December 28 in History

John C. Calhoun becomes the first Vice President of the United States to resign.

1832 — John C

Calhoun becomes the first Vice President of the United States to resign. He resigned after being elected Senator from South Carolina.

December 28 spans 40 recorded events across recorded history, from 418 to 2025. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.

By thisDay.info Editorial Team · December 28 — Wikipedia

Historical Events 40 events 418 – 2025

More major events on December 28

The featured story and these ranked highlights form a quick summary. Every recorded event remains available in the chronology below.

1918 Constance Markievicz, while detained in Holloway prison, becomes the first woman to be elected Member of Parliament (MP) to the British House of Commons. Source
1885 The Indian National Congress is founded in Bombay Presidency, British India. Source
2025 Unrest in the form of mass protests erupt across Iran, the largest uprising in the country since the Iranian Revolution. Source

Did you know

In 1832, John C. Calhoun becomes the first Vice President of the United States to resign. He resigned after being elected Senator from South Carolina. This featured entry focuses on the immediate decision and its direct historical impact.

Did you know

The vice president of the United States is the second-highest office in the executive branch of the U.S. This helps explain why the event mattered beyond the initial announcement.

Did you know

federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. This clarifies the institutional and public response around the event.

Did you know

The vice president is also an officer in the legislative branch, as the president of the Senate. This shows how the event shaped policy and public communication in the same period.

Did you know

In this capacity, the vice president is empowered to preside over the United States Senate, but may not vote except to cast a tie-breaking vote. This helps explain why the event mattered beyond the initial announcement.

A papal election begins, resulting in the election of Pope Boniface I.

Head of the Catholic Church from 418 to 422

Pope Boniface I was the bishop of Rome from 28 December 418 to his death on 4 September 422. His election was disputed by the supporters of Eulalius until the dispute was settled by Emperor Honorius. Boniface was active in maintaining church discipline, and he restored certain privileges to the metropolitical sees of Narbonne and Vienne, exempting them from any subjection to the primacy of Arles. He was a contemporary of Augustine of Hippo, who dedicated to him some of his works.

Wikipedia source

418

Majorian is acclaimed as Western Roman emperor.

Western Roman emperor from 457 to 461

Majorian was Western Roman emperor from 457 to 461. A prominent commander in the Western military, Majorian deposed Avitus in 457 with the aid of his ally Ricimer at the Battle of Placentia. Possessing little more than Italy and Dalmatia, as well as some territory in Hispania and northern Gaul, Majorian campaigned vigorously for three years against the Empire's enemies. In 461, he was murdered at Dertona in a conspiracy, and his successors until the fall of the Empire in 476 were puppets either of barbarian generals or the Eastern Roman court.

Wikipedia source

457

Alaric II succeeds his father Euric and becomes king of the Visigoths.

He establishes his capital at Aire-sur-l'Adour (Southern Gaul).

Alaric II was the King of the Visigoths from 484 until his death. He succeeded his father Euric as King of the Visigoths in Toulouse on 28 December 484; he was the great-grandson of the more famous Alaric I, who sacked Rome in 410. He established his capital at Aire-sur-l'Adour in Aquitaine. His dominions included not only the majority of Hispania but also Gallia Aquitania and the greater part of Gallia Narbonensis.

Wikipedia source

484

An earthquake destroys the city of Dvin, Armenia.

Earthquake in Armenia

The 893 Dvin earthquake occurred on 28 December 893 at around midnight. It had a magnitude of approximately 6 and a maximum intensity of approximately IX (Violent) on the Mercalli intensity scale. It destroyed the city of Dvin in Armenia, causing approximately 30,000 casualties.

Wikipedia source

893

Edward the Confessor's Romanesque monastic church at Westminster Abbey is consecrated.

King of the English from 1042 to 1066

Edward the Confessor was King of the English from 1042 until his death in 1066. He was the last reigning monarch of the House of Wessex.

Wikipedia source

1065

The reign of Emperor Hanazono of Japan begins.

Emperor of Japan from 1308 to 1318

Emperor Hanazono was the 95th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 1308 through 1318.

Wikipedia source

1308

The Marathas defeat the Adilshahi forces in the Battle of Kolhapur.

1674–1818 empire in the Indian subcontinent

The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. For most of its existence, it comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent Maratha states under the nominal leadership of the former and nominal loyalty to the Chhatrapatis who were successors of Shivaji.

Wikipedia source

1659

King Taksin's coronation achieved through conquest as a king of Thailand and established Thonburi as a capital.

