May 28th: On This Day In History
I did some research this morning to see what other events have occurred in history on May 28th. Certainly my entrance into this world isn’t an extraordinarily spectacular event, but as I dug around, I found out that May 28th has held some interesting significance in history.
May 28, 585 BC – A solar eclipse occurs, as predicted by 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.
May 28, 1754 – French and Indian War: in the first engagement of the war, Virginia militia under 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.
May 28, 1774 – American Revolutionary War: the first Continental Congress convenes.
May 28, 1937 – The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California, is officially opened by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in Washington, D.C., who pushes a button signaling the start of vehicle traffic over the span.
May 28, 1952 – The women of Greece are given the right to vote.
May 28, 1983 – In Salt Lake City, Utah, debris clogged underwater conduits of City Creek, causing the creek to overflow on State Street, one of the main thoroughfares of the city.
May 28, 1999 – In Milan, Italy, after 22 years of restoration work, Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece The Last Supper is put back on display.
May 28, 2002 – The last steel beam standing at the World Trade Center site is cut down and placed on a flatbed truck (to be carried away Thursday) in a quiet ceremony honoring the construction workers.
May 28, 2005 – The clock tower of the Palace of Westminster in London, commonly known as Big Ben, renowned for its accuracy and chimes, stopped ticking for 90 minutes.
May 28, 2006 – Barry Bonds hits his 715th home run against the Colorado Rockies, passing Babe Ruth to move into second place on the list of all-time home run hitters.
May 28, 2008 – Engineers announce that the Leaning Tower of Pisa has been stabilized for the first time, and will remain stable for 200 more years.
May 28, 2010 – The owner of Taiwan’s Foxconn Technology factory in Shenzhen, where several employees have committed suicide, increases wages by 20% in an effort to boost morale.
People born on May 28:
- 1140 – Xin Qiji, Chinese poet (d. 1207)
- 1779 – Thomas Moore, Irish poet (d. 1852)
- 1910 – T-Bone Walker, American singer (d. 1975)
- 1945 – John Fogerty, American singer, songwriter and guitarist (Creedence Clearwater Revival)
- 1945 – Hunter “Patch” Adams, American physician and social activist
- 1964 – Phil Vassar, American country singer
- 1979 – Jesse Bradford, American actor
- 1983 – Yours truly, American awesomeness incarnate
- 1985 – Colbie Caillat, American singer-songwriter
One comment
This is almost as cool as April 19, but not quite.
Happy birthday! 