Did you know about Klaus Fuchs
While at the Los Alamos Laboratory, Fuchs was responsible for many significant theoretical calculations relating to the first nuclear weapons and, later, early models of the hydrogen bomb.
Notable Deaths on January 28
January 28 has 107 recorded notable deaths across history, from 724 to 2026. This focused page highlights 20 people with the strongest available profile context.
1988 — Klaus Fuchs
German physicist, politician, and atomic spy (born 1911)
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Notable Deaths
107 source records
724 – 2026
Today in history
Major events on January 28
See what else happened on this day in history.
Did you know about Zora Neale Hurston
The most popular of her four novels is Their Eyes Were Watching God, published in 1937.
Did you know about Astrid Lindgren
In 2017, she was calculated to be the world's 18th most translated author.
Did you know about Jerry Siegel
Siegel created ten of the earliest members of the Legion of Super-Heroes, one of DC's most popular team books, which is set in the 30th Century.
Did you know about Shotaro Ishinomori
Known as the "King of Manga", he is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential manga artists of all time.
More major people who died on January 28
Notable people are ranked by substantive profile depth and public notability.
1960
Zora Neale Hurston
American novelist, short story writer, and folklorist (born 1891)
Zora Neale Hurston was an American writer, anthropologist, folklorist, and documentary filmmaker. She portrayed racial struggles in the early-20th-century American South and published research on Hoodoo and Caribbean Vodou. The most popular of her four novels is Their Eyes Were Watching God, published in 1937. She also wrote more than 50 short stories, plays, an autobiography, ethnographies, and many essays. Some of her work, namely Tell My Horse (1937), explored ethnomusicological methods of study long before there were formal boundaries for the discipline, especially not boundaries that included the respectful study of communities of color. Hurston's unique background and exceptional approach to anthropology laid key foundations for the growth of ethnography, literature, and Africana Studies.
2002
Astrid Lindgren
Swedish author and screenwriter (born 1907)
Astrid Anna Emilia Lindgren was a Swedish writer of fiction and screenplays. She is most notable for several children's book series, featuring Pippi Longstocking, Emil of Lönneberga, Karlsson-on-the-Roof, and The Six Bullerby Children,, and for the children's fantasy novels Mio, My Son; Ronia the Robber's Daughter; The Brothers Lionheart and Nils Karlsson Pyssling. Lindgren worked on the Children's Literature Editorial Board at the Rabén & Sjögren publishing house in Stockholm and wrote more than 30 books for children. In 2017, she was calculated to be the world's 18th most translated author. Lindgren had by 2010 sold roughly 167 million books worldwide. In 1994, she was awarded the Right Livelihood Award for "her unique authorship dedicated to the rights of children and respect for their individuality". Her campaigning for animal welfare led to a new law, Lex Lindgren, in time for her 80th birthday.
1996
Jerry Siegel
American author and illustrator, co-created Superman (born 1914)
Jerome "Jerry" Siegel was an American comic book writer. He was the co-creator of Superman, in collaboration with his friend Joe Shuster, published by DC Comics. They also created Doctor Occult, who was later featured in The Books of Magic. Siegel and Shuster were inducted into the comic book industry's Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 1992 and the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1993. With Bernard Baily, Siegel also co-created the long-running DC character The Spectre. Siegel created ten of the earliest members of the Legion of Super-Heroes, one of DC's most popular team books, which is set in the 30th Century. Siegel also used pseudonyms including Joe Carter and Jerry Ess.
1998
Shotaro Ishinomori
Japanese author and illustrator (born 1938)
Shotaro Ishinomori , né Onodera , was a Japanese manga artist, cartoonist, writer and director. Known as the "King of Manga", he is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential manga artists of all time. Outside of manga he is also one of the most prolific creators in the history of anime, tokusatsu, and Japanese superhero fiction, creating several immensely popular long-running series such as Cyborg 009, the Super Sentai series, and the Kamen Rider series. He was twice awarded by the Shogakukan Manga Awards, in 1968 for Sabu to Ichi Torimono Hikae and in 1988 for Hotel and Manga Nihon Keizai Nyumon.
