Discover what happened on January 28 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

January 28

Discover what happened on January 28 with HISTORY&#8217;s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

What Happened on January 28 | HISTORY

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1986 was a year of tragedy, with the explosion of the U.S. space shuttle Challenger, killing all seven crew members, and the explosion of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor, killing two instantly and many thousands over time. But it also had brighter moments: Hands Across America united 5 million people from coast to coast, Oprah Winfrey debuted her iconic talk show, Halley’s Comet made a triumphant return after 76 years and the Voyager completed the first around-the-world flight without refueling.

1986

The space shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after lift off. (Credit: Bruce Weaver/AP Photo)

1901

Across the globe, 1917 brought upheaval. Russians overthrew Czar Nicholas II, then staged a second revolution, putting Vladimir Lenin’s Bolsheviks in power and sparking a civil war. The U.S. and China both declared war on Germany, entering World War I in its fourth year. Puerto Ricans gained U.S. citizenship. And as America’s first-ever female congresswoman took office, the push for women’s suffrage intensified, with increased picketing and the arrest of many activists, followed by jailhouse hunger strikes, force feedings and mistreatment.

1917

1985

1997

The horrors of modern warfare were on full view in 1915, the second year of World War I. A German U-boat sank the passenger liner Lusitania off Ireland, German zeppelins bombed London, the French developed a fighter plane that could fire precisely timed machine-gun bullets through its propeller, and German troops unleashed poison gas for the first time on the battlefield. In America, meanwhile, a young Boston Red Sox pitcher named Babe Ruth clubbed his first major-league homer.

1915

1973

1958

Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin resolution in 1964, authorizing major U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. Martin Luther King Jr., won the Nobel Peace Prize, and President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. China tested its first atomic bomb, the Beatles made their first appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show” and Ford unveiled its first Mustang at the New York World’s Fair. Pop-Tarts debuted, while Diet Pepsi bubbled onto the market, the nation’s first mass-distributed diet soda.

1964

1777

World War I pitted Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire against Great Britain, the United States, France, Russia, Italy and Japan. New military technology resulted in unprecedented carnage. By the time the war was over and the Allied Powers claimed victory, more than 16 million people—soldiers and civilians alike—were dead.

World War I

The Vietnam War pitted communist North Vietnam and the Viet Cong against South Vietnam and the United States. The war ended when U.S. forces withdrew in 1973 and Vietnam unified under Communist control two years later.

Vietnam War

Crime has been a dark and powerful undercurrent in human society throughout history. Uncover the facts behind some of the most daring robberies, brazen scams and brutal murders ever committed.

Crime

Sports and recreation are an integral part of human history, from the ancient Olympics to the Kentucky Derby, Jackie Robinson, Negro League Baseball, the Super Bowl and more.

Sports

Hispanic Heritage Month is an annual celebration of the history and culture of the U.S. Latin and Hispanic communities. The event, which spans from September 15 to October 15, commemorates how those communities have influenced and contributed to American society at large.

Hispanic History

The Revolutionary War waged by the American colonies against Britain influenced political ideas and revolutions around the globe, as a small fledgling nation won its freedom from the greatest military force of its time.

American Revolution

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History.com Editors

Art history tells the complex story of human civilization through art, literature and design. It ranges from prehistoric art of the Neolithic period through Renaissance masterpieces, Impressionism, Modernism, the Bauhaus and contemporary art.

Art, Literature and Film History

Space exploration, one of the greatest technological achievements in human history, includes the Apollo missions, the Space Shuttles Columbia and Challenger, and people like Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong.

Space Exploration

The Cold War rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union lasted for decades and resulted in anti-communist suspicions and international incidents that led two superpowers to the brink of nuclear disaster.

Cold War

Africa is a large and diverse continent that extends from South Africa northward to the Mediterranean Sea. The continent makes up one-fifth of the total land surface of Earth. Widely recognized as the birthplace of humankind, Africa saw the rise of great kingdoms, faced the trans-Atlantic slave trade, colonization and Apartheid.

This Day In History: January 28

The space shuttle Challenger explodes after liftoff

Also on This Day in History January | 28

American League is founded

The 1917 Bath Riots

This Day in History Video: What Happened on January 28

Music stars gather to record “We Are the World”

Afrikaner police admit to killing Stephen Biko

Germans sink American merchant ship

Cease‑fire goes into effect

Teenage killers murder three people

Soviets shoot down U.S. jet

British plan to isolate New England

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