April 28 in History

CBS News releases evidence of the Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse. The photographs show rape and abuse from the American troops over Iraqi detainees.

Whitewater controversy: President Bill Clinton gives a 41⁄2 hour videotaped testimony for the defense.

Port Arthur massacre, Tasmania: A gunman, Martin Bryant, opens fire at the Broad Arrow Cafe in Port Arthur, Tasmania, killing 35 people and wounding 23 others.

Former Central Intelligence Agency counterintelligence officer and analyst Aldrich Ames pleads guilty to giving US secrets to the Soviet Union and later Russia.

Space Shuttle Discovery launches on STS-39, the first unclassified shuttle mission for the United States Department of Defense.

Near Maui, Hawaii, flight attendant Clarabelle "C.B." Lansing is blown out of Aloha Airlines Flight 243, a Boeing 737, and falls to her death when part of the plane's fuselage rips open in mid-flight.

High levels of radiation resulting from the Chernobyl disaster are detected at Forsmark Nuclear Power Plant in Sweden, leading Soviet authorities to publicly announce the accident.

The West German news magazine Stern begins publishing excerpts from the purported diaries of Adolf Hitler, later revealed to be forgeries.

The President of Afghanistan, Mohammad Daoud Khan, is overthrown and assassinated in a coup led by pro-communist rebels.

The Red Army Faction trial ends, with Andreas Baader, Gudrun Ensslin and Jan-Carl Raspe found guilty of four counts of murder and more than 30 counts of attempted murder.

General Cao Văn Viên, chief of the South Vietnamese military, departs for the US as the North Vietnamese Army closes in on victory.

The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd, recorded in Abbey Road Studios goes to number one on the US Billboard chart, beginning a record-breaking 741-week chart run.

Vietnam War: US President Richard Nixon formally authorizes American combat troops to take part in the Cambodian campaign.

Charles de Gaulle resigns as President of France.

Vietnam War: Boxer Muhammad Ali refuses his induction into the United States Army and is subsequently stripped of his championship and license.

United States occupation of the Dominican Republic: American troops land in the Dominican Republic to "forestall establishment of a Communist dictatorship" and to evacuate US Army troops.

Dwight D. Eisenhower resigns as Supreme Allied Commander of NATO in order to campaign in the 1952 United States presidential election.

The Treaty of San Francisco comes into effect, restoring Japanese sovereignty and ending its state of war with most of the Allies of World War II.

The Sino-Japanese Peace Treaty (Treaty of Taipei) is signed in Taipei, Taiwan between Japan and the Republic of China to officially end the Second Sino-Japanese War.

The Hukbalahap are accused of assassinating former First Lady of the Philippines Aurora Quezon, while she is en route to dedicate a hospital in memory of her late husband; her daughter and ten others are also killed.

Igor Stravinsky conducts the premiere of his American ballet, Orpheus at the New York City Center.

Thor Heyerdahl and five crew mates set out from Peru on the Kon-Tiki to demonstrate that Peruvian natives could have settled Polynesia.

Benito Mussolini and his mistress Clara Petacci are shot dead by Walter Audisio, a member of the Italian resistance movement.

The Holocaust: Nazi Germany carries out its final use of gas chambers to execute 33 Upper Austrian socialist and communist leaders in Mauthausen concentration camp.

World War II: Nine German E-boats attack US and UK units during Exercise Tiger, the rehearsal for the Normandy landings, killing 946.

The Ustaše massacre nearly 200 Serbs in the village of Gudovac, the first massacre of their genocidal campaign against Serbs of the Independent State of Croatia.

South African medical researcher Max Theiler develops the yellow fever vaccine at the Rockefeller Foundation in New York City.

The Independence Producers host the first night game in the history of Organized Baseball in Independence, Kansas.

Wembley Stadium is opened, named initially as the Empire Stadium.

The Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic is founded.

Frenchman Louis Paulhan wins the 1910 London to Manchester air race, the first long-distance aeroplane race in the United Kingdom.

