Did you know
Ward, the first chairman of the American Civil Liberties Union on its founding in 1920.
Notable Deaths on June 28
105 people
202 – 2025
June 28 has seen 105 notable figures pass away throughout recorded history — from 202 – 2025. Below are the most significant names who died on this date.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
1985 — Lynd Ward
American author and illustrator (born 1905)
Did you know
Lynd Kendall Ward was an American artist and novelist, known for his series of wordless novels using woodcuts, and his illustrations for juvenile and adult books
Did you know
Ward was a son of Methodist minister, political organizer and radical social activist Harry F
Did you know
His wordless novels have influenced the development of the graphic novel
Did you know
Although strongly associated with his wood engravings, he also worked in watercolor, oil, brush and ink, lithography and mezzotint
202
Byzantine empress
Theodora was Eastern Roman empress and wife of emperor Justinian I. She was of humble origins and became empress when her husband became emperor in 527. Theodora was one of his chief political advisers. She is…
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548
572
683
767
975
Japanese governor
Taira no Tadatsune was a Japanese samurai lord and gōzoku in the Heian period. He was the head of the Taira clan in the early 11th century, and an ancestor of the Chiba clan. He served as Governor of Shimōsa and…
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1031
1061
Russian Grand Prince (born 1111)
Andrey I Yuryevich Bogolyubsky was Prince of Vladimir-Suzdal from 1157 until his death. During repeated internecine wars between the princely clans, Andrey accompanied his father Yuri Dolgorukiy during a brief capture…
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1175
Duchess of Saxony, (born 1156)
Matilda of England was an English princess of the House of Plantagenet and by marriage Duchess consort of Saxony and Bavaria from 1168 until her husband's deposition in 1180.
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1189
1194
Byzantine emperor (born 1348)
Andronikos IV Palaiologos or Andronicus IV Palaeologus was the eldest son of Byzantine Emperor John V Palaiologos. Appointed co-emperor from 1352, he had a troubled relationship with his father: he launched a failed…
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1385
7th Baron Audley, English rebel leader (born c. 1463)
James Tuchet, 7th Baron Audley was a British nobleman and the only lord to fully join the Cornish rebellion of 1497 opposing the rule of Henry VII of England. He was a leader in the rebel army's march to the edge of…
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1497
Japanese samurai
Yonekura Shigetsugu (died 1575) was a famous Japanese samurai and a member of the Takeda clan.
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1575
Slovenian author and reformer (born 1508)
Primož Trubar or Primus Truber was a Slovene Protestant Reformer of the Lutheran tradition, mostly known as the author of the first Slovene language printed book, the founder and the first superintendent of the…
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1586
Flemish cartographer and geographer (born 1527)
Abraham Ortelius was a cartographer, geographer, and cosmographer from Antwerp in the Spanish Netherlands. He is recognized as the creator of the first modern atlas, the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum. Along with Gemma Frisius…
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1598
Italian architect (born 1543)
Domenico Fontana was an Italian architect of the late Renaissance, born in today's Ticino. He worked primarily in Italy, at Rome and Naples.
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1607
1st Duke of Northumberland, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire (born 1665)
Lieutenant-General George FitzRoy, Duke of Northumberland, KG, PC was the third and youngest illegitimate son of King Charles II of England by Barbara Villiers, Countess of Castlemaine ; he was the fifth of Charles's…
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1716
queen consort of Frederick William I (born 1687)[citation needed]
Sophia Dorothea of Hanover was Queen in Prussia and Electress of Brandenburg during the reign of her husband, King Frederick William I, from 1713 to 1740. She was the mother of Frederick the Great.
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1757
Irish revolutionary (born c. 1769)
John Henry Colclough was a United Irishman, who was executed in Wexford following the Irish Rebellion of 1798.
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1798
Prussian general and politician, Prussian Minister of War (born 1755)
Gerhard Johann David von Scharnhorst was a Hanoverian-born general in Prussian service from 1801. As the first Chief of the Prussian General Staff, he was noted for his military theories, his reforms of the Prussian…
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1813
Russian architect, designed the Triumphal Arch of Moscow (born 1784)
Joseph Bové, also Joseph Jean-Baptiste Charles de Beauvais or Osip Ivanovich Bove, was an Italian-Russian neoclassical architect who supervised the reconstruction of Moscow after it was destroyed by fire in 1812.
