Poland.
• 2014 – Michael Sata, a former President of Zambia.
• 2022 – Jerry Lee Lewis, a famous American singer-songwriter and pianist.
• 2023 – Matthew Perry, an American-Canadian actor.
• 2023 – Adam Johnson, an American ice hockey player.

Holidays and Celebrations

• Christian feast day: This day is special for many Christians, honoring saints like Simon and Jude.
• Day of the Establishment of an Independent Czecho-Slovak State: Celebrated in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, this day marks their independence from Austria-Hungary in 1918.
• International Animation Day: A day to celebrate the art of animation around the world.
• Ohi Day: A national day in Greece and Cyprus, remembering when Greece said "no" to Italy's ultimatum in 1940.
• Youth Pledge Day or Hari Sumpah Pemuda: Celebrated in Indonesia, this day remembers when young people pledged to work for Indonesian independence.
• Anniversary of the liberation of Ukraine from the Nazis: This day celebrates when Ukraine was freed from Nazi German troops during World War II.

See also

In Spanish: 28 de octubre para niños