A week after being arrested by the Prussian Secret Police, French police inspector Guillaume Schnaebelé is released on order of Wilhelm I, German Emperor, defusing a possible war.

Billy the Kid escapes from the Lincoln County jail in Mesilla, New Mexico.

Chinese and Irish laborers for the Central Pacific Railroad working on the first transcontinental railroad lay ten miles of track in one day, a feat which has never been matched.

The sailing clipper ship Pomona is wrecked on the coast of Ireland with the loss of 424 of the 448 passengers and crew aboard.

The Bawani Imli massacre, where 52 Indian freedom fighters are hanged to death on a tamarind tree by British colonial forces.

The Armistice of Cherasco is signed by Napoleon Bonaparte and Vittorio Amedeo III, King of Sardinia, expanding French territory along the Mediterranean coast.

Sardinians, headed by Giovanni Maria Angioy, start a revolution against the Savoy domination, expelling Viceroy Balbiano and his officials from Cagliari, the capital and largest city of the island.

France invades the Austrian Netherlands (present day Belgium and Luxembourg), beginning the French Revolutionary Wars.

The Mutiny on the Bounty occurs, with the ship's captain, Lieutenant William Bligh and 18 sailors, set adrift, and the rebel crew setting sail for Tahiti. Eventually the majority of rebels sail for Pitcairn Island.

Maryland becomes the seventh state to ratify the United States Constitution.

The Marathas defeat the Afghans in the Battle of Attock and capture the city.

Pope Clement XII issues the first papal condemnation of Freemasonry and formally prohibits Catholics from becoming Freemasons.

A combined Spanish and Portuguese fleet of 52 ships commences the recapture of Bahia from the Dutch during the Dutch–Portuguese War.

Establishment of the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, the Catholic University of the Philippines and the largest Catholic university in the world.

The Battle of Cerignola is fought. It is noted as one of the first European battles in history won by small arms fire using gunpowder.

Temür, grandson of Kublai, is elected Khagan of the Mongols with the reigning title Oljeitu.

Nichiren, a Japanese Buddhist monk, propounds Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō for the first time and declares it to be the essence of Buddhism, in effect founding Nichiren Buddhism.

Assassination of Conrad of Montferrat (Conrad I), King of Jerusalem, in Tyre, two days after his title to the throne is confirmed by election. The killing is carried out by Hashshashin.

Emperor Constantius II enters Rome for the first time to celebrate his victory over Magnus Magnentius.

The Battle of Hormozdgan is fought. Ardashir I defeats and kills Artabanus V, effectively ending the Parthian Empire.

Anthony Volpe, American baseball player

Victoria De Angelis, Italian musician

Alek Thomas, American baseball player

Song Yu-bin, South Korean singer and actor

Shane McClanahan, American baseball player

Denzel Ward, American football player

Connor Clifton, American ice hockey player

Melanie Martinez, American singer

Jakob Butturff, American bowler

Wonpil, South Korean musician

Matt Chapman, American baseball player

Eva Samková, Czech snowboarder

Blake Bortles, American football player

DeMarcus Lawrence, American football player

Emil Salomonsson, Swedish footballer

Kim Sung-kyu, South Korean singer

Jonathan Biabiany, French footballer

Juan Mata, Spanish footballer

Daequan Cook, American basketball player

Drew Gulak, American wrestler

Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Indian actress and model

Bradley Johnson, English footballer

Zoran Tošić, Serbian footballer

Roman Polák, Czech ice hockey player

Jenna Ushkowitz, Korean-American actress, singer, and dancer

Lucas Jakubczyk, German sprinter and long jumper

Deividas Stagniūnas, Lithuanian ice dancer

Dmitri Torbinski, Russian footballer

Josh Brookes, Australian motorcycle racer

David Freese, American baseball player

Roger Johnson, English footballer

Thomas Waldrom, New Zealand-English rugby player

Nikki Grahame, English model and journalist (died 2021)

