On This Day

What Happened on December 28 in History

8 events that happened on December 28, oldest first. Every entry is written in our own words and links to its source.

The Young Republic and the Civil War Era

1832
John C. Calhoun becomes the first U.S. vice president to resign.
Calhoun had broken with President Andrew Jackson and led South Carolina's challenge to federal tariffs during the Nullification Crisis. He left the vice presidency to take a seat in the U.S. Senate.
Source: history.com; constitutioncenter.org
1835
Seminole warriors ambush Major Francis Dade's column in Florida, opening the Second Seminole War.
The soldiers were marching from Fort Brooke to Fort King when they were attacked, and almost the entire command was killed. The same day, Osceola's warriors killed Indian agent Wiley Thompson near Fort King.
Source: fcit.usf.edu
1846
Iowa is admitted to the Union as the 29th state.
Congress accepted Iowa's constitution and President James K. Polk signed the admission act. Iowa entered as a free state, balancing Florida's admission as a slave state the year before.
Source: legis.iowa.gov; history.com
1895
The Lumière brothers show films to a paying audience at the Grand Café in Paris.
Auguste and Louis Lumière projected a program of about ten short scenes with their Cinématographe in a room beneath the café. The screening is widely remembered as the birth of commercial cinema.
Source: history.com; almanac.upenn.edu

1908
An earthquake and tsunami devastate Messina and Reggio Calabria in southern Italy.
The pre-dawn quake in the Strait of Messina flattened most buildings in both cities and was followed by destructive waves. Tens of thousands of people died, making it the deadliest earthquake in recorded European history.
Source: history.com

1958
The Baltimore Colts beat the New York Giants in overtime in the NFL's "Greatest Game Ever Played."
Johnny Unitas drove the Colts to a tying field goal late in regulation, and Alan Ameche scored in sudden-death overtime to win the title 23 to 17. Watched by a huge national television audience, the game helped make pro football a major TV sport.
Source: history.com
1973
President Richard Nixon signs the Endangered Species Act into law.
The act directed federal agencies to protect threatened and endangered plants and animals and the habitats they depend on. It became the main U.S. law for preventing extinctions and helped bring back species such as the bald eagle.
Source: presidency.ucsb.edu; fws.gov
1978
United Airlines Flight 173 runs out of fuel and crashes near Portland, Oregon.
The DC-8 circled for about an hour while the crew dealt with a landing gear warning, and its engines lost power short of the airport. Ten people died, and the accident pushed airlines to adopt crew resource management training.
Source: faa.gov