It happened today, the almanac of the day: the historical and political facts, who was born and who left us. What happened on April 28th
Historical events
1140 – Consecration of the Palatine Chapel of the Royal Palace of Palermo
1192 – Assassination of Conrad of Montferrat, king of Jerusalem, near Tire by a Nizarite assassin
1253 – Seicho-ji Temple, Tojo, Awa Province, Japan, Nichiren Daishonin recites Nam myoho renge kyo for the first time at noon and establishes his teaching
1487 – The Swiss from the Canton of Valais are defeated by the Domesi on the Crevola bridge
1611 – The University of Santo Tomás, Philippines, is founded
1738 – Rome, Pope Clement XII condemns Freemasonry, through the papal bull In eminenti apostolatus specula
1788 – Maryland becomes the seventh state to ratify the United States Constitution
1789 – Mutiny on the Bounty: part of the officers rises against Captain William Bligh
1794 – Sardinia, insurrection against the viceroy Balbiano, which went down in history as the Sardinian Vespers
1796 – Armistice of Cherasco between the French Republic and the Kingdom of Sardinia; the armistice will be sanctioned on the following 15 May with the Treaty of Paris
1896 – Greece: during excavations among the remains of a house, the lower part of the bronze statue known as the Charioteer of Delphi was discovered. The statue will be completely brought to light on May 9 of the same year.
1917 – First World War, Verona: a powder magazine blows up, causing extensive damage and some injuries
1920 – Azerbaijan is annexed by the Soviet Union
1932 – The discovery of a vaccine against yellow fever is announced
1937 – Rome, inauguration of Cinecittà
– The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York opens
1939 – Adolf Hitler unilaterally cancels the non-aggression pact with Poland
1940 – Rome: Pope Pius XII sends a message to Benito Mussolini, asking him not to go to war. Galeazzo Ciano would write in his diaries: «the Duce’s welcome was cold, skeptical, sarcastic».
[1945–SecondWorldWar:BenitoMussoliniandhispartnerClaraPetaccicapturedinDongowhiletryingtoescapetoSwitzerlandareshotbymembersoftheItalianresistanceinGiulinodiMezzegra
1947 – The ethnologist and explorer Thor Heyerdahl leaves Peru aboard the Kon-Tiki: he intends to demonstrate that native Peruvians may have reached the islands of Polynesia in the past
1952 – The United States of America ends its military occupation of Japan
1963 – Italy: political elections take place, confirming the Christian Democrats as the first party.
1965 – US military forces invade the Dominican Republic to counter the establishment of a dictatorial regime and evacuate American citizens
1967 – Vietnam War: General William Westmoreland asks Congress for additional men and equipment, outlining a dramatic situation
USA: boxing, world heavyweight champion Cassius Clay declares himself a conscientious objector to avoid conscription; for this reason the World Boxing Association took away his title
1969 – Charles de Gaulle resigns as president of France
1977 – Germany: The trial against the members of the Red Armee Fraktion (better known as the Baader-Meinhoff Gang) ends: Andreas Baader, Gudrun Ensslin and Jan-Carl Raspe are found guilty of four murders and over thirty attempted murders
1978 – Afghan President Mohammed Daoud Khan is deposed and assassinated in a coup led by pro-communist rebels
1980 – Milan: the former Red Brigade member Corrado Alunni and the criminal Renato Vallanzasca lead 14 other inmates in an escape from the San Vittore prison: weapons in hand, they take a brigadier hostage and have the doors opened, but very few manage to get out, and are then immediately captured.
1989 – Four years after the Heysel massacre, the first degree sentence arrives for 25 defendants: 14 are sentenced to 3 years probation, the other 11 are acquitted, UEFA and the Brussels authorities.
1990 – New York: after over 6,200 performances the curtain closes for the last time on the musical A Chorus Line
1992 – Italy, the incumbent president of the republic Francesco Cossiga resigns
1994 – Rwanda, hundreds of thousands of refugees abandon the country due to massacres between opposing ethnic groups
1997 – The chemical weapons treaty signed in Paris in January 1993 comes into force with the latest accessions of Russia, Iraq and North Korea
1999 – China Narcotics Control Foundation established
2004 – United States of America: CBS TV shows images of Iraqi prisoners mistreated and humiliated by American soldiers in Abu Ghraib prison
2006 – Italy: Start of the XV Legislature
2008 – Italy: End of the XV Legislature
2013 – Rome: during the inauguration of the Letta government, Luigi Preiti opens fire in the square in front of Palazzo Chigi, wounding two carabinieri and a woman
Parties and anniversaries
International:
World Day for Safety and Health at Work
Nationals:
Afghanistan – Revolution (or Victory) Day, commemorating the victory over the Soviet occupation
Canada – National day of mourning, commemorating the victims of work
Sardinia – Sa die de sa Sardigna, festival of the Sardinian people
Saints of today
Saint Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort, priest
Saint Peter Chanel, priest and martyr
Saint Aphrodisios of Béziers, bishop
Saint Artemius of Sens, bishop
Saints Eusebius, Caralampo and companions, martyrs
Saint Gianna Beretta Molla
Saints Maximus, Dada and Quintilian, martyrs
Saint Panphilus of Sulmona, bishop
Saints Paul Pham Khac Khoan, John the Baptist Dinh Van Than and Peter Nguyen Van Hieu, martyrs
Saint Peter of Bearn, Mercedarian and martyr
San Primiano di Larino, martyr of Larino
Saint Prudentius of Tarazona
Saint Ursicino of Ravenna, martyr
Saint Valeria of Milan, martyr
Saint Vitale of Milan, martyr
Blessed Carino Pietro da Balsamo
Blessed Giuseppe Cebula, priest and martyr
Blessed Guido Spada, Franciscan
Blessed Lucchese da Poggibonsi and Buonadonna, spouses, first Franciscan tertiaries
Blessed Marie-Louise Trichet, founder of the Daughters of Wisdom
Born today April 28th
Jessica Alba (1981)
Paola Barale (1967)
Ilary Blasi (1981)
Laura Boldrini (1961)
Penelope Cruz (1974)
Oskar Schindler (1908)
Anna Oxa (1961)
Ferruccio Lamborghini (1916)
Saddam Hussein (1937)
Deaths today April 28th
Ciccio Ingrassia (2003)
Benito Mussolini (1945)
Clara Petacci (1945)
Gilberto Govi (1966)
