Calendar date · May

What happened on May 28

On May 28, -585: 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.

Events

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Notable births

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Notable deaths

50

Zodiac

Gemini

Featured moment · -585

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.

The eclipse of Thales was a solar eclipse, which was, according to the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, accurately predicted by the Greek philosopher Thales of Miletus. If Herodotus' account is accurate, this eclipse is the earliest recorded as being known in advance of its occurrence. According to Herodotus, the change of day into night was interpreted as an omen, and interrupted a battle in a long-standing war between the Medes and the Lydians in Anatolia.

People

Born on May 28

Phil Foden 2000– English footballer (born 2000)
Risi Pouri-Lane 2000– New Zealand rugby sevens player
Cameron Boyce 1999– American actor (1999–2019)
Jodie Burrage 1999– British tennis player (born 1999)
Kim Dahyun 1998– South Korean singer and actress (born 1998)
Alec Benjamin 1994– American singer and songwriter (born 1994)
John Stones 1994– English footballer (born 1994)
Daniel Alvaro 1993– Italy international rugby league footballer
Bárbara Luz 1993– Portuguese tennis player (born 1993)
Show 9 more — notable births on May 28
Danielle Lao 1991– American tennis player
Kail Piho 1991– Estonian Nordic combined skier (born 1991)
Kyle Walker 1990– English footballer (born 1990)
NaVorro Bowman 1988– American football player (born 1988)
Percy Harvin 1988– American football player (born 1988)
Craig Kimbrel 1988– American baseball player (born 1988)
David Perron 1988– Canadian ice hockey player (born 1988)
T.J. Yates 1987– American football player and coach (born 1987)
Berrick Barnes 1986– Australia international rugby union & league footballer

People

Died on May 28

David Brewer English broker and politician (1940–2023)
Patricia Brake English actress (1942–2022)
Mark Eaton American basketball player (1957–2021)
Neale Cooper Scottish footballer and manager (1963–2018)
Jens Christian Skou Danish chemist (1918–2018)
Cornelia Frances English-Australian actress (1941–2018)
Harambe Captive gorilla (1999–2016)
Steven Gerber American composer (1948–2015)
Johnny Keating Scottish songwriter, arranger and trombonist (1927–2015)
Show 9 more — notable deaths on May 28
Reynaldo Rey American actor and comedian (1940–2015)
Maya Angelou American writer and activist (1928–2014)
Stan Crowther English footballer
Oscar Dystel American publisher (born 1912)
Malcolm Glazer American sports team owner (1928–2014)
Bob Houbregs Canadian basketball player (1932–2014)
Isaac Kungwane South African soccer player (1971–2014)
Viktor Kulikov Soviet marshal (1921–2013)
Eddie Romero Filipino film director (1924–2013)

Timeline

Every May 28 on record

  1. -585 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.

    Ancient solar eclipse, possibly predicted

    The eclipse of Thales was a solar eclipse, which was, according to the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, accurately predicted by the Greek philosopher Thales of Miletus. If Herodotus' account is accurate, this eclipse is the earliest recorded as being known in advance of its occurrence. According to Herodotus, the change of day into night was interpreted as an omen, and interrupted a battle in a long-standing war between the Medes and the Lydians in Anatolia.

  2. 621 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.

    621 battle in China

    The Battle of Hulao, or Battle of Sishui, was a decisive Tang victory over the rival Zheng and Hebei-based Xia polities during the transition from Sui to Tang. The battle took place during the Luoyang–Hulao campaign on 28 May 621 when a Xia army – led by Dou Jiande, ruler of Xia – was defeated attacking a smaller Tang army – led by Prince Li Shimin – entrenched at the strategic Hulao Pass.

  3. 934 English king Æthelstan begins his invasion of Scotland with.

    This list of kings and reigning queens of the Kingdom of England begins with Alfred the Great, who initially ruled Wessex, one of the seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms which later made up modern England. Alfred styled himself king of the Anglo-Saxons from about 886, and while he was not the first king to claim to rule all of the English, his rule represents the start of the first unbroken line of kings to rule the whole of England, the House of Wessex.

  4. 1242 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.

    Part of the Albigensian Crusade (1242)

    The Avignonet massacre occurred on the eve of 28 May 1242 when a small force, mainly consisting of Cathars, massacred a group of inquisitors during the Albigensian Crusade.

  5. 1347 Marriage of Byzantine Emperor John V Palaiologos and Helena Kantakouzene.

    The foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD marks the conventional start of the Byzantine Empire, which fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as legitimate rulers and exercised sovereign authority are included, to the exclusion of junior co-emperors who never attained the status of sole or senior ruler, as well as of the various usurpers or rebels who claimed the imperial title.

  6. 1533 The Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, declares the marriage of King Henry VIII of England to Anne Boleyn valid.
  7. 1588 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.)
  8. 1644 English Civil War: Bolton Massacre by Royalist troops under the command of James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby.
  9. 1754 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.
  10. 1802 In Guadeloupe, 400 rebellious slaves, led by Louis Delgrès, blow themselves up rather than submit to Napoleon's troops.
  11. 1830 U.S. President Andrew Jackson signs the Indian Removal Act which denies Native Americans their land rights and forcibly relocates them.
  12. 1871 The Paris Commune falls after two months.
  13. 1892 In San Francisco, John Muir organizes the Sierra Club.
  14. 1905 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.
  15. 1907 The first Isle of Man TT race is held.
Show 15 earlier entries from May 28
  1. 1918 The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and the First Republic of Armenia declare their independence.
  2. 1926 The 28 May 1926 coup d'état: Ditadura Nacional is established in Portugal to suppress the unrest of the First Republic.
  3. 1932 In the Netherlands, construction of the Afsluitdijk is completed and the Zuiderzee bay is converted to the freshwater IJsselmeer.
  4. 1934 Near Callander, Ontario, Canada, the Dionne quintuplets are born to Oliva and Elzire Dionne; they will be the first quintuplets to survive infancy.
  5. 1936 Alan Turing submits On Computable Numbers for publication.
  6. 1937 Volkswagen, the German automobile manufacturer, is founded.
  7. 1940 World War II: Belgium surrenders to Nazi Germany to end the Battle of Belgium.
  8. 1940 World War II: Norwegian, French, Polish and British forces recapture Narvik in Norway. This is the first Allied infantry victory of the War.
  9. 1948 Daniel François Malan is elected as Prime Minister of South Africa. He later goes on to implement Apartheid.
  10. 1958 Cuban Revolution: Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement, heavily reinforced by Frank Pais Militia, overwhelm an army post in El Uvero.
  11. 1961 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.
  12. 1962 The Soviet Kosmos 5 satellite is launched.
  13. 1964 The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) is founded, with Yasser Arafat elected as its first leader.
  14. 1968 Garuda Indonesian Airways Flight 892 crashes near Nala Sopara in India, killing 30.
  15. 1974 Northern Ireland's power-sharing Sunningdale Agreement collapses following a general strike by loyalists.

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