King of Siam from 1767 to 1782

Taksin the Great or the King of Thonburi was a Thai Chinese general who became the only King of Thonburi that ruled Siam from 1767 to 1782.

Wikipedia source

1768

Construction of Yonge Street, formerly recognized as the longest street in the world, begins in York, Upper Canada (present-day Toronto).

Historic road in Ontario, Canada

Yonge Street is a major arterial route in the Canadian province of Ontario connecting the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto to Lake Simcoe, a gateway to the Upper Great Lakes. Ontario's first colonial administrator, John Graves Simcoe, named the street for his friend Sir George Yonge.

Wikipedia source

1795

Osceola leads his Seminole warriors in Florida into the Second Seminole War against the United States Army.

Seminole leader (1804–1838)

Osceola, named Billy Powell at birth, was an influential leader of the Seminole people in Florida. His mother was Muscogee, and his great-grandfather was a Scotsman, James McQueen. He was reared by his mother in the Creek (Muscogee) tradition. When he was a child, they migrated to Florida with other Red Stick refugees, led by a relative, Peter McQueen, after their group's defeat in 1814 in the Creek Wars. There they became part of what was known as the Seminole people.

Wikipedia source

1835

South Australia and Adelaide are founded.

State of Australia

South Australia is a state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of 984,314 square kilometres (380,046 sq mi), it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which includes some of the most arid parts of the continent. With 1.9 million people as of June 2025, it is the 17th-largest subdivision in the world and the fifth-largest in Australasia. It is the second-most highly centralised state in the nation after Western Australia, with more than 67% of South Australians living in the capital Adelaide or its environs. Other population centres in the state are relatively small; with Mount Gambier being the second-largest centre, with a population of 26,878.

Wikipedia source

1836

Spain recognizes the independence of Mexico with the signing of the Santa María–Calatrava Treaty.

Counter-revolutionary attempted interventions by Spain to reclaim Mexico as a colony

Spanish attempts to reconquer Mexico were efforts by the Spanish government to regain possession of its former colony of New Spain, resulting in episodes of war comprised in clashes between the newly born Mexican nation and Spain. The designation mainly covers two periods: the first attempts occurred from 1821 to 1825 and involved the defense of Mexico's territorial waters, while the second period had two stages, including the Mexican expansion plan to take the Spanish-held island of Cuba between 1826 and 1828 and the 1829 expedition of Spanish General Isidro Barradas, which landed on Mexican soil with the object of reconquering Mexican territory. Although the Spanish never regained control of the country, they damaged the fledgling Mexican economy.

Wikipedia source

1836

Iowa is admitted as the 29th U.S.

state.

Iowa is a landlocked state in the upper Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the east and southeast, Missouri to the south, Nebraska to the west, South Dakota to the northwest, and Minnesota to the north. Iowa is the 26th largest in total area and the 31st most populous of the 50 U.S. states, with a population of 3.19 million. The state's capital, most populous city, and largest metropolitan area fully located within the state is Des Moines.

Wikipedia source

1846

Tay Bridge disaster: The central part of the Tay Rail Bridge in Dundee, Scotland, United Kingdom collapses as a train passes over it, killing 75.

Bridge collapse and train wreck

The Tay Bridge disaster occurred during a violent European windstorm on Sunday 28 December 1879, when the first Tay Rail Bridge collapsed as a North British Railway (NBR) passenger train on the Edinburgh to Aberdeen Line travelling from Burntisland to Dundee passed over it, killing all aboard. The bridge, designed by Sir Thomas Bouch, used lattice girders supported by iron piers, with cast iron columns and wrought iron cross-bracing. The piers were narrower and their cross-bracing was less extensive and robust than on previous similar designs by Bouch.

Wikipedia source

1879

The Indian National Congress is founded in Bombay Presidency, British India.

Political party in India

The Indian National Congress (INC), also known as the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a big tent political party in India. It is India’s oldest political party and is widely regarded as one of the world’s oldest continuously active political parties, outside Europe and North America. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Empire in Asia and Africa. From the late 19th century, and especially after 1920, under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, the Congress became the principal leader of the Indian independence movement. The Congress was one of the parties that led India to independence from the United Kingdom, and significantly influenced other anti-colonial nationalist movements in the British Empire.

Wikipedia source

1885

The Lumière brothers perform for their first paying audience at the Grand Cafe in Boulevard des Capucines.

