May 28 has produced turning points in politics, science, culture, war, law, and technology. This timeline collects notable events recorded for this calendar day.
The list below is generated from public historical datasets and refreshed automatically by date.
Timeline for May 28
2017Formula One
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 an engine issue in his first entry of the event.
2016Harambe
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.
2013Gezi Park protests
Start of the Gezi Park protests in Turkey.
2012Arkankergen massacre
The Arkankergen massacre in Kazakhstan's Alakol District kills 15 people.
2011Malta
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.
2010West Bengal
In West Bengal, India, the Jnaneswari Express train derailment and subsequent collision kills 148 passengers.
2008Nepal
The first meeting of the Constituent Assembly of Nepal formally declares Nepal a republic, ending the 240-year reign of the Shah dynasty.
2004Iraqi Governing Council
The Iraqi Governing Council chooses Ayad Allawi, a longtime anti-Saddam Hussein exile, as prime minister of Iraq's interim government.
2003Peter Hollingworth
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.
2002World Trade Center site
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.
1999Milan
In Milan, Italy, after 22 years of restoration work, Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece The Last Supper is put back on display.
1998Nuclear weapons testing
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.
1996Bill Clinton
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.
19951995 Neftegorsk earthquake
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.
1991Addis Ababa
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.
1987Mathias Rust
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.
1979Konstantinos Karamanlis
Konstantinos Karamanlis signs the full treaty of the accession of Greece with the European Economic Community.
1977Beverly Hills Supper Club fire
The Beverly Hills Supper Club in Southgate, Kentucky, is engulfed by fire, killing 165 people inside.
1975West Africa
Fifteen West African countries sign the Treaty of Lagos, creating the Economic Community of West African States.
1975Brampton Centennial Secondary School
At Brampton Centennial Secondary School, student Michael Slobodian kills two people and injures 13 others before committing suicide.
1974Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland's power-sharing Sunningdale Agreement collapses following a general strike by loyalists.
1968Garuda Indonesian Airways Flight 892
Garuda Indonesian Airways Flight 892 crashes near Nala Sopara in India, killing 30.
1964Palestine Liberation Organization
The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) is founded, with Yasser Arafat elected as its first leader.
1962Kosmos 5
The Soviet Kosmos 5 satellite is launched.
1961Peter Benenson
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.
1958Cuban Revolution
Cuban Revolution: Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement, heavily reinforced by Frank Pais Militia, overwhelm an army post in El Uvero.
1948D. F. Malan
Daniel François Malan is elected as Prime Minister of South Africa. He later goes on to implement Apartheid.
1940World War II
World War II: Belgium surrenders to Nazi Germany to end the Battle of Belgium.
1940Battles of Narvik
World War II: Norwegian, French, Polish and British forces recapture Narvik in Norway. This is the first Allied infantry victory of the War.
1937Volkswagen
Volkswagen, the German automobile manufacturer, is founded.
1936Alan Turing
Alan Turing submits On Computable Numbers for publication.
1934Callander, Ontario
Near Callander, Ontario, Canada, the Dionne quintuplets are born to Oliva and Elzire Dionne; they will be the first quintuplets to survive infancy.
1932Afsluitdijk
In the Netherlands, construction of the Afsluitdijk is completed and the Zuiderzee bay is converted to the freshwater IJsselmeer.
192628 May 1926 coup d'état
The 28 May 1926 coup d'état: Ditadura Nacional is established in Portugal to suppress the unrest of the First Republic.
1918Azerbaijan Democratic Republic
The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and the First Republic of Armenia declare their independence.
1907Isle of Man TT
The first Isle of Man TT race is held.
1905Russo-Japanese War
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.
1892San Francisco
In San Francisco, John Muir organizes the Sierra Club.
1871Paris Commune
The Paris Commune falls after two months.
1830President of the United States
U.S. President Andrew Jackson signs the Indian Removal Act which denies Native Americans their land rights and forcibly relocates them.
1802Guadeloupe
In Guadeloupe, 400 rebellious slaves, led by Louis Delgrès, blow themselves up rather than submit to Napoleon's troops.
1754French and Indian War
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.
1644English Civil War
English Civil War: Bolton Massacre by Royalist troops under the command of James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby.
1588Spanish Armada
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.)
1533Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, declares the marriage of King Henry VIII of England to Anne Boleyn valid.
1347List of Byzantine emperors
Marriage of Byzantine Emperor John V Palaiologos and Helena Kantakouzene.
1242Avignonet massacre
Avignonet massacre: A group of Cathars, with the probable connivance of Count Raymond VII of Toulouse, murdered the inquisitor William Arnaud and eleven of his companions.
934List of English monarchs
English king Æthelstan begins his invasion of Scotland.
621Battle of Hulao
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.
585 BCEclipse of Thales
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.