Chris Kaman, American basketball player

Jessica Alba, American model and actress

Bradley Wiggins, English cyclist

Scott Fujita, American football player and sportscaster

Lauren Laverne, English singer and television and radio host

Titus O'Neil, American wrestler and football player

Michael Walchhofer, Austrian skier

Penélope Cruz, Spanish actress and producer

Margo Dydek, Polish basketball player and coach (died 2011)

Vernon Kay, English radio and television host

Dominic Matteo, Scottish footballer and journalist

Jorge Garcia, American actor and producer

Andrew Mehrtens, South African-New Zealand rugby player

Violent J, American rapper

Jean-Paul van Gastel, Dutch footballer and manager

Bridget Moynahan, American actress

Richard Fromberg, Australian tennis player

Nicklas Lidström, Swedish ice hockey player and scout

Diego Simeone, Argentinian footballer and manager

LeRon Perry Ellis, American basketball player

Petra Bayr, Austrian politician

Howard Donald, English singer-songwriter and producer

Andy Flower, South-African-Zimbabwean cricketer and coach

Chris White, English engineer and politician

John Daly, American golfer

Too Short, American rapper, producer and actor

Stephen Ames, Trinidadian golfer

Noriyuki Iwadare, Japanese composer

Ajay Kakkar, Baron Kakkar, English surgeon and academic

Barry Larkin, American baseball player, manager, and sportscaster

L'Wren Scott, American model and fashion designer (died 2014)

Lloyd Eisler, Canadian figure skater and coach

Marc Lacroix, Belgian biochemist and academic

Tom Browning, American baseball player (died 2022)

Elena Kagan, American lawyer and jurist, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States

Phil King, English bass player

Ian Rankin, Scottish author

Jón Páll Sigmarsson, Icelandic strongman and weightlifter (died 1993)

Walter Zenga, Italian footballer and manager

Hal Sutton, American golfer

Jimmy Barnes, Scottish-Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist

Saeb Erekat, Chief Palestinian negotiator (died 2020)

Eddie Jobson, English keyboard player and violinist

Timothy Curley, American educator

Michael P. Jackson, American politician, 3rd Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security

Vic Sotto, Filipino actor-producer, singer-songwriter, comedian and television personality

Ron Zook, American football player and coach

Roberto Bolaño, Chilean novelist, short-story writer, poet, and essayist (died 2003)

Kim Gordon, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer

Brian Greenhoff, English footballer and coach (died 2013)

Chuck Leavell, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player

Mary McDonnell, American actress

Tim Congdon, English economist and politician

Larry Smith, Canadian football player and politician

Willie Colón, American salsa musician and social activist (died 2026)

Jay Leno, American comedian, talk show host, and producer

Steve Rider, English journalist and sportscaster

Jeremy Cooke, English lawyer and judge

Paul Guilfoyle, American actor

Bruno Kirby, American actor and director (died 2006)

Terry Pratchett, English journalist, author, and screenwriter (died 2015)

Marcia Strassman, American actress and singer (died 2014)

Steve Khan, American jazz guitarist

Nour El-Sherif, Egyptian actor and producer (died 2015)

Ginette Reno, Canadian singer-songwriter and actress

Larissa Grunig, American theorist and activist

Elizabeth LeCompte, American director and producer

Jean-Claude Van Cauwenberghe, Belgian politician, 10th Minister-President of Wallonia

Alice Waters, American chef and author

Aryeh Bibi, Iraqi-born Israeli politician

Mike Brearley, English cricketer and psychoanalyst

Ann-Margret, Swedish-American actress, singer, and dancer

Lucien Aimar, French cyclist

John Madejski, English businessman and academic

Karl Barry Sharpless, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate

Iryna Zhylenko, Ukrainian poet and author (died 2013)

Madge Sinclair, Jamaican-American actress (died 1995)

Saddam Hussein, Iraqi general and politician, 5th President of Iraq (died 2006)

Jean Redpath, Scottish singer-songwriter (died 2014)

John White, Scottish international footballer (died 1964)

