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What Happened on November 28 in History

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

Colonial America and the Revolution

  1. 1520 (Julian calendar)

    Ferdinand Magellan's ships passed through the strait at South America's tip into the Pacific.

    After a dangerous passage through the strait that now bears his name, three ships reached the open ocean, which Magellan called the Pacific. He became the first European to sail from the Atlantic into it.

    Source: history.com; static-prod.lib.princeton.edu

The Early 1900s and the World Wars

  1. 1925

    The Grand Ole Opry began broadcasting from Nashville on radio station WSM.

    The show started under the name Barn Dance, modeled on a Chicago radio program. It became one of the longest running showcases in American music.

    Source: history.com

  2. 1942

    Fire tore through Boston's Cocoanut Grove nightclub, killing 492 people.

    Within eight minutes the fire had engulfed the crowded club. Investigators found that exits had been blocked or sealed, which added to the loss of life.

    Source: archives.gov

  3. 1943

    Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin opened their wartime conference in Tehran.

    The three Allied leaders gathered in Iran to plan strategy for defeating Germany and to discuss the postwar world. Iran was a key supply route to the Soviet Union.

    Source: history.com; archive.nytimes.com

The Cold War

  1. 1964

    NASA launched Mariner 4, which became the first successful mission to Mars.

    The probe flew past Mars on July 14, 1965. It sent back the first close-up pictures of another planet.

    Source: science.nasa.gov

  2. 1979

    An Air New Zealand sightseeing flight crashed into Mount Erebus in Antarctica.

    All 257 people aboard were killed. Day trips over the Ross Ice Shelf had become popular with tourists, and the crash remains the worst air accident in New Zealand's history.

    Source: history.com

  3. 1983

    Space shuttle Columbia launched STS-9, the first Spacelab mission.

    The flight carried the Spacelab laboratory into orbit for the first time and was the first shuttle mission with a six-person crew. Columbia landed at Edwards Air Force Base on December 8.

    Source: nasa.gov

  4. 1990

    Margaret Thatcher resigned as British prime minister after more than 11 years.

    Her departure ended a premiership that had begun in May 1979.

    Source: archive.nytimes.com