French brothers, filmmakers and inventors

The Lumière brothers, Auguste Marie Louis Nicolas Lumière and Louis Jean Lumière, were French manufacturers of photography equipment, best known for their Cinématographe motion picture system and the short films they produced between 1895 and 1905, which places them among the earliest filmmakers.

Wikipedia source

1895

Wilhelm Röntgen publishes a paper detailing his discovery of a new type of radiation, which later will be known as x-rays.

German physicist (1845–1923)

Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen was a German experimental physicist who produced and detected electromagnetic radiation in a wavelength range known as X-rays. In 1901, Röntgen became the first recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics "in recognition of the extraordinary services he has rendered by the discovery of the remarkable rays subsequently named after him." The element roentgenium is named in his honor.

Wikipedia source

1895

The Syracuse Athletic Club defeat the New York Philadelphians, 5–0, in the first indoor professional football game, which was held at Madison Square Garden.

Defunct American football team

A nameless professional American football team, based in Syracuse, New York and generically known as the Syracuse Pros or Syracuse Eleven, was once thought to have joined the American Professional Football Association (now the National Football League for the 1921 season. The team was coached by Mike Purdy and managed by Andy Friedman. Syracuse University multi-sport standout John Barsha was the team's franchise player.

Wikipedia source

1902

The 7.1 Mw Messina earthquake shakes Southern Italy with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), killing between about 80,000.

Earthquake in southern Italy

A devastating earthquake occurred on 28 December 1908 in Sicily and Calabria, southern Italy, with a moment magnitude of 7.1 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme). The epicentre was in the Strait of Messina which separates Sicily from the Italian mainland. The cities of Messina and Reggio Calabria were nearly destroyed and around 120,000 people died, making it the deadliest earthquake in the history of Europe.

Wikipedia source

1908

The first municipally owned streetcars take to the streets in San Francisco.

Public transport agency in San Francisco, California

The San Francisco Municipal Railway is the primary public transit system within San Francisco, California. It operates a system of bus routes, the Muni Metro light rail system, three historic cable car lines, and two historic streetcar lines. Previously an independent agency, the San Francisco Municipal Railway merged with two other agencies in 1999 to become the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA). In 2018, Muni served 46.7 square miles (121 km2) with an operating budget of about $1.2 billion. Muni is the seventh highest-ridership transit system in the United States, with 167,087,000 rides in 2025, and the second highest in California after the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Wikipedia source

1912

Constance Markievicz, while detained in Holloway prison, becomes the first woman to be elected Member of Parliament (MP) to the British House of Commons.

Irish revolutionary and suffragist (1868–1927)

Constance Georgine Markievicz, also known as Countess Markievicz and Madame Markievicz, was an Irish revolutionary nationalist politician, suffragist and socialist who was the first woman elected to the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Born in London, she came from the Anglo-Irish Protestant landowning elite, which she abandoned in favour of Irish independence and social reform.

Wikipedia source

1918

World War II: Operation Anthropoid, the plot to assassinate high-ranking Nazi officer Reinhard Heydrich, commences.

Global conflict (1939–1945)

World War II, or the Second World War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many engaging in total war on an unprecedented scale. World War II was the deadliest conflict in history, causing the deaths of 60 to 75 million people, a majority of whom were civilians. Millions died as a result of massacres, starvation, disease, and genocides including the Holocaust. After the Allied victory, Germany, Austria, Japan, and Korea were occupied, and German and Japanese leaders were tried for war crimes.

Wikipedia source

1941

Soviet authorities launch Operation Ulussy, beginning the deportation of the Kalmyk nation to Siberia and Central Asia.

1943 forced resettlement of the Kalmyk minority within the Soviet Union

The Soviets deported more than 93,000 people of Kalmyk nationality, and non-Kalmyk women with Kalmyk husbands, in Operation Ulusy from 28 to 31 December 1943. Families and individuals were forcibly relocated in cattle wagons to special settlements for forced labor in Siberia. Kalmyk women married to non-Kalmyk men were exempted from the deportations. The government's official reason for the deportation was an accusation of Axis collaboration during World War II based on the approximately 5,000 Kalmyks who fought in the Nazi-affiliated Kalmykian Cavalry Corps. The government refused to acknowledge that more than 23,000 Kalmyks served in the Red Army and fought against Axis forces at the same time.

Wikipedia source

1943

World War II: After eight days of brutal house-to-house fighting, the Battle of Ortona concludes with the victory of the 1st Canadian Infantry Division over the German 1st Parachute Division and the capture of the Italian town of Ortona.

