Did you know about Benito Mussolini
Known under his rule as Il Duce, he founded fascism in 1919 with the creation of the Fasci Italiani di Combattimento, which became the National Fascist Party (PNF) in 1921.
Notable Deaths on April 28
April 28 has 116 recorded notable deaths across history, from 224 to 2024. This focused page highlights 20 people with the strongest available profile context.
1945 — Benito Mussolini
Italian journalist, fascist dictator and politician, 27th Prime Minister of Italy (born 1883)
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Notable Deaths
116 source records
224 – 2024
Today in history
Major events on April 28
See what else happened on this day in history.
Did you know about Ed Begley
Ed Begley won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the film Sweet Bird of Youth (1962) and appeared in such classics as 12 Angry Men (1957), Odds Against Tomorrow (1959) and The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964).
Did you know about Mikhail Kutuzov
Alexander I, the incumbent Tsar during Napoleon's invasion, would write that he would be remembered amongst Europe's most famous commanders and that Russia would never forget his worthiness.
Did you know about Alf Ramsey
As a player, he represented the England national team and captained the side, but he is best known for his time as England manager from 1963 to 1974, which included guiding them to victory in the 1966 FIFA World Cup.
Did you know about Josiah Willard Gibbs
Josiah Willard Gibbs was an American mechanical engineer and scientist who made fundamental theoretical contributions to physics, chemistry, and mathematics.
More major people who died on April 28
Notable people are ranked by substantive profile depth and public notability.
1970
Ed Begley
American actor (born 1901)
Edward James Begley Sr. was an American actor of theatre, radio, film, and television. He won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the film Sweet Bird of Youth (1962) and appeared in such classics as 12 Angry Men (1957), Odds Against Tomorrow (1959) and The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964). He was twice nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award, including for his portrayal of Matthew Harrison Brady in a television adaptation of Inherit the Wind, a role which, ten years before, had earned him the Tony Award. Additionally, he was a one-time Golden Globe, two-time Laurel Award, and three-time Grammy Award nominee. He is the father of the actor and environmental activist Ed Begley Jr.
1813
Mikhail Kutuzov
Russian field marshal (born 1745)
Prince Mikhail Illarionovich Golenishchev-Kutuzov-Smolensky was a field marshal of the Russian Empire. He served as a military officer and a diplomat under the reign of three Romanov monarchs: Empress Catherine II, and Emperors Paul I and Alexander I. Kutuzov was shot in the head twice while fighting the Turks and survived the serious injuries seemingly against all odds. He defeated Napoleon as commander-in-chief using attrition warfare in the Patriotic War of 1812. For the Battle of Krasnoi against Napoleon, Kutuzov received the victory title of Smolensky to add to his surname; the word Smolensky literally means "of Smolensk". Alexander I, the incumbent Tsar during Napoleon's invasion, would write that he would be remembered amongst Europe's most famous commanders and that Russia would never forget his worthiness.
1999
Alf Ramsey
English footballer and manager (born 1920)
Sir Alfred Ernest Ramsey was an English football player and manager. As a player, he represented the England national team and captained the side, but he is best known for his time as England manager from 1963 to 1974, which included guiding them to victory in the 1966 FIFA World Cup. Knighted in 1967 in recognition of the World Cup win, Ramsey also managed his country to third place in the 1968 European Championship and the quarter-finals of the 1970 World Cup and the 1972 European Championship. As a player, Ramsey was a defender and a member of England's 1950 World Cup squad.
1903
Josiah Willard Gibbs
American scientist (born 1839)
Josiah Willard Gibbs was an American mechanical engineer and scientist who made fundamental theoretical contributions to physics, chemistry, and mathematics. His work on the applications of thermodynamics was instrumental in transforming physical chemistry into a rigorous deductive science. Together with James Clerk Maxwell and Ludwig Boltzmann, he created statistical mechanics, explaining the laws of thermodynamics as consequences of the statistical properties of ensembles of the possible states of a physical system composed of many particles. Gibbs also worked on the application of Maxwell's equations to problems in physical optics. As a mathematician, he created modern vector calculus and described the Gibbs phenomenon in the theory of Fourier analysis.
