Some of the significant events which took place on July 28 taken from the leaf of History:
1794 – Maximilien Robespierre, a leading figure of the French Revolution, was sent to the guillotine.
1914 – World War I began as Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia.
1932 – “Bonus Army” World War I: Federal troops under the order of President Hoover forcibly dispersed the “Bonus Army” of (17,000 World War I veterans) who had gathered in Washington, D.C. on June 17th to demand money they weren’t scheduled to receive until 1945. The troops under the command of General Douglas MacArthur and Major George S. Patton are ordered to charge into the veterans and were sent to destroy the temporary shacks in the Bonus Army’s camps in Hooverville on the Anacostia Flats forcing the marchers out. By the end of the day hundreds of veterans were injured, and several were killed. The World War I Vets like everybody else in the country were suffering with no jobs and money during these early years of the great depression and wanted the Service Certificates they had earned while fighting in World War I paid out early.
1914- The S.S. Komagata Maru was forced to leave Vancouver and sailed back to India.
1914 – World War I Begins: Following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, by Gavrilo Princip, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, within one month countries across Europe had formed alliances and declared war on other alliances. The main alliances in the early period of the war were: Entente Powers or the Allied Powers: consisted of British Empire, France, Russian Empire, Italy and United States. Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria.
1920 – Mexico Francisco Villa Surrenders: Francisco Villa the notorious bandit has surrendered unconditionally to the provisional government of Mexico.
1921 – Congress boycotts Prince of Wales visit on 28 July. The Congress decided boycott the upcoming visit of the Prince of Wales in November as part of Non-cooperation Movement. The Non-Cooperation movement was an important part of India’s freedom struggle, led by Mahatma Gandhi.
1931 – U.S.A. Monoplane Race: A race between two powerful monoplanes got under way today starting from New York, the race is to Istanbul over 5,500 miles away. They are also hoping to break the current long distance record of 4,912 miles nonstop.
1943 – President Franklin D. Roosevelt announced the end of coffee rationing, which had limited people to one pound of coffee every five weeks since it began in Nov. 1942.
1945 – Plane Crashes into Empire State Building: A B-25 Mitchell bomber crashes into the 79th story of the Empire State Building killing 14 people. The freak accident was caused by heavy fog.
1945 – The U.S. Senate ratified the United Nations Charter by a vote of 89-2.
1946: Sister Alphonsa, good teacher and social worker, died at Bharananganam.
1956 – U.S.A. Elvis Presley: Elvis Presley scores his second No. 1 hit with “I Want You, I Need You, I Love You” following his April number 1 “Heartbreak Hotel.”
1965 – 50,000 extra Troops to Vietnam: President Johnson informed fellow Americans that he is adding 50,000 troops to the U.S. forces currently in Vietnam, for a total of 125,000 soldiers.
1972 – UK Dock Strike Begins: 42,000 registered dock workers begin a national strike over container companies using cheap labor and concerns over compulsory redundancies. After one week the government under Edward Heath proclaimed a state of emergency which allowed the use of the British Army to unload cargo.
1972: Signed on July 2, 1972, the Simla Agreement was ratified on July 28, 1972.
1976 – China Earthquake Kills 1/4 Million: An earthquake measuring between 7.8 and 8.2 magnitude on the Richter scale flattens Tangshan, a Chinese industrial city with a population of about one million people. The quake killed an estimated 242,000 people in Tangshan and surrounding areas making the earthquake one of the deadliest in recorded history.
1978 – Lebanon Syrian Attacks: The United States, Canada and Great Britain have advised nationals to leave Lebanon as quickly as possible due to increased Syrian attacks on Lebanon Christians and are leaving only a skeleton staff in their Embassy.
1978 – Gold Reaches $200.00 Per Ounce: The Price of gold has reached an all-time high on the Bullion Market of $200.00 per ounce, investors usually invest in gold during monetary instability and the steady decline in the value of the dollar has sent many US investors into the gold market.
1979 – Chaudhary Charan Singh became the fifth Prime Minister of India.
1982 – Israel Attack West Beirut: Israel Bombers and fighters are blasting large areas of West Beirut attacking any area or building they believe may house PLO Palestinian Liberation Army Guerillas. After nightfall the PLO Guerillas returned fire on Israeli positions using rockets and mortar fire.
1984 – The Los Angeles Summer Olympics opened.
1989, Israeli commandos abducted a pro-Iranian Shiite (SHEE’-eyet) Muslim cleric, Sheik Abdul-Karim Obeid (AHB’-dool kah-REEM’ oh-BAYD’), from his home in south Lebanon. (He was released in January 2004 as part of a prisoner swap.)
1999 – U.S.A. Y2K Compliance: Federal Regulators from the SEC have given until August 1st for Brokerage firms to prove compliance with Y2K or a court order will be obtained to close them down on December 31st.
2004 – U.S.A. John Kerry: The Democratic National Convention in Boston Nominated John Kerry Democratic Nominee for President.
2005 – IRA announces end of armed struggle: The IRA has formally ordered an end to its armed campaign and has announced the republican organization will follow a democratic path ending more than 30 years of violence. The announcement is received on all sides as an important way forward following the Good Friday Agreement signed in 1997.
2006 – Haiti Former Prime Minister Yvon Neptune Released: Yvon Neptune was released from prison in Haiti on this day. Neptune was a former Prime Minister of Haiti and was held in prison for two years without ever being convicted of a crime. Neptune had denied the charges he was held on. He had been charged in connection to the killings of opposition to the ex-president of Haiti, Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
2008 – Iraq Suicide Bombers: On this day three suicide bombings took place in Baghdad, Iraq, killing 28 people and injuring 90 people. The suicide attacks were carried out by female bombers and were aimed at disrupting a Shia Muslim pilgrimage to the Kadhimiya shrine.
2009 – Tanzania banking for women: A bank opened in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania that was aimed at helping women with their savings. The bank, the first of its kind in Tanzania, made it easier for women to open accounts and encouraged the empowerment of women in the country.
2013 – Brazil Pope Francis holds mass on beach: Pope Francis held mass for over three million people who had gathered to hear him on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Pope Francis had been there on a five day trip to Brazil to visit a Catholic youth festival on his first foreign trip since he became the pope.
2014- The US and the European Union impose additional sanctions on Russia, focusing on restrictions related to the nation’s military, energy and financial sectors. US officials state that Russia has violated the intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty by test-firing a type of cruise missile; Russian officials argue against the charge.
2015 – Barack Obama becomes the first US president to address the African Union, which includes 54 nations as members; the president emphasized the importance of growing economies, reducing corruption, increasing education, and instituting democracy.
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