Did you know
Audie Murphy was widely celebrated as the most decorated American combat soldier of World War II, and has been described as the most highly decorated enlisted soldier in U.
Notable Deaths on May 28
1971 — Audie Murphy
American soldier and actor, Medal of Honor recipient (born 1925)
May 28 has 93 recorded notable deaths across history, from 576 to 2026. This focused page highlights 20 people with the strongest available profile context.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Notable Deaths
93 source records
576 – 2026
Today in history
Major events on May 28
See what else happened on this day in history.
- 1961 Peter Benenson's article The Forgotten Prisoners is published in several internationally read newspapers. This will later be thought of as the founding of the human rights organization Amnesty International. Source
- 1926 The 28 May 1926 coup d'état: Ditadura Nacional is established in Portugal to suppress the unrest of the First Republic. Source
- 1918 The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and the First Republic of Armenia declare their independence. Source
- 1948 Daniel François Malan is elected as Prime Minister of South Africa. He later goes on to implement Apartheid. Source
Did you know
Gary Coleman was rated first on a list of VH1's "100 Greatest Kid Stars", and an influential child actor.
Did you know
Lemieux won four Stanley Cup championships during his career, including two with the New Jersey Devils, with whom he won the Conn Smythe Trophy during the team's victory in the 1995 Stanley Cup Final.
Did you know
On May 28, 2016, a three-year-old boy visiting the zoo climbed under a fence into an outdoor gorilla enclosure where he was grabbed and violently dragged and thrown by Harambe.
Did you know
Alfred Adler was an Austrian medical doctor, psychotherapist, and founder of the school of individual psychology.
More major people who died on May 28
Notable people are ranked by substantive profile depth and public notability.
2010
Gary Coleman
American actor (born 1968)
Gary Wayne Coleman was an American actor, known as a high-profile child star of the late 1970s and 1980s. Born in Zion, Illinois, Coleman grew up with his adoptive parents.
2026
Claude Lemieux
heavy-hitting retired NHL forward and four-time Stanley Cup winner (born 1965)
Claude Percy Lemieux was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He played as a right winger for 21 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with six teams between 1983 and 2009.
2016
Harambe
Cincinnati Zoo western lowland gorilla (born 1999)
Harambe was a western lowland gorilla who lived at the Cincinnati Zoo.
1937
Alfred Adler
Austrian-Scottish ophthalmologist and psychologist (born 1870)
Alfred Adler was an Austrian medical doctor, psychotherapist, and founder of the school of individual psychology.
2021
Mark Eaton
American basketball player (born 1957)
Mark Edward Eaton was an American professional basketball player who spent his entire career (1982–1993) with the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
2022
Patricia Brake
English actress (born 1942)
Patricia Ann Kennedy, better known by her stage name Patricia Brake, was an English actress.
1805
Luigi Boccherini
Italian cellist and composer (born 1743)
Ridolfo Luigi Boccherini was an Italian composer and cellist of the Classical era whose music retained a courtly and galante style even while he matured somewhat apart from the major classical musical centers.
1976
Zainul Abedin
Bangladeshi painter and sculptor (born 1914)
Zainul Abedin, also known as Shilpacharya was a Bangladeshi painter. He became well known in 1944 through his series of paintings depicting some of the great famines in Bengal during its British colonial period.
1023
Wulfstan
English archbishop
Wulfstan was an English Bishop of London, Bishop of Worcester, and Archbishop of York. He is thought to have begun his ecclesiastical career as a Benedictine monk. He became the Bishop of London in 996.
2001
Joe Moakley
American lawyer and politician (born 1927)
John Joseph Moakley was an American politician who served as the United States representative for Massachusetts's 9th congressional district from 1973 until his death in 2001.
1930
Frank Cowper
English yachtsman, author and illustrator (born 1849)
Frank Cowper was an English single-handed yachtsman, explorer, author, illustrator, artist, and journalist who was influential in popularizing single-handed cruising.
1998
Phil Hartman
Canadian-American actor and comedian (born 1948)
Philip Edward Hartman was a Canadian and American comedian, actor, screenwriter and graphic designer. Hartman was born in Brantford, Ontario, and his family moved to the United States when he was ten years old.
2014
Maya Angelou
American memoirist and poet (born 1928)
Maya Angelou was an American memoirist, essayist, poet, and civil rights activist.
2008
Beryl Cook
English painter and illustrator (born 1926)
Beryl Cook, OBE was a British painter best known for her original and instantly recognisable paintings.
1831
William Carnegie
7th Earl of Northesk, Scottish-English admiral (born 1756)
Admiral William Carnegie, 7th Earl of Northesk, was a Royal Navy officer who served in the American Revolutionary War and French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.
1984
D'Urville Martin
American actor and director (born 1939)
D'Urville Martin was an American actor in both film and television. He appeared in numerous 1970s movies in the blaxploitation genre.
1975
Ezzard Charles
American boxer (born 1921)
Ezzard Mack Charles was an American professional boxer who competed from 1940 to 1959.
2003
Martha Scott
American actress (born 1912)
Martha Ellen Scott was an American actress. She was featured in major films such as Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments (1956), and William Wyler's Ben-Hur (1959).
1843
Noah Webster
American lexicographer (born 1758)
Noah Webster was an American lexicographer, textbook pioneer, English-language spelling reformer, political writer, editor, and author. He has been called the "Father of American Scholarship and Education".