2002
Alexander Lebed
Russian general and politician (born 1950)
Lieutenant General Alexander Ivanovich Lebed was a Soviet and Russian military officer and politician who held senior positions in the Airborne Forces before running for president in the 1996 Russian presidential election. He did not win, but placed third behind incumbent Boris Yeltsin and the Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov, with roughly 14% of the vote nation-wide. Lebed later served as the Secretary of the Security Council in the Yeltsin administration, and eventually became the governor of Krasnoyarsk Krai, the second largest Russian region. He served four years in the latter position, until his death following an Mi-8 helicopter crash.
2015
Antônio Abujamra
Brazilian actor and director (born 1932)
Antônio Abujamra was a Brazilian theatre and television director and actor. Having majored in journalism and philosophy at the Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul in 1957, he started a career as a theatre critic while he directed and acted in his own plays at the university theatre. Professionally, he made his debut as a theatre director in 1961, and as an actor in 1987, acting in both theatre and television. In 1989, he gained national fame for his role as Ravengar in Rede Globo's telenovela Que Rei Sou Eu?, which became his best known role. In that same year, Abujamra won the Best Actor award at the Gramado Film Festival for his role in the film Festa. From 2000 onward, he was the presenter on TV Cultura's interview program Provocações. His son André Abujamra is a score composer, while his niece Clarisse Abujamra, is also an actress.
1957
Heinrich Bär
German colonel and pilot (born 1913)
Oskar-Heinrich "Pritzl" Bär was a German Luftwaffe flying ace who served throughout World War II in Europe. Bär flew more than one thousand combat missions, and fought in the Western, Eastern and Mediterranean theatres. On 18 occasions he survived being shot down, and according to records in the German Federal Archives, he claimed to have shot down 228 enemy aircraft and was credited with 208 aerial victories, 16 of which were in a Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter. Sources credit him with 220 – 96 on Eastern Theatre and 124 on Western Theatre – up to 222 aerial victories may also be possible.
1726
Thomas Pitt
English merchant and politician (born 1653)
Thomas Pitt was a British merchant, colonial administrator and politician who served as the president of Fort St. George from 1698 to 1709. Born in Blandford Forum, Dorset, he eventually went to the Indian subcontinent in the service of the English East India Company (EIC) and rose to a senior position in the Presidency of Fort St. George, administering the EIC's affairs within the region. After a lucrative career in India, Pitt returned to England and entered into a political career, being elected six times to the Parliament of Great Britain. His descendants would go on to found a political dynasty, with Pitt's grandson and great-grandson both serving as Prime Minister of Great Britain.
2015
Marcia Brown
American author and illustrator (born 1918)
Marcia Joan Brown was an American writer and illustrator of more than 30 children's books. She won three annual Caldecott Medals from the American Library Association, six Caldecott Medal honors as an illustrator, recognizing the year's best U.S. picture book illustration, and the ALA's Children's Literature Legacy Award in 1992 for her career contribution to children's literature. This total of nine books with awards and honors is more than any other Caldecott-nominated illustrator. Many of her titles have been published in translation, including Afrikaans, German, Japanese, Spanish, and Xhosa-Bantu editions. Brown is known as one of the most honored illustrators in children's literature.
2017
Mariano Gagnon
American Catholic priest and author (born 1929)
Mariano Gagnon was an American Franciscan friar and Catholic priest, who served as a missionary in Peru. Gagnon founded the Cutivereni mission in Peru's Ene River valley to assist the indigenous Asháninka people who were being forced out of their homes in the jungle by settlers. He would later become known for his work helping arm the Asháninka and eventually helping some Asháninka flee Cutivereni when it was facing attack from Shining Path guerrillas during the internal conflict in Peru. He later wrote about his experiences during the conflict in the book Warriors in Eden.
1925
Richard Butler
English-Australian politician, 23rd Premier of South Australia (born 1850)
Sir Richard Butler was an Australian politician. He was a member of the South Australian House of Assembly from 1890 to 1924, representing Yatala (1890–1902) and Barossa (1902–1924). He served as Premier of South Australia from March to July 1905 and Leader of the Opposition from 1905 to 1909. Butler would also variously serve as Speaker of the House of Assembly (1921–1924), and as a minister under Premiers Charles Kingston, John Jenkins and Archibald Peake. His son, Richard Layton Butler, went on to serve as Premier from 1927 to 1930 and 1933 to 1938.