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1834
American academic and politician, 4th President of the United States (born 1751)
James Madison was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed as the "Father of the Constitution" for…
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1836
American soldier and hunter (born 1846)
John Baker Omohundro, also known as "Texas Jack", was an American frontier scout, actor, and cowboy. Born in rural Virginia, he served the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. He later served as…
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1880
French politician, 33rd Prime Minister of France (born 1798)
Jules Armand Stanislas Dufaure was a French statesman who served 3 non-consecutive terms as Prime Minister of France.
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1881
American astronomer and academic (born 1818)
Maria Mitchell was an American astronomer, librarian, naturalist, and educator. In 1847, she discovered a comet named 1847 VI that was later known as "Miss Mitchell's Comet" in her honor. She won a gold medal prize for…
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1889
Greek poet and politician, Greek Foreign Minister (born 1810)
Alexandros Rizos Rangavis or Alexander Rizos Rakgabis, was a Greek man of letters, poet and statesman.
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1892
Brazilian lawyer and politician, 4th President of Brazil (born 1841)
Manoel Ferraz de Campos Sales was a Brazilian lawyer, coffee farmer, and politician who served as the fourth president of Brazil.
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1913
1914
archduke of Austria (born 1863)
Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I.
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1914
Australian cricketer (born 1877)
Victor Thomas Trumper was an Australian professional cricketer. A right-handed batter and a right arm medium pace bowler, Trumper is generally regarded as one of the greatest batters in cricket history. He played for…
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1915
Romanian painter and educator (born 1868)
Ștefan Luchian was a Romanian painter, famous for his landscapes and still life works.
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1917
Russian poet and playwright (born 1885)
Viktor Vladimirovich Khlebnikov, better known by the pen name Velimir Khlebnikov, was a Russian poet and playwright, a central part of the Russian Futurist movement, but his work and influence stretch far beyond it.…
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1922
Venezuelan nun (born 1861)
Georgina Febres-Cordero, also known as "Mother Georgina" was a Venezuelan religious sister.
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1925
German-American politician (born 1856)
Henry Carl Berghoff was an American politician, lawyer, and businessman who co-founded the Herman Berghoff Brewing Company in 1887 and served as the 19th Mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana from 1901 to 1906.
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1925
English poet and philosopher (born 1844)
Edward Carpenter was an English utopian socialist, poet, philosopher, anthologist, an early activist for gay rights and prison reform whilst advocating vegetarianism and taking a stance against vivisection. As a…
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1929
Danish-Norwegian actress and theatre director (born 1856)
Urania Charlotte Amalie Marquard Olsen was a Danish-Norwegian actress and theatre director.
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1932
American author and activist (born 1870)
Alexander Berkman was a Russian-American anarchist and author. He was a leading member of the anarchist movement in the early 20th century, famous for both his political activism and his writing.
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1936
governor of the Chickasaw Nation (born 1856)
Douglas Hancock Cooper Johnston, also known as "Douglas Henry Johnston", was a tribal leader who served as the last elected governor of the Chickasaw Nation from 1898 to 1902. He was re-elected in 1904.
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1939
Italian air marshal and politician (born 1896)
Italo Balbo was an Italian fascist politician and Blackshirts' leader who served as Italy's Marshal of the Air Force, Governor-General of Italian Libya and Commander-in-Chief of Italian North Africa. Due to his young…
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1940
German general (born 1882)
Friedrich Karl Albert Dollmann was a German general during World War II who commanded the 7th Army during the Invasion of France and the early phases of the Allied invasion of Normandy until his death in June 1944.
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1944
Turkish journalist (born 1879)
Yunus Nadi Abalıoğlu was a Turkish journalist and the founder of the newspaper Cumhuriyet. He was known for his support for Turkish nationalism and his sympathies with the Nazi regime, publishing many antisemitic…
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1945
Czech writer, poet and journalist (born 1875)
Stanislav Kostka Neumann was a Czech poet, literary critic, journalist and translator. He was known for his anarchist and communist views, which influenced his work. He is the father of the actor Stanislav Neumann.
