6 National Days to Celebrate on August 28, 2026

Born on August 28

People born on August 28

1965

Satoshi Tajiri

Japanese video game developer who created Pokémon.

1929

Roxie Roker

Actress who played the sassy character Helen Willis on the The Jeffersons.

1970

Rick Recht

American singer-songwriter who is considered to be one of the early pioneers of contemporary Jewish rock music.

1921

Nancy Kulp

Actress fondly remembered for her role as Miss Hathaway on The Beverly Hillbillies.

1935

Karen Spärck Jones

A self-taught British computer programmer and information scientist who responsible for the concept of IDF (inverse document frequency), the technology that underlies most modern search engines.

1740

John Lynch

Abolitionist and founder of the city of Lynchburg, Virginia.

1969

Jack Black

Actor who often plays roles in family and comedy films, such as School of Rock, Goosebumps, the Jumanji: The Next Level and A Minecraft Movie.

1876

Charles F. Kettering

Founder of the Delco Electronics Company and inventor of the "auto self-starter."

Historical Events on August 28

Events that occurred on August 28 throughout history

1565

August 28, 1565

Pedro Menéndez de Avilés sights land near St. Augustine, Florida. After an encounter with French forces, he finally makes it to land on September 8 to found a new community. St. Augustine is the oldest continuously occupied European-established city in the continental U.S.

1609

August 28, 1609

Delaware Bay is discovered by the English explorer Henry Hudson.

1789

August 28, 1789

William Herschel discovers a new moon of Saturn, which was named Enceladus. Herschel found the moon during the first light use of his 40-foot (1.2-meter) telescope, which was the largest in the world at that time.

1830

August 28, 1830

The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's new Tom Thumb steam locomotive races a horse-drawn car, presaging steam's role in U.S. railroads. Unfortunately, the locomotive did not win the race. It ran out of steam.

1833

August 28, 1833

The Slavery Abolition Act 1833 receives royal assent in the British Empire, making the purchase or ownership of slaves illegal.

1845

August 28, 1845

The first issue of the Scientific American magazine is published. The four-page weekly newspaper sold for 25 cents per issue and focused heavily on new inventions, patents, manufacturing, and engineering. The magazine is the oldest continuously published magazine in the U.S.

1867

August 28, 1867

The U.S. takes possession of the island Midway Atoll. The Island became the first offshore island territory officially annexed by the U.S. government.

1884

August 28, 1884

The first known photograph of a tornado is taken near Howard, Dakota Territory (now South Dakota).

1898

August 28, 1898

Caleb Bradham's beverage "Brad's Drink" is renamed "Pepsi-Cola". Originally created as a digestive aid, the drink was named by patrons after Bradham's last name. However, the "Pepsi-Cola" name was created from two ingredients--pepsin and cola nut.

1901

August 28, 1901

Silliman University is founded in the Philippines and becomes the first American private school in the country.

1907

August 28, 1907

The United Parcel Service (UPS) is founded by James E. Casey in Seattle, Washington.

1917

August 28, 1917

Ten members of the Silent Sentinels are arrested while picketing outside the White House in favor of women's suffrage.

1936

August 28, 1936

Nazi Germany begins its mass arrests of Jehovah's Witnesses. The members interned in concentration camps for refusing mandatory military service and to work in war-related industries based on their religious beliefs.

1957

August 28, 1957

U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond begins a filibuster to prevent voting on the Civil Rights Act of 1957. His failed filibuster lasted 24 hours and 18 minutes. Within two hours of him stopping his filibuster, a vote was taken and the Act passed despite his attempts to stop it.

1963

August 28, 1963

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gives his I Have a Dream speech on the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

1965

August 28, 1965

The first Subway sandwich shop opens in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

1968

August 28, 1968

Police and protesters clash during 1968 Democratic National Convention protests. The protests in opposition of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War.

2022

August 28, 2022

A 1952 Mickey Mantle baseball card sells for $12.6 million at auction. The card remains the most expensive sports card and piece of sports memorabilia ever sold.