1621
Pope Paul V (born 1550)
Pope Paul V, born Camillo Borghese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 16 May 1605 to his death, in January 1621. In 1611, he honored Galileo Galilei as a member of the papal Accademia dei Lincei and supported his discoveries. In 1616, Pope Paul V instructed Cardinal Robert Bellarmine to inform Galileo that the Copernican theory could not be taught as fact, but Bellarmine's certificate allowed Galileo to continue his studies in search for evidence and use the geocentric model as a theoretical device. That same year Paul V assured Galileo that he was safe from persecution so long as he, the Pope, should live. Bellarmine's certificate was used by Galileo for his defense at the trial of 1633.
724
Yazid II
Umayyad caliph (born 687)
Yazid ibn Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, commonly known as Yazid II, was the ninth Umayyad caliph, ruling from 720 until his death in 724. Although he lacked administrative or military experience, he derived prestige from his lineage, being a descendant of both ruling branches of the Umayyad dynasty, the Sufyanids who founded the Umayyad Caliphate in 661 and the Marwanids who succeeded them in 684. He was designated by his half-brother, Caliph Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik, as second-in-line to the succession after their cousin Umar, as a compromise with the sons of Abd al-Malik.
1754
Ludvig Holberg
Norwegian-Danish historian and philosopher (born 1684)
Ludvig Holberg, Baron of Holberg was a writer, essayist, philosopher, historian and playwright born in Bergen, Norway, during the time of the Dano–Norwegian dual monarchy. He was influenced by Humanism, the Enlightenment and the Baroque. Holberg is considered the founder of modern Danish and Norwegian literature. He was also a prominent Neo-Latin author, known across Europe for his writing. He is best known for the comedies he wrote in 1722–1723 for the Lille Grønnegade Theatre in Copenhagen. Holberg's works about natural and common law were widely read by many Danish law students over two hundred years, from 1736 to 1936.
1953
James Scullin
Australian journalist and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Australia (born 1876)
James Henry Scullin was the ninth prime minister of Australia, serving from 1929 to 1932. He held office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), having briefly served as treasurer of Australia during his time in office from 1930 to 1931. His time in office was primarily categorised by the Wall Street crash of 1929 which transpired just two days after his swearing in, thus heralding the beginning of the Great Depression in Australia. Scullin remained a leading figure in the Labor movement throughout his lifetime, and was an éminence grise in various capacities for the party until his retirement from federal parliament in 1949. He was the first Catholic to serve as prime minister.
2015
Lionel Gilbert
Australian historian, author, and academic (born 1924)
Lionel Arthur Gilbert CF was an Australian historian, author, curator, lecturer, and biographer, specializing in applied, natural, and local history. Born in Burwood, New South Wales, he studied at Sydney Teachers College and, beginning in 1946, worked as a teacher and later a headmaster in state schools in various locations around New South Wales until 1961. In 1963 Gilbert graduated from the University of New England with a Bachelor of Arts in History. That same year, he was appointed a lecturer and curator at the Armidale Teachers' College Museum of Education, in which capacity he served until his retirement in 1984, overseeing several expansions of the museum and establishment of a historical research centre.
1782
Jean Baptiste Bourguignon d'Anville
French geographer and cartographer (born 1697)
Jean-Baptiste Bourguignon d'Anville was a French geographer and cartographer who greatly improved the standards of map-making. D'Anville became cartographer to the king, who purchased his cartographic materials, the largest collection in France. He made more than 200 maps during his lifetime, which are characterized by a careful, accurate work largely based on original research. In particular, D'Anville left unknown areas of continents blank and noted doubtful information as such, contrary to the lavish maps of his predecessors. His maps remained the reference point in cartography throughout the 19th century and were used by numerous explorers and travellers.
1697
Sir John Fenwick
3rd Baronet, English general and politician (born 1645)
Sir John Fenwick, 3rd Baronet was an English Army officer and politician. He succeeded to the Fenwick baronetcy after the death of his father, Sir William Fenwick, in 1677 and became a court-supporting Tory member of parliament. After the Glorious Revolution in 1688, he became a supporter of the Jacobite cause. Fenwick was involved in the Fenwick plot and implicated in an associated conspiracy to assassinate William III of England, and he was executed by beheading in 1697 as a result. He was the last person to be executed under an act of attainder in England.