Tariq Aziz, Iraqi journalist and politician, Iraqi Minister of Foreign Affairs (died 2015)

Pedro Ramos, Cuban baseball player

Lois Duncan, American journalist and author (died 2016)

Miodrag Radulovacki, Serbian-American neuropharmacologist and academic (died 2014)

James Baker, American lawyer and politician, 61st United States Secretary of State

Carolyn Jones, American actress (died 1983)

Yves Klein, French painter (died 1962)

Eugene Merle Shoemaker, American geologist and astronomer (died 1997)

James Bama, American artist and illustrator (died 2022)

Bill Blackbeard, American historian and author (died 2011)

Harper Lee, American novelist (died 2016)

Hulusi Sayın, Turkish general (died 1991)

T. John Lesinski, American judge and politician, 51st Lieutenant Governor of Michigan (died 1996)

John Leonard Thorn, English lieutenant, author, and academic (died 2023)

Dick Ayers, American author and illustrator (died 2014)

Blossom Dearie, American singer and pianist (died 2009)

Kenneth Kaunda, Zambian educator and politician, first president of Zambia (died 2021)

Carolyn Cassady, American author (died 2013)

William Guarnere, American sergeant (died 2014)

Barbara Lüdemann, German politician (died 1992)

Rowland Evans, American soldier, journalist, and author (died 2001)

Simin Daneshvar, Iranian author and academic (died 2012)

Robert Cornthwaite, American actor (died 2006)

Ferruccio Lamborghini, Italian businessman, created Lamborghini (died 1993)

Michel Mohrt, French author, historian (died 2011)

Rose Murphy, American singer (died 1989)

Odette Hallowes, French soldier and spy (died 1995)

Kaneto Shindō, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2012)

Lee Falk, American director, producer, and playwright (died 1999)

Sam Merwin, Jr., American author (died 1996)

Arthur Võõbus, Estonian-American theologist and orientalist (died 1988)

Ethel Catherwood, American-Canadian high jumper and javelin thrower (died 1987)

Jack Fingleton, Australian cricketer, journalist, and sportscaster (died 1981)

Oskar Schindler, Czech-German businessman (died 1974)

Kurt Gödel, Czech-American mathematician, philosopher, and academic (died 1978)

Paul Sacher, Swiss conductor and philanthropist (died 1999)

Johan Borgen, Norwegian author and critic (died 1979)

H. B. Stallard, English runner and surgeon (died 1973)

Alice Berry, Australian activist (died 1978)

Heinrich Müller, German SS officer, Gestapo chief, and key individual in the Holocaust (died 1945)

Jan Oort, Dutch astronomer and academic (died 1992)

Ye Jianying, Chinese general and politician, Head of State of the People's Republic of China (died 1986)

Na Hye-sok, South Korean journalist, poet, and painter (died 1948)

Tristan Tzara, Romanian-French poet and critic (died 1963)

António de Oliveira Salazar, Portuguese economist and politician, 100th Prime Minister of Portugal (died 1970)

Walter Tull, English footballer and soldier (died 1918)

Erich Salomon, German-born news photographer (died 1944)

Art Shaw, American hurdler (died 1955)

Lionel Barrymore, American actor and director (died 1954)

Nicola Romeo, Italian engineer and businessman (died 1938)

Karl Kraus, Austrian journalist and author (died 1936)

Sidney Toler, American actor and director (died 1947)

Lucy Booth, English composer (died 1953)

Georgy Voronoy, Ukrainian-Russian mathematician and academic (died 1908)

Charles W. Woodworth, American entomologist and academic (died 1940)

Josiah Thomas, English-Australian miner and politician, 7th Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs (died 1933)

Nikolai von Meck, Russian engineer (died 1929)

José Malhoa, Portuguese painter (died 1933)

Hertha Marks Ayrton, Polish-British engineer, mathematician, and physicist. (died 1923)

Ludvig Schytte, Danish pianist, composer, and educator (died 1909)

Tobias Asser, Dutch lawyer and scholar, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1913)

