Did you know
In 1851, Northwestern University becomes the first chartered university in Illinois. This featured entry focuses on the immediate decision and its direct historical impact.
January 28 in History
1851 — Northwestern University becomes the first chartered university in Illinois
January 28 spans 56 recorded events across recorded history, from 98 to 2026. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Historical Events
56 events
98 – 2026
Today in history
More major events on January 28
The featured story and these ranked highlights form a quick summary. Every recorded event remains available in the chronology below.
- 1813 Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice is first published in the United Kingdom. Source
- 1573 Articles of the Warsaw Confederation are signed, sanctioning freedom of religion in Poland. Source
- 1908 Members of the Portuguese Republican Party fail in their attempted coup d'état against the administrative dictatorship of Prime Minister João Franco. Source
Did you know
Northwestern University (NU) is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. This helps explain why the event mattered beyond the initial announcement.
Did you know
Established in 1851, it is the oldest chartered university in Illinois. This clarifies the institutional and public response around the event.
Did you know
Northwestern was initially affiliated with the Methodist Episcopal Church but later became non-sectarian. This shows how the event shaped policy and public communication in the same period.
Did you know
By 1900, the university was the third-largest university in the United States, after Michigan and Harvard. This helps explain why the event mattered beyond the initial announcement.
98
On the death of Nerva, Trajan is declared Roman emperor in Cologne, the seat of his government in lower Germany.
Calendar year
814
The death of Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman Emperor, brings about the accession of his son Louis the Pious as ruler of the Frankish Empire.
Carolingian emperor from 800 to 814
1069
Robert de Comines, appointed Earl of Northumbria by William the Conqueror, rides into Durham, England, where he is defeated and killed by rebels.
This incident leads to the Harrying of the North.
1077
Walk to Canossa: The excommunication of Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor, is lifted after he humbles himself before Pope Gregory VII at Canossa in Italy.
Ritual submission of Henry IV
1393
King Charles VI of France is nearly killed when several other dancers' costumes catch fire during a masquerade ball in Paris.
King of France from 1380 to 1422
1521
The Diet of Worms begins, lasting until May 25.
Imperial assembly of the Holy Roman Empire (1521)
1547
Edward VI, the nine-year-old son of Henry VIII, becomes King of England on his father's death.
King of England and Ireland from 1547 to 1553
1568
The Edict of Torda prohibits the persecution of individuals on religious grounds in John Sigismund Zápolya's Eastern Hungarian Kingdom.
Religious decree in early modern Europe in 1568
1573
Articles of the Warsaw Confederation are signed, sanctioning freedom of religion in Poland.
1573 statute on religious freedom in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
1591
Execution of Agnes Sampson, accused of witchcraft in Edinburgh.
16th-century Scottish healer and purported witch
1624
Sir Thomas Warner founds the first British colony in the Caribbean, on the island of Saint Kitts.
Captain in the guards of James I of England (1580–1649)
1671
Original city of Panama (founded in 1519) is destroyed by a fire when privateer Henry Morgan sacks and sets fire to it.
The site of the previously devastated city is still in ruins (see Panama Viejo).
1724
The Russian Academy of Sciences is founded in St.
Petersburg, Russia, by Peter the Great, and implemented by Senate decree. It is called the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences until 1917.
1754
Sir Horace Walpole coins the word serendipity in a letter to a friend.
British politician, writer, historian and antiquarian (1717–1797)
1813
Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice is first published in the United Kingdom.
English novelist (1775–1817)
1846
The Battle of Aliwal, India, is won by British troops commanded by Sir Harry Smith.
Part of the First Anglo-Sikh War (1846)
1855
A locomotive on the Panama Canal Railway runs from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean for the first time.
Railway line across Panama linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans
1871
Franco-Prussian War: The Siege of Paris ends in French defeat and an armistice.
War from 1870 to 1871
1878
Yale Daily News becomes the first independent daily college newspaper in the United States.
Student newspaper at Yale University
1896
Walter Arnold of East Peckham, Kent, becomes the first person to be convicted of speeding.
He was fined one shilling, plus costs, for speeding at 8 mph (13 km/h), thereby exceeding the contemporary speed limit of 2 mph (3.2 km/h).
1902
The Carnegie Institution of Washington is founded in Washington, D.C., with a $10 million gift from Andrew Carnegie.
American non-profit research organization
1908
Members of the Portuguese Republican Party fail in their attempted coup d'état against the administrative dictatorship of Prime Minister João Franco.
Defunct political party in Portugal
1909
United States troops leave Cuba, with the exception of Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, after being there since the Spanish–American War.