Warfare in urban areas

Urban warfare is warfare in urban areas such as towns and cities. Urban combat differs from combat in the open at both operational and the tactical levels. Complicating factors in urban warfare include the presence of civilians and the complexity of the urban terrain. Urban combat operations may be conducted to capitalize on strategic or tactical advantages associated with the possession or the control of a particular urban area or to deny these advantages to the enemy. It is arguably considered to be the most difficult form of warfare.

Wikipedia source

1943

Maurice Richard becomes the first player to score eight points in one game of NHL ice hockey.

Canadian ice hockey player (1921–2000)

Joseph Henri Maurice Richard was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Montreal Canadiens. He was the first player in NHL history to score 50 goals in one season, accomplishing the feat in 50 games in 1944–45, and the first to reach 500 career goals.

Wikipedia source

1944

The DC-3 airliner NC16002 disappears 80 kilometres (50 mi) south of Miami.

Airliner and military transport aircraft family

The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner that was manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It had a lasting effect on the airline industry from the 1930s through World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved, 14-bed sleeper version of the Douglas DC-2. It is a low-wing metal monoplane with conventional landing gear, powered by two radial piston engines of 1,000–1,200 hp (750–890 kW). Although the DC-3s originally built for civil service had the Wright R-1820 Cyclone, later civilian DC-3s used the Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp engine. The DC-3 has a cruising speed of 207 mph (333 km/h), a capacity of 21 to 32 passengers or 6,000 lb (2,700 kg) of cargo, and a range of 1,500 mi (2,400 km); it can operate from short runways.

Wikipedia source

1948

Chin Peng, David Marshall and Tunku Abdul Rahman meet in Baling, Malaya to try to resolve the Malayan Emergency situation.

Malayan communist leader (1924–2013)

Chin Peng, born Ong Boon Hua, was a Malayan communist politician, guerrilla leader, and revolutionary. He was the longest-serving General Secretary of the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) and the leader of its armed wing, the Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA). A Maoist, he led the CPM from 1947 until the party's dissolution in 1989.

Wikipedia source

1956

"Greatest Game Ever Played": The Baltimore Colts defeat the New York Giants in the first ever National Football League sudden death overtime game at New York's Yankee Stadium to win the NFL Championship.

Renowned American football event

The 1958 NFL Championship Game was the 26th NFL championship game, played on December 28 at Yankee Stadium in New York City. It was the first NFL game to be decided in sudden death overtime. The Baltimore Colts won their first championship in franchise history over the New York Giants 23–17 in what soon became widely known as "the Greatest Game Ever Played". Its legendary status in the pantheon of historic NFL games was again confirmed by a nationwide poll of 66 media members in 2019, who voted it the best game in the league's first 100 years.

Wikipedia source

1958

American businesswoman Muriel Siebert becomes the first woman to own a seat on the New York Stock Exchange.

American businesswoman

Muriel Faye Siebert was an American businesswoman who was the first woman to own a seat on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), and the first woman to head one of the NYSE's member firms. She joined the 1,365 male members of the exchange on December 28, 1967. Siebert is sometimes known as the "first woman of finance", despite being preceded in owning a brokerage by Victoria Woodhull.

Wikipedia source

1967

The last scheduled day for induction into the military by the Selective Service System.

Due to the fact that President Richard Nixon declared this day a national day of mourning due to former President Harry S Truman's death, approximately 300 men were not able to report due to most Federal offices being closed. Since the draft was not resumed in 1973, they were never drafted.

The Selective Service System (SSS) is an independent agency of the United States government that maintains a database of registered male U.S. citizens and other U.S. residents potentially subject to military conscription.

Wikipedia source

1972

The United States Endangered Species Act is signed into law by President Richard Nixon.

Country primarily in North America

The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic consisting of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous states border Canada to the north and Mexico to the south, with the semi-exclave of Alaska in the northwest and the archipelago of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean. The United States also asserts sovereignty over five major island territories and various uninhabited islands in Oceania and the Caribbean. It is a megadiverse country, with the world's third-largest land area and third-largest population, exceeding 341 million.

Wikipedia source

1973

United Airlines Flight 173 crashes in a residential neighborhood near Portland International Airport, killing 10 people.

1978 aviation accident in Oregon

United Airlines Flight 173 was a scheduled flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City to Portland International Airport in Portland, Oregon, with a scheduled stop in Denver, Colorado. On December 28, 1978, the McDonnell Douglas DC-8-61 operating the flight ran out of fuel while troubleshooting a landing gear problem and crashed in a suburban Portland neighborhood near NE 157th Avenue and East Burnside Street, killing 10 people on board.

