Summary of the Day ✨ 28 December (28/12)
Mass protests erupted across Iran in the country’s largest uprising since the revolution, while a devastating truck bombing in Mogadishu killed at least 85 people as Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility. Across Asia, Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501 crashed into the Karimata Strait killing all 162 aboard, the MS Norman Atlantic caught fire in the Adriatic Sea killing 9 with 19 missing, and a suicide bombing in Karachi during Shia observances claimed 43 lives.
Historical Events 📜
- 2025: Unrest in the form of mass protests erupt across Iran, the largest uprising in the country since the Iranian Revolution.
- 2019: A truck bomb is detonated in Mogadishu, Somalia, killing at least 85 people and injuring over 140 more. The militant group Al-Shabaab claims responsibility.
- 2014: Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501 crashes into the Karimata Strait en route from Surabaya to Singapore, killing all 162 people aboard.
- 2014: Nine people die and another 19 are reported missing, when the MS Norman Atlantic catches fire in the Strait of Otranto, in the Adriatic Sea, in Italian waters.
- 2009: Forty-three people die in a suicide bombing in Karachi, Pakistan, where Shia Muslims are observing the Day of Ashura.
- 2006: War in Somalia: The militaries of Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government and Ethiopian troops capture Mogadishu unopposed.
- 1989: A magnitude 5.6 earthquake hits Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, killing 13 people.
- 1978: United Airlines Flight 173 crashes in a residential neighborhood near Portland International Airport, killing 10 people.
- 1973: The United States Endangered Species Act is signed into law by President Richard Nixon.
- 1972: The last scheduled day for induction into the military by the Selective Service System. Due to the fact that President Richard Nixon declared this day a national day of mourning due to former President Harry S Truman’s death, approximately 300 men were not able to report due to most Federal offices being closed. Since the draft was not resumed in 1973, they were never drafted.
- 1967: American businesswoman Muriel Siebert becomes the first woman to own a seat on the New York Stock Exchange.
- 1958: “Greatest Game Ever Played”: The Baltimore Colts defeat the New York Giants in the first ever National Football League sudden death overtime game at New York’s Yankee Stadium to win the NFL Championship.
- 1956: Chin Peng, David Marshall and Tunku Abdul Rahman meet in Baling, Malaya to try and resolve the Malayan Emergency situation.
- 1948: The DC-3 airliner NC16002 disappears 80 kilometres (50 mi) south of Miami.
- 1944: Maurice Richard becomes the first player to score eight points in one game of NHL ice hockey.
Famous Births 👶
- 2002: Tom Cannon, British-Irish footballer
- 2001: Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Canadian actress
- 1999: Iqbaal Ramadhan, Indonesian actor and singer
- 1996: Tanguy Ndombele, French footballer
- 1995: Dylan Cease, American baseball player
- 1995: Mauricio Lemos, Uruguayan footballer
- 1995: Nahitan Nández, Uruguayan footballer
- 1994: Adam Peaty, English swimmer
- 1992: Tomáš Jurčo, Slovak ice hockey player
- 1990: Ayele Abshero, Ethiopian runner
- 1990: Marcos Alonso, Spanish footballer
- 1990: David Archuleta, American singer
- 1990: John Henson, American basketball player
- 1990: Bastiaan Lijesen, Dutch swimmer
- 1989: Austin Barnes, American baseball player
Notable Deaths 🕊️
- 2025: Brigitte Bardot, French actress, singer and activist (born 1934)
- 2024: Charles Dolan, American businessman, founded Cablevision and HBO (born 1926)
- 2023: Vijayakanth, Indian actor and politician (born 1952)
- 2022: Philomena Franz, German Romani author (born 1922)
- 2021: Grichka Bogdanoff, French television presenter and scientific essayist (born 1949)
- 2021: John Madden, American football Hall of Fame coach and commentator (born 1936)
- 2021: Harry Reid, American lawyer, politician, and former Senate majority leader (born 1939)
- 2017: Rose Marie, American actress and comedienne (born 1923)
- 2016: Debbie Reynolds, American actress, singer and dancer (born 1932)
- 2016: Jean-Christophe Victor, French political scientist (born 1947)
- 2015: John Bradbury, English drummer and songwriter (born 1953)
- 2015: Eloy Inos, Mariana Islander businessman and politician, 8th Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands (born 1949)
- 2015: Lemmy, English musician, singer, and songwriter (born 1945)
- 2014: Leelah Alcorn, American transgender teenager (born 1997)
- 2014: Vahan Hovhannisyan, Armenian politician (born 1956)
Holidays & Observances 🎉
- Christian feast day:
Abel (Coptic Church) - Christian feast day:
Caterina Volpicelli - Christian feast day:
Feast of the Holy Innocents or Childermas; in Spain and Latin American countries the festival is celebrated with pranks (inocentadas), similar to April Fools’ Day (Catholic Church, Church of England, Lutheran Church), and its related observances:
Els Enfarinats (Ibi, Spain) - Christian feast day:
Simon the Athonite - Christian feast day:
December 28 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) - King Taksin Memorial Day (Thailand)
- Proclamation Day (South Australia), celebration started on the day following Christmas (South Australia)
- Republic Day (South Sudan)
- The fourth of the Twelve Days of Christmas (Western Christianity)