2005
Chris Candido
American wrestler (born 1971)
Christopher Barrett Candito was an American professional wrestler. Candito is best remembered for his tenures with promotions such as World Championship Wrestling (WCW), Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), and Smoky Mountain Wrestling, where he performed under the ring name Chris Candido, as well as for his appearances in the World Wrestling Federation under the ring name Skip, one-half of the tag team The Bodydonnas. For much of his career, he performed alongside his real-life partner, Tammy "Sunny" Sytch, who acted as his valet.
1772
Johann Friedrich Struensee
German physician and politician (born 1737)
Lensgreve Johann Friedrich Struensee was a German-Danish physician, philosopher and statesman. He became royal physician to the mentally ill King Christian VII of Denmark-Norway and a minister in the Danish government. He rose in power to a position of de facto regent of the country, and he initiated a number of widespread reforms. His affair with Queen Caroline Matilda caused a scandal, especially after the birth of a daughter, Princess Louise Augusta, and he contributed to the intrigues and power play that led to his downfall and execution.
1973
Clas Thunberg
Finnish speed skater (born 1893)
Arnold Clas ("Classe") Robert Thunberg was a Finnish speed skater who won five Olympic gold medals – three at the inaugural Winter Olympics held in Chamonix in 1924 and two at the 1928 Winter Olympics held in St. Moritz. He was the most successful athlete at both of these Winter Olympics, sharing the honour for 1928 Winter Olympics with Johan Grøttumsbraaten of Norway. No other athlete ever won such a high fraction of all Olympic events at a single Games. He was born and died in Helsinki.
1489
Henry Percy
4th Earl of Northumberland, English politician (born 1449)
Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland KG was an English aristocrat during the Wars of the Roses. After losing his title when his father was killed fighting the Yorkists, he later regained his position. He led the rearguard of Richard III's army at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, but failed to commit his troops. He was briefly imprisoned by Henry VII, but later restored to his position. A few years later he was murdered by citizens of York during a revolt against Henry VII's taxation.
2014
Jack Ramsay
American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster (born 1925)
John Travilla Ramsay was an American basketball coach, commonly known as "Dr. Jack". He was best known for leading the Portland Trail Blazers to the 1977 NBA championship, and for his broadcasting work with the Indiana Pacers, the Miami Heat, and for ESPN TV and ESPN Radio. Ramsay was among the most respected coaches in NBA history and a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He was the winner of the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award for the 2009–10 NBA season.
2009
Ekaterina Maximova
Russian ballerina and actress (born 1939)
Ekaterina Sergeyevna Maximova was a Soviet and Russian ballerina of the second part of the 20th century who was internationally recognised. She was a prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Theatre for 30 years, a ballet pedagogue, winner of international ballet competitions, Laureate of many prestigious International and Russian awards, a professor in GITIS, Honorary professor at the Moscow State University, Academician of the Russian Academy of Arts, and an Executive Committee member of the Russian Center of Counseil International De La Danse, UNESCO.
2014
Ryan Tandy
Australian rugby player (born 1981)
Ryan Tandy was an international rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. He played as a prop in the National Rugby League (NRL) for the St. George Illawarra Dragons, South Sydney Rabbitohs, Wests Tigers, Melbourne Storm, and the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, and in the Super League for Hull Kingston Rovers. He was banned from playing professional rugby league in Australia after being found guilty of spot-fixing during a match in 2010, and in 2014 died of a suspected drug overdose.
2007
Dabbs Greer
American actor (born 1917)
Robert William "Dabbs" Greer was an American character actor in film and television for over 60 years. Greer appeared in nearly 100 film roles and in nearly 600 television episodes of various series. He played Mr. Jonas in Gunsmoke, Coach Ossie Weiss in the sitcom Hank, and Reverend Robert Alden in Little House on the Prairie. Greer's final film role was as the 108-year-old Paul Edgecomb, the character played by Tom Hanks in 1999's The Green Mile.