# What happened on May 28 in history?

**Date:** May 28  
**Events recorded:** 50  
**Years spanned:** 585 BC – 2017  
**Full page:** https://thisday.info/events/may/28/

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## Featured Event

**2017** — Former Formula One driver Takuma Sato wins his first Indianapolis 500, the first Japanese and Asian driver to do so. Double world champion Fernando Alonso retires from the race with an engine issue in his first entry of the event.

[Read more on Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formula_One)

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## Events on this date

- **585 BC** — A solar eclipse occurs, as predicted by the Greek philosopher and scientist Thales, while Alyattes is battling Cyaxares in the Battle of the Eclipse, leading to a truce. This is one of the cardinal dates from which other dates can be calculated. It is also the earliest event of which the precise date is known. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eclipse_of_Thales))
- **621** — Battle of Hulao: Li Shimin, the son of the Chinese emperor Gaozu, defeats the numerically superior forces of Dou Jiande near the Hulao Pass (Henan). This victory decides the outcome of the civil war that followed the Sui dynasty's collapse in favour of the Tang dynasty. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Hulao))
- **934** — English king Æthelstan begins his invasion of Scotland. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_monarchs))
- **1242** — Avignonet massacre: A group of Cathars, with the probable connivance of Count Raymond VII of Toulouse, murder the inquisitor William Arnaud and eleven of his companions. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avignonet_massacre))
- **1347** — Marriage of Byzantine Emperor John V Palaiologos and Helena Kantakouzene. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Byzantine_emperors))
- **1533** — The Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, declares the marriage of King Henry VIII of England to Anne Boleyn valid. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archbishop_of_Canterbury))
- **1588** — The Spanish Armada, with 130 ships and 30,000 men, sets sail from Lisbon, Portugal, heading for the English Channel. (It will take until May 30 for all ships to leave port.) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Armada))
- **1644** — English Civil War: Bolton Massacre by Royalist troops under the command of James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Civil_War))
- **1754** — French and Indian War: In the first engagement of the war, Virginia militia under the 22-year-old Lieutenant colonel George Washington defeat a French reconnaissance party in the Battle of Jumonville Glen in what is now Fayette County in southwestern Pennsylvania. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_and_Indian_War))
- **1802** — In Guadeloupe, 400 rebellious slaves, led by Louis Delgrès, blow themselves up rather than submit to Napoleon's troops. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guadeloupe))
- **1830** — U.S. President Andrew Jackson signs the Indian Removal Act which denies Native Americans their land rights and forcibly relocates them. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_the_United_States))
- **1871** — The Paris Commune falls after two months. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Commune))
- **1892** — In San Francisco, John Muir organizes the Sierra Club. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco))
- **1905** — Russo-Japanese War: The Battle of Tsushima ends with the destruction of the Russian Baltic Fleet by Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō and the Imperial Japanese Navy. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russo-Japanese_War))
- **1907** — The first Isle of Man TT race is held. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isle_of_Man_TT))
- **1918** — The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and the First Republic of Armenia declare their independence. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azerbaijan_Democratic_Republic))
- **1926** — The 28 May 1926 coup d'état: Ditadura Nacional is established in Portugal to suppress the unrest of the First Republic. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/28_May_1926_coup_d'%C3%A9tat))
- **1932** — In the Netherlands, construction of the Afsluitdijk is completed and the Zuiderzee bay is converted to the freshwater IJsselmeer. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afsluitdijk))
- **1934** — Near Callander, Ontario, Canada, the Dionne quintuplets are born to Oliva and Elzire Dionne; they will be the first quintuplets to survive infancy. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Callander%2C_Ontario))
- **1936** — Alan Turing submits On Computable Numbers for publication. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Turing))
- **1937** — Volkswagen, the German automobile manufacturer, is founded. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen))
- **1940** — World War II: Belgium surrenders to Nazi Germany to end the Battle of Belgium. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II))
- **1940** — World War II: Norwegian, French, Polish and British forces recapture Narvik in Norway. This is the first Allied infantry victory of the War. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battles_of_Narvik))
- **1948** — Daniel François Malan is elected as Prime Minister of South Africa. He later goes on to implement Apartheid. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D._F._Malan))
- **1958** — Cuban Revolution: Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement, heavily reinforced by Frank Pais Militia, overwhelm an army post in El Uvero. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_Revolution))
- **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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Benenson))
- **1962** — The Soviet Kosmos 5 satellite is launched. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosmos_5))
- **1964** — The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) is founded, with Yasser Arafat elected as its first leader. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestine_Liberation_Organization))
- **1968** — Garuda Indonesian Airways Flight 892 crashes near Nala Sopara in India, killing 30. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garuda_Indonesian_Airways_Flight_892))
- **1974** — Northern Ireland's power-sharing Sunningdale Agreement collapses following a general strike by loyalists. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Ireland))
- **1975** — Fifteen West African countries sign the Treaty of Lagos, creating the Economic Community of West African States. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Africa))
- **1975** — At Brampton Centennial Secondary School, student Michael Slobodian kills two people and injures 13 others before committing suicide. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brampton_Centennial_Secondary_School))
- **1977** — The Beverly Hills Supper Club in Southgate, Kentucky, is engulfed by fire, killing 165 people inside. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beverly_Hills_Supper_Club_fire))
- **1979** — Konstantinos Karamanlis signs the full treaty of the accession of Greece with the European Economic Community. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konstantinos_Karamanlis))
- **1987** — An 18-year-old West German pilot, Mathias Rust, evades Soviet Union air defences and lands a private plane in Red Square in Moscow, Russia. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathias_Rust))
- **1991** — The capital city of Addis Ababa falls to the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front, ending both the Derg regime in Ethiopia and the Ethiopian Civil War. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Addis_Ababa))
- **1995** — The 7.0 Mw Neftegorsk earthquake shakes the former Russian settlement of Neftegorsk with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). Total damage was $64.1–300 million, with 1,989 deaths and 750 injured. The settlement was not rebuilt. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1995_Neftegorsk_earthquake))
- **1996** — U.S. President Bill Clinton's former business partners in the Whitewater land deal, Jim McDougal and Susan McDougal, and the Governor of Arkansas, Jim Guy Tucker, are convicted of fraud. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Clinton))
- **1998** — Nuclear testing: Pakistan responds to a series of nuclear tests by India with five of its own codenamed Chagai-I, prompting the United States, Japan, and other nations to impose economic sanctions. Pakistan celebrates Youm-e-Takbir annually. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_weapons_testing))
- **1999** — In Milan, Italy, after 22 years of restoration work, Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece The Last Supper is put back on display. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milan))
- **2002** — The last steel girder is removed from the original World Trade Center site. Cleanup duties officially end with closing ceremonies at Ground Zero in Manhattan, New York City. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Center_site))
- **2003** — Peter Hollingworth resigns as Governor-General of Australia following criticism of his handling of child sexual abuse allegations during his tenure as Anglican Archbishop of Brisbane. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Hollingworth))
- **2004** — The Iraqi Governing Council chooses Ayad Allawi, a longtime anti-Saddam Hussein exile, as prime minister of Iraq's interim government. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraqi_Governing_Council))
- **2008** — The first meeting of the Constituent Assembly of Nepal formally declares Nepal a republic, ending the 240-year reign of the Shah dynasty. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepal))
- **2010** — In West Bengal, India, the Jnaneswari Express train derailment and subsequent collision kills 148 passengers. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Bengal))
- **2011** — Malta votes on the introduction of divorce; the proposal was approved by 53% of voters, resulting in a law allowing divorce under certain conditions being enacted later in the year. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malta))
- **2012** — The Arkankergen massacre in Kazakhstan's Alakol District kills 15 people. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arkankergen_massacre))
- **2013** — Start of the Gezi Park protests in Turkey. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gezi_Park_protests))
- **2016** — Harambe, a gorilla, is shot to death after grabbing a three-year-old boy in his enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, resulting in widespread criticism and sparking various internet memes. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harambe))
- **2017** — Former Formula One driver Takuma Sato wins his first Indianapolis 500, the first Japanese and Asian driver to do so. Double world champion Fernando Alonso retires from the race with an engine issue in his first entry of the event. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formula_One))

