On This Day: 28 October

28 October in world history

• 2025Hurricane Melissa makes landfall near Black River, Jamaica, killing over 30 people, as well as tying the 1935 Labor Day hurricane as the most intense landfall in the North Atlantic.
• 2023The 2023 Rugby World Cup final is held at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, France. It saw South Africa defeat New Zealand 12 to 11, claiming their fourth Webb Ellis Cup, becoming the first nation to do so.
• 2018Jair Bolsonaro is elected president of Brazil with 57 million votes, with Workers' Party candidate Fernando Haddad as the runner-up. It is the first time in 16 years that a Workers' Party candidate is not elected president.
• 2014A rocket carrying NASA's Cygnus CRS Orb-3 resupply mission to the International Space Station explodes seconds after taking off from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Wallops Island, Virginia.
• 2009NASA successfully launches the Ares I-X mission, the only rocket launch for its short-lived Constellation program.
• 2007In the Argentine general election, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner became the first woman to be elected president of Argentina.
• 1989Aloha Island Air Flight 1712, a Twin Otter 300, crashed into terrain at night in Hawaii killing all 20 occupants onboard.
• 1971Prospero, the first British satellite launched on a British rocket, lifted off from Launch Area 5B in Woomera, South Australia.
• 1949An Air France Lockheed Constellation crashes in the Azores, killing all 48 people on board.
• 1942The Alaska Highway first connects Alaska to the North American railway network at Dawson Creek in Canada.
• 1940World War II: Italy invaded Greece after Greek prime minister Ioannis Metaxas rejected Benito Mussolini's ultimatum demanding the cession of Greek territory.
• 1864American Civil War: A Union attack on the Confederate capital of Richmond is repulsed.
• 1835In the first major engagement of the Texas Revolution, the Texian Army repelled a Mexican attack at the grounds of Mission Concepcion south of Downtown San Antonio.
• 1776American Revolutionary War: As George Washington's Continental Army retreated northward from New York City, the British Army captured the village of White Plains.
• 1726The novel Gulliver's Travels written by Jonathan Swift is published.
• 1707The Hōei earthquake ruptured all segments of the Nankai megathrust simultaneously – the only earthquake recorded to have done so.
• 1640The Treaty of Ripon was agreed, ending the Second Bishops' War and forcing Charles I to summon the Long Parliament, ultimately leading to the First English Civil War.
• 1453Ladislaus the Posthumous was crowned King of Bohemia, although George of Poděbrady remained in control of the government.

Born on 28 October

• 1959James Keelaghan, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer
• 1958Ashok Chavan, Indian businessman and politician, 16th Chief Minister of MaharashtraIndia
• 1955Indra Nooyi, Indian-American businesswomanIndia
• 1955Bill Gates, American businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Microsoft
• 1924Peddibhotla Suryakantam, Telugu actress (died 1994)India
• 1879Channing H. Cox, American lawyer and politician, 49th Governor of Massachusetts (died 1968)

Died on 28 October

• 2013Rajendra Yadav, Indian author (born 1929)India
• 1792John Smeaton, English engineer, designed the Coldstream Bridge and Perth Bridge (born 1724)
• 1704John Locke, English physician and philosopher (born 1632)
• 1627Jahangir, Mughal Emperor of India (born 1569)India

Frequently asked questions

What happened on 28 October in history?

2025: Hurricane Melissa makes landfall near Black River, Jamaica, killing over 30 people, as well as tying the 1935 Labor Day hurricane as the most intense landfall in the North Atlantic. 2023: The 2023 Rugby World Cup final is held at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, France. It saw South Africa defeat New Zealand 12 to 11, claiming their fourth Webb Ellis Cup, becoming the first nation to do so. 2018: Jair Bolsonaro is elected president of Brazil with 57 million votes, with Workers' Party candidate Fernando Haddad as the runner-up. It is the first time in 16 years that a Workers' Party candidate is not elected president. 2014: A rocket carrying NASA's Cygnus CRS Orb-3 resupply mission to the International Space Station explodes seconds after taking off from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Wallops Island, Virginia.

Which famous people were born on 28 October?

James Keelaghan, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer (1959); Ashok Chavan, Indian businessman and politician, 16th Chief Minister of Maharashtra (1958); Indra Nooyi, Indian-American businesswoman (1955); Bill Gates, American businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Microsoft (1955).

Which day is observed on 28 October?

Day of the Establishment of an Independent Czecho-Slovak State, celebrates the independence of Czechoslovakia from Austria-Hungary in 1918. ; International Animation Day (ASIFA); Ohi Day (Greece, Cyprus and the Greek communities), a national day in Greece.; Prefectural Earthquake Disaster Prevention Day (Gifu Prefecture); Youth Pledge Day or Hari Sumpah Pemuda (Indonesia).