Country in the Caribbean
1915
An act of the U.S.
Congress creates the United States Coast Guard as a branch of the United States Armed Forces.
1916
The Canadian province of Manitoba grants women the right to vote and run for office in provincial elections (although still excluding women of Indigenous or Asian heritage), marking the first time women in Canada are granted voting rights.
Province of Canada
1918
Finnish Civil War: The Red Guard rebels seize control of the capital, Helsinki; members of the Senate of Finland go underground.
1918 civil war in Finland
1919
The Order of the White Rose of Finland is established by Baron Gustaf Mannerheim, the regent of Finland.
Order of merit for distinguished service
1922
Knickerbocker Storm: Washington, D.C.'s biggest snowfall, causes a disaster when the roof of the Knickerbocker Theatre collapses, killing over 100 people.
1922 blizzard on the United States East Coast
1933
The name Pakistan is coined by Choudhry Rahmat Ali Khan and is accepted by Indian Muslims who then thereby adopted it further for the Pakistan Movement seeking independence.
Country in South Asia
1935
Iceland becomes the first Western country to legalize therapeutic abortion.
Island country in the Atlantic Ocean
1938
The World Land Speed Record on a public road is broken by Rudolf Caracciola in the Mercedes-Benz W125 Rekordwagen at a speed of 432.7 kilometres per hour (268.9 mph).
1941
Franco-Thai War: Final air battle of the conflict.
A Japanese-mediated armistice goes into effect later in the day.
1945
World War II: Supplies begin to reach the Republic of China over the newly reopened Burma Road.
Global conflict (1939–1945)
1956
Elvis Presley makes his first national television appearance.
American singer and actor (1935–1977)
1958
The Lego company patents the design of its Lego bricks, still compatible with bricks produced today.
Plastic construction toy
1960
The National Football League announces expansion teams for Dallas to start in the 1960 NFL season and Minneapolis-St.
Paul for the 1961 NFL season.
1964
An unarmed United States Air Force T-39 Sabreliner on a training mission is shot down over Erfurt, East Germany, by a Soviet MiG-19.
Air service branch of the U.S. military
1977
The first day of the Great Lakes Blizzard of 1977, which dumps 3 metres (10 ft) of snow in one day in Upstate New York.
Buffalo, Syracuse, Watertown, and surrounding areas are most affected.
1980
USCGC Blackthorn collides with the tanker Capricorn while leaving Tampa, Florida and capsizes, killing 23 Coast Guard crewmembers.
United States Coast Guard ship, sank 1980
1981
Ronald Reagan lifts remaining domestic petroleum price and allocation controls in the United States, helping to end the 1979 energy crisis and begin the 1980s oil glut.
President of the United States from 1981 to 1989
1982
US Army General James L.
Dozier is rescued by Italian anti-terrorism forces from captivity by the Red Brigades.
1984
Tropical Storm Domoina makes landfall in southern Mozambique, eventually causing 214 deaths and some of the most severe flooding so far recorded in the region.
South-West Indian tropical storm in 1984
1985
Supergroup USA for Africa (United Support of Artists for Africa) records the hit single We Are the World, to help raise funds for Ethiopian famine relief.
1985 charity song
1986
Space Shuttle program: STS-51-L mission: Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrates after liftoff, killing all seven astronauts on board.
1972–2011 United States human spaceflight program
1988
In R v Morgentaler the Supreme Court of Canada strikes down all anti-abortion laws.
1988 Supreme Court of Canada decision legalizing abortion
2002
TAME Flight 120, a Boeing 727-100, crashes in the Andes mountains in southern Colombia, killing 94.
2002 plane crash near Ipiales, Colombia
2006
The roof of one of the buildings at the Katowice International Fair in Poland collapses due to the weight of snow, killing 65 and injuring more than 170 others.
Former international trade fair in Katowice, Poland
2021
A nitrogen leak at a poultry food processing facility in Gainesville, Georgia kills six and injures at least ten.
Fatal liquid nitrogen leak
2023
Protests begin in the United States after police beat and kill Tyre Nichols.
2023 protests following the death of Tyre Nichols
2026
A Learjet 45 crashes on approach to Baramati Airport in Maharashtra, killing all six occupants including the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Ajit Pawar.
Business jet aircraft
2026
The Rubaya mine collapse at Rubaya mines in DR Congo causes at least 400 deaths and injured several others.
Mine collapse in the DRC
2026
Storm Kristin causes a catastrophic impact in Portugal and Spain with €6 billion in damage in the central region of Portugal, 15 deaths and 2,000 injuries.
2026 European windstorm in Southwestern Europe