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## Notable births on May 28

- **2000** — **Phil Foden** — English footballer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Foden))
- **2000** — **Risi Pouri-Lane** — New Zealand rugby sevens player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risi_Pouri-Lane))
- **1999** — **Cameron Boyce** — American actor (died 2019) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cameron_Boyce))
- **1999** — **Jodie Burrage** — British tennis player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jodie_Burrage))
- **1998** — **Kim Dahyun** — South Korean rapper and singer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dahyun))
- **1994** — **Alec Benjamin** — American singer and songwriter ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alec_Benjamin))
- **1994** — **John Stones** — English footballer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Stones))
- **1993** — **Daniel Alvaro** — Australian rugby league player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Alvaro))
- **1993** — **Bárbara Luz** — Portuguese tennis player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A1rbara_Luz))
- **1991** — **Danielle Lao** — American tennis player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danielle_Lao))

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## Notable deaths on May 28

- **2026** — **Claude Lemieux** — heavy-hitting retired NHL forward and four-time Stanley Cup winner (born 1965) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_Lemieux))
- **2023** — **David Breaer** — English politician, Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London (born 1940) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Brewer_(broker)))
- **2022** — **Patricia Brake** — English actress (born 1942) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patricia_Brake))
- **2021** — **Mark Eaton** — American basketball player (born 1957) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Eaton))
- **2018** — **Neale Cooper** — Scottish footballer (born 1963) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neale_Cooper))
- **2018** — **Jens Christian Skou** — Danish medical doctor and Nobel Prize laureate (born 1918) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jens_Christian_Skou))
- **2018** — **Cornelia Frances** — English-Australian actress (born 1941) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornelia_Frances))
- **2016** — **Harambe** — Cincinnati Zoo western lowland gorilla (born 1999) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harambe))
- **2015** — **Steven Gerber** — American pianist and composer (born 1948) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Gerber))
- **2015** — **Johnny Keating** — Scottish trombonist, composer, and producer (born 1927) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Keating))

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## About this page

This is a machine-readable Markdown summary of [thisday.info/events/may/28/](https://thisday.info/events/may/28/).  
Historical data is sourced from [Wikipedia/Wikimedia](https://www.wikipedia.org) under [CC BY-SA](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/).  
Editorial framing and site content © thisday.info.