William Hall, Canadian soldier, Victoria Cross recipient (died 1904)

Ezra Abbot, American scholar and academic (died 1884)

Sylvestre François Lacroix, French mathematician and academic (died 1834)

Marie Harel, French cheesemaker (died 1844)

James Monroe, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 5th President of the United States (died 1831)

Franz Sparry, Austrian composer and educator (died 1767)

Frederick I, prince consort and king of Sweden (died 1751)

Charles Cotton, English poet and author (died 1687)

Wilhelmus Beekman, Dutch politician (died 1707)

Joris Jansen Rapelje, Dutch settler in colonial North America (died 1662)

Charles de Valois, Duke of Angoulême, son of Charles IX (died 1650)

Yi Sun-sin, Korean commander (died 1598)

Edward IV, king of England (died 1483)

Nezahualcoyotl, Acolhuan philosopher, warrior, poet and ruler (died 1472)

Otho, Roman emperor (died 69 AD)

Brian McCardie, Scottish actor and writer (born 1965)

Michael Collins, American astronaut (born 1930)

El Risitas, Spanish comedian (born 1956)

Richard Lugar, American politician (born 1932)

John Singleton, American film director (born 1968)

James Hylton, American race car driver (born 1934)

Mariano Gagnon, American Catholic priest and author (born 1929)

Jenny Diski, English author and screenwriter (born 1947)

Antônio Abujamra, Brazilian actor and director (born 1932)

Marcia Brown, American author and illustrator (born 1918)

Michael J. Ingelido, American general (born 1916)

Barbara Fiske Calhoun, American cartoonist and painter (born 1919)

William Honan, American journalist and author (born 1930)

Dennis Kamakahi, American guitarist and composer (born 1953)

Edgar Laprade, Canadian ice hockey player (born 1919)

Jack Ramsay, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster (born 1925)

Idris Sardi, Indonesian violinist and composer (born 1938)

Frederic Schwartz, American architect, co-designed Empty Sky (born 1951)

Ryan Tandy, Australian rugby player (born 1981)

Brad Lesley, American baseball player (born 1958)

Fredrick McKissack, American author (born 1939)

John C. Reynolds, American computer scientist and academic (born 1935)

Jack Shea, American director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1928)

János Starker, Hungarian-American cellist and educator (born 1924)

Paulo Vanzolini, Brazilian singer-songwriter and zoologist (born 1924)

Bernie Wood, New Zealand journalist and author (born 1939)

Fred Allen, New Zealand rugby player and coach (born 1920)

Matilde Camus, Spanish poet and author (born 1919)

Al Ecuyer, American football player (born 1937)

Patricia Medina, English actress (born 1919)

Milan N. Popović, Serbian psychiatrist and author (born 1924)

Aberdeen Shikoyi, Kenyan rugby player (born 1985)

Erhard Loretan, Swiss mountaineer (born 1959)

Ekaterina Maximova, Russian ballerina and actress (born 1939)

Richard Pratt, Polish-Australian businessman (born 1934)

Dabbs Greer, American actor (born 1917)

René Mailhot, Canadian journalist (born 1942)

Tommy Newsom, American saxophonist and bandleader (born 1929)

Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker, German physicist and philosopher (born 1912)

Bertha Wilson, Scottish-Canadian lawyer and jurist (born 1923)

Steve Howe, American baseball player (born 1958)

Percy Heath, American bassist (born 1923)

Chris Candido, American wrestler (born 1971)

Taraki Sivaram, Sri Lankan journalist and author (born 1959)

Alexander Lebed, Russian general and politician (born 1950)

Lou Thesz, American wrestler and trainer (born 1916)

Jerzy Einhorn, Polish-Swedish physician and politician (born 1925)

Penelope Fitzgerald, English author and poet (born 1916)

Rory Calhoun, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (born 1922)

Rolf Landauer, German-American physicist and engineer (born 1927)

Alf Ramsey, English footballer and manager (born 1920)

Arthur Leonard Schawlow, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1921)