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1947
American businessman, co-founded the Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation (born 1898)
Leon Albert "Jake" "The Bullfrog" Swirbul, was an aviation pioneer and co-founder of Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation.
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1960
American baseball player and manager (born 1903)
Gordon Stanley "Mickey" Cochrane, nicknamed "Black Mike", was an American professional baseball player, manager and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Philadelphia Athletics and Detroit…
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1962
1962
American cornet player, bandleader, and composer (born 1905)
Ernest Loring "Red" Nichols was an American jazz cornetist, composer, and jazz bandleader. He was one of the most prolific and influential jazz musicians in the late 1920s and early 1930s, appearing on over 4,000…
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1965
Turkish historian and politician, 21st Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey (born 1890)
Mehmet Fuat Köprülü, also known as Köprülüzade Mehmed Fuad, was a Turkish sociologist, scholar, and Turkologist. He served in the Minister of Foreign Affairs and as Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey. A…
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1966
Austrian SS officer (born 1908)
Franz Paul Stangl was an Austrian police officer and commandant of the Nazi extermination camps Sobibor and Treblinka in World War II.
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1971
American engineer and academic (born 1890)
Vannevar Bush was an American engineer, inventor and science administrator, who during World War II headed the U.S. Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD), through which almost all wartime military R&D was…
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1974
Greek architect (born 1913)
Constantinos A. Doxiadis, often cited as C. A. Doxiadis, was a Greek architect and urban planner, most widely known for being the lead architect and planner of Islamabad, the purpose-built capital of Pakistan in the…
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1975
American screenwriter and producer (born 1924)
Rodman Edward Serling was an American screenwriter and television producer best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his anthology television series The Twilight Zone. Serling was active in politics,…
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1975
American quilter (born 1891)
Ruby Short McKim was an American quilt designer, entrepreneur, teacher, writer and magazine editor. She developed an early interest in drawing, and graduated from the New York School of Fine and Applied Art in 1912.…
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1976
English-Rhodesian lawyer and politician, 1st President of Rhodesia (born 1905)
Clifford Walter Dupont was a British-born Rhodesian politician who served in the internationally unrecognised positions of officer administrating the government and president. Born in London and qualifying as a…
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1978
Spanish pianist and conductor (born 1895)
José Iturbi Báguena was a Spanish conductor, pianist, harpsichordist and actor. He also appeared in several Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musical films including Thousands Cheer (1943), Music for Millions (1944), Anchors Aweigh…
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1980
1981
German-English motor racing mechanic and racing car constructor (born 1918)
Alf Francis was a motor racing mechanic and racing car constructor.
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1983
Israeli archaeologist, general, and politician (born 1917)
Yigael Yadin was an Israeli archeologist, soldier and politician. He was the second Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces and Deputy Prime Minister from 1977 to 1981.
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1984
Dutch journalist, director, and producer (born 1898)
Georg Henri Anton "Joris" Ivens was a Dutch documentary filmmaker. Among the notable films he directed or co-directed are A Tale of the Wind, The Spanish Earth, Rain, ...A Valparaiso, Misère au Borinage (Borinage), 17th…
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1989
1992
Latvian chess player (born 1936)
Mikhail Tal was a Soviet Latvian chess grandmaster and the eighth World Chess Champion. He is considered a creative genius and is widely regarded as one of the most influential players in chess history. Tal played in an…
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1992
Finnish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (born 1969)
Petri Ilari Walli was the founder, vocalist, guitar-player, songwriter and producer of the Finnish psychedelic rock-band Kingston Wall.
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1995
1999
Swedish actor, director, and screenwriter (born 1908)
Nils Poppe was a Swedish actor, comedian, director, screenwriter and theatre manager. He is internationally most famous for his part in Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh Seal, but in Sweden he was much loved and participated…
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2000
American philosopher and author (born 1902)
Mortimer Jerome Adler was an American philosopher, educator, encyclopedist, author, and lay theologian. His philosophical work was situated within the Aristotelian and Thomistic traditions. Adler taught at Columbia…
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2001
American journalist and author (born 1927)
Joan Lowery Nixon was an American journalist and author, specializing in historical fiction and mysteries for children and young adults.