1142
Yue Fei
Chinese general (born 1103)
Yue Fei, courtesy name Pengju (鵬舉), was a Chinese military general of the Song dynasty and is remembered as a patriotic national hero, known for leading its forces in the wars in the 12th century between Southern Song and the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty in northern China. Because of his warlike stance, he was put to death by the Southern Song government in 1142 under a frameup, after a negotiated peace was achieved with the Jin dynasty. He was posthumously pardoned. Yue Fei is depicted in the Wu Shuang Pu by Jin Guliang.
1993
Helen Sawyer Hogg
Canadian astronomer and academic (born 1905)
Helen Battles Sawyer Hogg was an American-Canadian astronomer who pioneered research into globular clusters and variable stars. She was the first female president of several astronomical organizations and a scientist when many universities would not award scientific degrees to women. Her dedication to sharing astronomy with the wider public led to scientific advocacy and journalism, including columns in the Toronto Star and the Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. She was considered a "great scientist and a gracious person" over a career of sixty years.
1912
Eloy Alfaro
former president of Ecuador (born 1842)
José Eloy Alfaro Delgado often referred to as "The Old Warrior," was an Ecuadorian politician who served as the President of Ecuador from 1895 to 1901 and from 1906 to 1911. Eloy Alfaro emerged as the leader of the Liberal Party and defined the party while he lived. He became one of the strongest opponents of the pro-Catholic conservative President Gabriel García Moreno (1821–1875). Alfaro played a central role in the Liberal Revolution of 1895 and fought against political conservatism in Ecuador for almost 30 years.
814
Charlemagne
Holy Roman emperor (born 742)
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian Empire from 800. He united most of Western and Central Europe and was the first recognised emperor to rule from the west after the fall of the Western Roman Empire approximately three centuries earlier. Charlemagne's reign was marked by political and social changes that had lasting influence on Europe throughout the Middle Ages.
1939
W. B. Yeats
Irish poet and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1865)
William Butler Yeats was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and literary critic who was one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and, along with John Millington Synge and Lady Gregory, founded the Abbey Theatre, serving as its chief during its early years. He was awarded the 1923 Nobel Prize in Literature and later served two terms as a Senator of the Irish Free State.
2017
Geoff Nicholls
British musician (born 1948)
Geoffrey James Nicholls was an English guitarist and keyboardist, and longtime member of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath until 2004. Nicholls also played in the NWOBHM band Quartz before joining Black Sabbath. In the 1960s/early 1970s, Geoff played lead guitar/Keyboards for the Birmingham bands The Boll Weevils, The Seed, Johnny Neal and the Starliners, Bandy Legs, Jimmy Helms, Cozy Powell, Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Martin, Willie Basse and played keyboards for World of Oz.
2002
Ayşe Nur Zarakolu
Turkish author and activist (born 1946)
Ayşe Nur Zarakolu was a Turkish author, publisher and human rights advocate. She was co-founder, with her husband Ragıp Zarakolu, of notable Turkish publishing house Belge and, in the 1980s, became the director of book-distribution company Cemmay, the first woman in the nation to hold such a position. Zarakolu's publications brought her into frequent conflict with Turkish press laws; in 1997, The New York Times identified Zarakolu as "one of the most relentless challengers to Turkey's press laws". Issues Zarakolu helped publicize in Turkey include the Armenian genocide and human rights of Kurdish people in Turkey. Imprisoned multiple times for her publications, she was designated a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International and her legacy continued to face legal challenge in Turkey after her death. She has received multiple awards and honors for her work and the Human Rights Association of Turkey bestows the Ayşe Zarakolu Freedom of Thought prize in her honor.
2021
Cicely Tyson
American actress (born 1924)
Cecily Louise "Cicely" Tyson was an American actress. In a career spanning seven decades, she portrayed complex and strong-willed African American women. She received several awards including three Emmy Awards, a Peabody Award and a Tony Award, as well as nominations for a BAFTA Award and a Golden Globe Award. She was awarded the Kennedy Center Honors in 2015, the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016, and the Honorary Academy Award in 2018.