Wikipedia source

1978

A magnitude 5.6 earthquake hits Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, killing 13 people.

Earthquake in New South Wales, Australia

The 1989 Newcastle earthquake was an intraplate earthquake that occurred in Newcastle, New South Wales, on Thursday 28 December. The shock measured 5.6 on the Richter scale and was one of Australia's most serious natural disasters, killing 13 people and injuring more than 160. The damage bill has been estimated at A$4 billion, including an insured loss of about $1 billion.

Wikipedia source

1989

War in Somalia: The militaries of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government and Ethiopian troops capture Mogadishu unopposed.

Ethiopian military invasion and occupation in Somalia

The Ethiopian invasion of Somalia, also known as the Ethiopian occupation of Somalia was an armed conflict lasting from mid-2006 to early 2009. It began when Ethiopian military forces, supported by the United States, invaded Somalia to depose the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) and install the Transitional Federal Government (TFG). The conflict evolved into a military occupation and a rapidly escalating anti-Ethiopian insurgency. By 2008, insurgents had recaptured the majority of territory lost by the ICU during the invasion. The conflict caused the second largest population displacement since 1991.

Wikipedia source

2006

Forty-three people die in a suicide bombing in Karachi, Pakistan, where Shia Muslims are observing the Day of Ashura.

Bombing in Pakistan

The 2009 Karachi bombing or Ashura attack took place on 28 December 2009 inside a Shia procession commemorating the day of Ashura, at Muhammad Ali Jinnah Road, Karachi, Pakistan. Ashura is the holiest of days for followers of Shia Islam and marks the anniversary of the death of Imam Hussain, grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, who was killed at the Battle of Karbala in 680. At least 30 people were initially reported to have been killed, later figures revealed even more deaths while dozens were left injured in the wake of the attack. The attacker marched amongst the procession with tens of thousands of people attending the march. There is some speculation amongst officials as to whether the nature of the blast was that of a suicide attack or a remotely detonated or planted bomb.

Wikipedia source

2009

Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501 crashes into the Karimata Strait en route from Surabaya to Singapore, killing all 162 people aboard.

2014 aviation accident in the Java Sea

Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501 was a scheduled international passenger flight operated by Indonesia AirAsia from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore. On 28 December 2014, the Airbus A320 flying the route crashed into the Java Sea, killing all 162 of the people on board. When search operations ended in March 2015, only 116 bodies had been recovered. As of 2026, this is the only fatal accident involving AirAsia and its affiliates.

Wikipedia source

2014

Nine people die and another 19 are reported missing, when the MS Norman Atlantic catches fire in the Strait of Otranto, in the Adriatic Sea, in Italian waters.

Italian passenger ferry; caught fire in 2014

MS Norman Atlantic was a roll-on/roll-off passenger (ROPAX) ferry owned by the Italian ferry company Visemar di Navigazione. The ferry was chartered by ANEK Lines from December 2014. On 28 December 2014, she caught fire in the Strait of Otranto, in the Adriatic Sea.

Wikipedia source

2014

A truck bomb is detonated in Mogadishu, Somalia, killing at least 85 people and injuring over 140 more.

The militant group Al-Shabaab claims responsibility.

On 28 December 2019, a suicide truck bomber killed at least 85 people at the Ex-Control Afgoye police checkpoint in Mogadishu, Somalia. More than 140 others were wounded and, as of 31 December, 12 people remained missing. Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack on 30 December. The attack was the deadliest in Somalia since the 14 October 2017 Mogadishu bombings, which killed 587 people.

Wikipedia source

2019

Unrest in the form of mass protests erupt across Iran, the largest uprising in the country since the Iranian Revolution.

Anti-government protests

The 2025–2026 Iranian protests were a series of nationwide demonstrations against the government of Iran that began on 28 December 2025 amid a deepening economic crisis. The unrest followed a sharp depreciation of the Iranian rial, rising inflation, and widespread shortages linked to international sanctions and government mismanagement. This event has been the largest uprising in Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, spreading to more than 200 cities across the country. The ensuing crackdown, reportedly carried out under orders by Ali Khamenei and senior officials to use live fire on protesters, resulted in massacres that left thousands of protesters dead.

Wikipedia source

2025

December 28 in History

1832 — John C

More major events on December 28

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