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2003
English author (born 1912)
Anthony Malcolm Buckeridge was an English author, best known for his Jennings and Rex Milligan series of children's books. He also wrote the 1953 children's book A Funny Thing Happened which was serialised more than…
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2004
American activist (born 1946)
Brenda Howard was an American bisexual rights activist and sex-positive feminist. The Brenda Howard Memorial Award is named for her.
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2005
American lieutenant, Medal of Honor recipient (born 1976)
Michael Patrick Murphy was a United States Navy SEAL officer who was awarded the U.S. military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions during the War in Afghanistan. He was the first member of the…
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2005
2006
Baron Rawlinson of Ewell, English lawyer and politician, Attorney General for England and Wales (born 1919)
Peter Anthony Grayson Rawlinson, Baron Rawlinson of Ewell, was an English barrister, Conservative Party politician and author. He served as Member of Parliament for Epsom for 23 years, from 1955 to 1978, and held the…
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2006
English pilot and commander (born 1913)
George Cecil Unwin, was an officer in the Royal Air Force (RAF) and a flying ace of the Second World War. He is credited with destroying at least 15 German aircraft.
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2006
American admiral, Medal of Honor recipient (born 1913)
Eugene Bennett Fluckey, nicknamed "Lucky Fluckey", was a United States Navy rear admiral who received the Medal of Honor and four Navy Crosses during his service as a submarine commander in World War II.
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2007
Japanese lawyer and politician, 78th Prime Minister of Japan (born 1919)
Kiichi Miyazawa was a Japanese politician who served as prime minister of Japan from 1991 to 1993.
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2007
Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1955)
Ambazhathil Karunakaran Lohithadas was an Indian screenwriter, playwright, film maker, and producer who worked in the Malayalam film industry. In a career spanning over two decades, his films have won a National Film…
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2009
American TV personality (born 1958)
William Darrell Mays Jr. was an American television direct-response advertisement salesperson. Throughout his career, he promoted a wide variety of products, including OxiClean, Orange Glo, Kaboom, Zorbeez, and Mighty…
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2009
American lawyer and politician (born 1917)
Robert Carlyle Byrd was an American politician who served as a United States senator from West Virginia for over 51 years, from 1959 until his death in 2010. A Democrat, Byrd also served as a U.S. representative for six…
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2010
American psychiatrist and author (born 1934)
Richard A. Isay was an American psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, author and gay activist. He was a professor of psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College and a faculty member of the Columbia University Center for…
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2012
American bishop (born 1920)
Leontine Turpeau Current Kelly was an American bishop of the United Methodist Church. She was the second woman elevated to the position of bishop within the United Methodist Church, and the first African American woman.
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2012
French author and poet (born 1923)
Robert Sabatier was a French poet and writer. He wrote numerous novels, essays and books of aphorisms and poems. He was elected to the Académie Goncourt in 1971, as well as to the Académie Mallarme. He is also the…
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2012
American baseball player (born 1927)
Doris Jane Sams, nicknamed "Sammye", was an American outfielder and pitcher who played from 1946 through 1953 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). Listed at 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m), 145 lbs., she…
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2012
2013
Hungarian historian and politician (born 1932)
Tamás Katona was a Hungarian historian, academic, politician, who served as Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs from 1990 to 1992 and as Mayor of Budavár between 1994 and 1998. Besides that he represented Vác in the…
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2013
New Zealand-Australian political scientist and academic (born 1930)
Kenneth Robert Minogue was an Australian academic and political theorist. Long residing in the United Kingdom, Minogue was a prominent part of the intellectual life of British conservatism.
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2013
American author and academic (born 1928)
Franklin D'Olier Reeve was an American academic, writer, poet, Russian translator, and editor. He was the grandson of the first American Legion national commander, Franklin D'Olier, and the father of Superman actor…
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2013
American sergeant (born 1917)
David Rubitsky, was an American veteran of World War II who claimed he was denied the Medal of Honor because he is Jewish. In 1987, the United States Army began a 23-month investigation and concluded that there was…
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2013
American cellist and composer (born 1921)
Seymour Barab was an American composer of opera, songs and instrumental and chamber music, as well as a cellist, organist and pianist. He was best known for his fairy tale operas for young audiences, such as Chanticleer…
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2014
American baseball player (born 1929)
James Patrick Brosnan was an American baseball player and author who played in Major League Baseball in 1954 and from 1956 through 1963. A right-handed pitcher, he appeared in 385 games, largely in relief, for the…
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2014
2014
American actor (born 1947)
Meshach Taylor was an American actor, widely known for his role as Anthony Bouvier on the CBS sitcom Designing Women (1986–93), for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in…
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2014
American actor and comedian (born 1922)
Jack Carter was an American comedian, actor and television presenter. Born in Brooklyn, Carter had a long-running comedy act similar to fellow rapid-paced contemporaries Milton Berle and Morey Amsterdam.
