On This Day — 28 December
2000s
2025
Unrest in the form of mass protests erupt across Iran, the largest uprising in the country since the Iranian Revolution.
2025–2026 Iranian protests
2019
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.
December 2019 Mogadishu bombing
2014
Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501 crashes into the Karimata Strait en route from Surabaya to Singapore, killing all 162 people aboard.
Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501
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.
MS Norman Atlantic
2009
Forty-three people die in a suicide bombing in Karachi, Pakistan, where Shia Muslims are observing the Day of Ashura.
2009 Karachi bombing
2006
War in Somalia: The militaries of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government and Ethiopian troops capture Mogadishu unopposed.
War in Somalia (2006–2009)
1900s
1989
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake hits Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, killing 13 people.
1989 Newcastle earthquake
1978
United Airlines Flight 173 crashes in a residential neighborhood near Portland International Airport, killing 10 people.
United Airlines Flight 173
1973
The United States Endangered Species Act is signed into law by President Richard Nixon.
United States
1972
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.
Selective Service System
1967
American businesswoman Muriel Siebert becomes the first woman to own a seat on the New York Stock Exchange.
Muriel Siebert
1958
"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.
1958 NFL Championship Game
1956
Chin Peng, David Marshall and Tunku Abdul Rahman meet in Baling, Malaya to try and resolve the Malayan Emergency situation.
Chin Peng
1948
The DC-3 airliner NC16002 disappears 80 kilometres (50 mi) south of Miami.
Douglas DC-3
1944
Maurice Richard becomes the first player to score eight points in one game of NHL ice hockey.
Maurice Richard
1943
Soviet authorities launch Operation Ulussy, beginning the deportation of the Kalmyk nation to Siberia and Central Asia.
Deportation of the Kalmyks
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.
Urban warfare
1941
World War II: Operation Anthropoid, the plot to assassinate high-ranking Nazi officer Reinhard Heydrich, commences.
World War II
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.
Constance Markievicz
1912
The first municipally owned streetcars take to the streets in San Francisco.
San Francisco Municipal Railway
1908
The 7.1 Mw Messina earthquake shakes Southern Italy with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), killing between about 80,000.
1908 Messina earthquake
1902
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.
Syracuse Pros
1800s
1895
The Lumière brothers perform for their first paying audience at the Grand Cafe in Boulevard des Capucines.
Lumière brothers
1895
Wilhelm Röntgen publishes a paper detailing his discovery of a new type of radiation, which later will be known as x-rays.
Wilhelm Röntgen
1885
The Indian National Congress is founded in Bombay Presidency, British India.
Indian National Congress
1879
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.
Tay Bridge disaster
1846
Iowa is admitted as the 29th U.S. state.
Iowa
1836
South Australia and Adelaide are founded.
South Australia
1836
Spain recognizes the independence of Mexico with the signing of the Santa María–Calatrava Treaty.
Spanish attempts to reconquer Mexico
1835
Osceola leads his Seminole warriors in Florida into the Second Seminole War against the United States Army.
Osceola
1832
John C. Calhoun becomes the first Vice President of the United States to resign. He resigned after being elected Senator from South Carolina.
John C. Calhoun
Before 1800
1795
Construction of Yonge Street, formerly recognized as the longest street in the world, begins in York, Upper Canada (present-day Toronto).
Yonge Street
1768
King Taksin's coronation achieved through conquest as a king of Thailand and established Thonburi as a capital.
Taksin
1659
The Marathas defeat the Adilshahi forces in the Battle of Kolhapur.
Maratha Empire
1308
The reign of Emperor Hanazono of Japan begins.
Emperor Hanazono
1065
Edward the Confessor's Romanesque monastic church at Westminster Abbey is consecrated.
Edward the Confessor
893
An earthquake destroys the city of Dvin, Armenia.
893 Dvin earthquake
484
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
457
Majorian is acclaimed as Western Roman emperor.
Majorian
418
A papal election begins, resulting in the election of Pope Boniface I.
Pope Boniface I