Jerome Bixby, American author and screenwriter (born 1923)

Ann Petry, American novelist (born 1908)

Lester Sumrall, American minister, founded LeSEA (born 1913)

Berton Roueché, American journalist and author (born 1910)

Diva Diniz Corrêa, Brazilian zoologist (born 1918)

Jim Valvano, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster (born 1946)

Francis Bacon, Irish painter (born 1909)

Steve Broidy, American film producer (born 1905)

Esa Pakarinen, Finnish actor and musician (born 1911)

Ben Linder, American engineer and activist (born 1959)

Tommy Caldwell, American bass player (born 1949)

Mohammed Daoud Khan, Afghan commander and politician, 1st President of Afghanistan (born 1909)

Ricardo Cortez, American actor (born 1900)

Sepp Herberger, German footballer and coach (born 1897)

Richard Hughes, British author and poet (born 1900)

Clas Thunberg, Finnish speed skater (born 1893)

Ed Begley, American actor (born 1901)

Wilhelm Weber, German gymnast (born 1880)

Bennie Osler, South African rugby player (born 1901)

Heinrich Bär, German colonel and pilot (born 1913)

Fred Marriott, American race car driver (born 1872)

Léon Jouhaux, French union leader, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1879)

Louis Bachelier, French mathematician and academic (born 1870)

Roberto Farinacci, Italian soldier and politician (born 1892)

Hermann Fegelein, German general (born 1906)

Benito Mussolini, Italian journalist, fascist dictator and politician, 27th Prime Minister of Italy (born 1883)

Mohammed Alim Khan, Manghud ruler (born 1880)

Frank Knox, American journalist and politician, 46th United States Secretary of the Navy (born 1874)

Anne Walter Fearn, American physician (born 1867)

Fuad I of Egypt (born 1868)

Hendrik van Heuckelum, Dutch footballer (born 1879)

May Jordan McConnel, Australian trade unionist and suffragist (born 1860)

Richard Butler, English-Australian politician, 23rd Premier of South Australia (born 1850)

Maurice Moore (Irish republican), executed member of the Irish Republican Army (born 1894)

Fitzhugh Lee, American general and politician, 40th Governor of Virginia (born 1835)

Josiah Willard Gibbs, American scientist (born 1839)

Cyprien Tanguay, Canadian priest and historian (born 1819)

John Russell, English hunter and dog breeder (born 1795)

Antoine Samuel Adam-Salomon, French sculptor and photographer (born 1818)

Samuel Cunard, Canadian-English businessman, founded Cunard Line (born 1787)

Johannes Peter Müller, German physiologist and anatomist (born 1801)

Ludwig Tieck, German author and poet (born 1773)

Peter Chanel, French priest, missionary, and martyr (born 1803)

Johann Heinrich Abicht, German philosopher, author, and academic (born 1762)

Mikhail Kutuzov, Russian field marshal (born 1745)

Cornelius Harnett, American merchant, farmer, and politician (born 1723)

Johann Friedrich Struensee, German physician and politician (born 1737)

Magnus Julius De la Gardie, Swedish general and politician (born 1668)

Thomas Pitt, English merchant and politician (born 1653)

Louis de Montfort, French priest and saint (born 1673)

Thomas Betterton, English actor and manager (born 1630)

Francisco de Lucena, Portuguese politician (born 1578)

Nicholas West, English bishop and diplomat (born 1461)

Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland, English politician (born 1449)

Baldus de Ubaldis, Italian jurist (born 1327)

Luchesius Modestini, founding member of the Third Order of St. Francis

Shajar al-Durr, sovereign sultana of Egypt

Rhys ap Gruffydd, prince of Deheubarth (born 1132)

Conrad of Montferrat (born 1140)

Abbot Hugh of Cluny (born 1024)

Jawhar as-Siqilli, Fatimid statesman

Adaldag, archbishop of Bremen

Hu Jinsi, Chinese general and prefect

Artabanus IV of Parthia (born 191)