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2015
Fijian politician, Vice-President of Fiji (born 1939)
Ratu Jope Naucabalavu Seniloli was a Fijian chief who held the title of Turaga Taukei Naua and who served as Fiji's vice-president from 25 March 2001 to 29 November 2004, when he was forced to resign following his…
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2015
Canadian ice hockey player (born 1919)
Walter Peter Stanowski was a Canadian ice hockey defenceman. He was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
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2015
American guitarist (born 1931)
Winfield Scott Moore III was an American guitarist who formed the Blue Moon Boys in 1954, Elvis Presley's backing band. He was studio and touring guitarist for Presley between 1954 and 1968.
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2016
American women's college basketball head coach (born 1952)
Patricia Susan Summitt was an American women's college basketball head coach and college basketball player. She coached 1,098 career wins, the most in college basketball history at the time of her retirement. She served…
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2016
American football coach (born 1931)
James David "Buddy" Ryan was an American football coach in the National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL). During his 35-season coaching career, Ryan served as the head coach of the Philadelphia…
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2016
American writer (born 1934)
Harlan Jay Ellison was an American writer, known for his prolific and influential work in New Wave speculative fiction and for his outspoken, combative personality. His published works include more than 1,700 short…
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2018
French-American politician, 85th Governor of Connecticut (born 1931)
Lowell Palmer Weicker Jr. was an American politician who served as a U.S. representative, U.S. senator, and the 85th governor of Connecticut.
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2023
Puerto Rican baseball player (born 1937)
Orlando Manuel Cepeda Pennes, nicknamed "the Baby Bull" and "Peruchin", was a Puerto Rican professional baseball player, coach and scout. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a first baseman from 1958 to 1974,…
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2024
American artist (born 1931)
Audrey Lenora Flack was an American visual artist. Her work pioneered the art genre of photorealism and encompasses painting, printmaking, sculpture, and photography.
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2024
Somali attorney and politician, 12th Speaker of the Parliament of Somalia (born 1945)
Mohamed Osman Jawari, also known as Mohamed Jawari or Osman Jawari, was a Somali attorney and politician. He was Speaker of the Federal Parliament of Somalia from 2012 to 2018. He also briefly served as acting President…
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2024
Nigerian businessman and philanthropist (born 1931)
Aminu Alhassan Dantata was a Nigerian businessman and philanthropist who was one of the promoters of Kano State Foundation, an endowment fund that supported educational initiatives and provided grants to small-scale…
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2025
American horse trainer (born 1935)
Darrell Wayne Lukas was an American horse trainer and a U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee. He won 20 Breeders' Cup races, 15 Triple Crown races, received five Eclipse Awards for his accomplishments, and his horses won…
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2025
American baseball player and coach (born 1951)
David Gene Parker, nicknamed "the Cobra", was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right fielder from 1973 to 1991. A seven-time All-Star, Parker won two National League (NL)…
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2025
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Notable deaths
Who died on June 28?
Lynd Ward — American novelist (1905–1985)
FeaturedLynd Ward
Death year1985
Known forHis wordless novels have influenced the development of the graphic novel
Deaths on this date105 (202 – 2025)
Explore June 28
Jump between the main pages for this date to compare events, people, and the daily quiz.
Also on June 28 in History
2016
A terrorist attack in Turkey's Istanbul Atatürk Airport kills 42 people and injures more than 230 others. Wikipedia →
2012
The United States Supreme Court upholds the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate in National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius. Wikipedia →
2009
See all events on June 28
Honduran president Manuel Zelaya is ousted by a local military coup following a failed request to hold a referendum to rewrite the Honduran Constitution. This was the start of the 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis. Wikipedia →
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