On This Day In History
May 28th
585 BC Solar eclipse, as predicted by Greek philosopher Thales, while Lydians at war with the Medes leads to a truce. One of the cardinal dates from which other dates calculated.
1431 Joan of Arc is accused of relapsing into heresy by donning male clothing again, providing justification for her execution
1588 Spanish Armada under the Duke of Medina-Sidonia departs Lisbon to invade England
1830 US President Andrew Jackson signs the Indian Removal Act, a key law leading to the forced removal of the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole tribes out of Georgia and surrounding states, setting the stage for the Cherokee Trail of Tears
1936 Alan Turing submits "On Computable Numbers" for publication, in which he set out the theoretical basis for modern computers.
1972 White House "plumbers" first break in at the Democratic National Headquarters and install listening devices at Watergate Complex in Washington, D.C.
Did You Know?
Near Callander, Ontario, the Dionne quintuplets are born to Olivia and Elzire Dionne, later becoming the first quintuplets to survive infancy
Today in History in 1934
Would You Believe?
Monkeys Able & Baker zoom 300 miles (500 km) into space on Jupiter missile, become 1st animals retrieved from a space mission
Today in History in 1959
This day 220 years ago – 28 May 1798 – the Battle of Enniscorthy took place.
Rebels from the United Irishmen, led by Fr John Murphy, attacked the town of Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford.
The three-hour battle ended in victory for the rebels, with loyalist forces relocating to Wexford. pic.twitter.com/4NeaakUBMR
— This Day in Irish History (@ThisDayIrish) May 28, 2018
#OTD in 1998, the Pulitzer Prize was won by 'Personal History', Katharine Graham's memoir of her life as publisher of the Washington Post. She headed the paper through decades, including Watergate, and helped to transform perceptions of women in power. https://t.co/ROJCOvlXsr pic.twitter.com/UF2zlXtSDG
— On This Day She (@OnThisDayShe) May 28, 2022
On this day in 1830, President Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act, forcing Indigenous people who had lived in the region for centuries to migrate west in brutal and dangerous conditions. To overcome racial inequality, we must confront our history. https://t.co/jmxsbO2zup
— Equal Justice Initiative (@eji_org) May 28, 2022
28 May 1849. Anne Brontë died (aged 28). She was the youngest of the Brontë literary family. She produced two novels: Agnes Grey, based on her experience as a governess and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, which is considered one of the first feminist novels. pic.twitter.com/pMjk9yRZmb
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) May 28, 2022
28 May 1937. The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California, USA, was officially opened by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. It spans the one-mile-wide strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. It was initially designed by the engineer Joseph Strauss in 1917. pic.twitter.com/9J38WKXQKT
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) May 28, 2022
28 May 1961. Peter Benenson’s article “The Forgotten Prisoners” was published. This would later be regarded as heralding the founding of the human rights organisation Amnesty International. pic.twitter.com/n7rPZ9Rfyu
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) May 28, 2022
28 May 1967. Sir Francis Chichester arrived in Plymouth on his yacht Gipsy Moth IV, to become the first person to sail single-handed around the world by the clipper route in nine months and one day overall in 1966 to 1967. For this feat, he was knighted by the Queen. pic.twitter.com/EamqPqp5Qj
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) May 28, 2022
28 May 1984. Comedian Eric Morecambe, part of the popular Morecame and Wise comedy duo, died (aged 58). He collapsed from a heart attack as he left the stage of the Roses Theatre in Tewkesbury. He’d previously suffered heart attacks in 1968 and 1979 and undergone bypass surgery. pic.twitter.com/d2sxDYm1DQ
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) May 28, 2022
28 May 2014. Acclaimed poet and autobiographer, Maya Angelou, died (aged 86). She’s best known for her revealing series 7 autobiographies which vividly and often movingly focus on her childhood and early adult experiences. pic.twitter.com/ngvQ77kO7o
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) May 28, 2022
May 29th
1453 Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman Empire falls to the Turks under Mehmed II; ends the Byzantine Empire
1592 Battle of Sacheon: Korean navy led by Admiral Yi Sun Shin repels a Japanese fleet - first use of Korean Turtle ship
1660 On his 30th birthday Charles II returns to London from exile in the Netherlands to claim the English throne after the Puritan Commonwealth comes to an end
1851 Sojourner Truth addresses 1st Black Women's Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio
1953 Edmund Hillary (NZ) and Tenzing Norgay (Nepal) are first to reach the summit of Mount Everest as part of a British Expedition
Did You Know?
American chemist John Pemberton begins to advertise Coca-Cola
Today in History in 1886
Would You Believe?
15 young women are fired by Curtis Publishing in Philadelphia for dancing the "Turkey Trot" during their lunch break
Today in History in 1912
This day 18 years ago - 29 May 2002 - the Irish government acquired a previously unseen collection of James Joyce's manuscripts for €12.6 million.
Minister for Arts Síle de Valera described it as a “monumental event in Ireland's literary and cultural history.” pic.twitter.com/BugzKmDHQ3
— This Day in Irish History (@ThisDayIrish) May 29, 2020
#OTD in 1954, British runner Diane Leather became the first woman to run a mile in under 5 minutes. Earlier in the month her fellow Brit, Roger Bannister, had become the first person to run a mile in under 4 minutes. https://t.co/31WpA0rxMy pic.twitter.com/3Zc40rX4OF
— On This Day She (@OnThisDayShe) May 29, 2022
On this day in 1930, the U.S. Department of War forced the grieving families of Black veterans killed abroad to travel separately from white families to visit their loved ones’ graves. To overcome racial inequality, we must confront our history. https://t.co/FocDIo69kX
— Equal Justice Initiative (@eji_org) May 29, 2022
29 May 1871. The first official Bank Holiday in Britain took place on Whit Monday (it’s now called Spring Bank Holiday). It was introduced by the 1871 Bank Holiday Act. The Act ruled that no financial dealing would occur on a Bank Holiday, and that banks would close. pic.twitter.com/ZmRY52nCF5
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) May 29, 2022
29 May 1914. The Canadian Pacific ocean liner, RMS Empress of Ireland, travelling from Liverpool to Quebec, sank after colliding with a Norwegian ship: 1,012 died. It had been built especially for the Canadian Pacific Line’s growing emigrant trade from Liverpool to Canada. pic.twitter.com/9tSe2IjxDw
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) May 29, 2022
29 May 1953. At 11:30 AM, New Zealander, Edmund Hillary (left), and Nepalese sherpa, Tenzing Norway, became the first known people to reach the top of Mount Everest, which at 8,48.86 metres above sea level is the world’s highest mountain. pic.twitter.com/6w1XrHjZLr
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) May 29, 2022
29 May 1968. Man United became the first English club side to win the European Cup, beating Portuguese champions Benfica 4-1 at Wembley, after extra time, before a crowd of 92,225. It was an emotional triumph for Matt Busby who rebuilt the side after the 1958 Munich Air Disaster. pic.twitter.com/fv2jIxiuVQ
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) May 29, 2022