On This Day in History – May 28: What Happened on May 28?

On this day in history, May 28 carries the founding of Amnesty International, a landmark Ethiopian battle, and the birth of one of history’s greatest composers.

What happened on May 28 in history includes the founding of Amnesty International in 1961, the Battle of Adwa’s political aftermath in Ethiopia, and Ian Fleming creating James Bond as a literary character.

Today in history, May 28 also connects to Azerbaijan’s Republic Day, the patent of the first hearing aid, and a defining moment in American civil rights legislation.

Famous birthdays on May 28 include Ian Fleming, Kylie Minogue, Carey Mulligan, and Jim Thorpe.

National days on May 28 include National Hamburger Day and the Republic Day of Azerbaijan.

This day in history, May 28, fun facts reveal a date of human rights founding, compositional genius, and athletic greatness.

May 28 on the Calendar

May 28 is the 148th day of the year in standard years and the 149th day in leap years.

There are 217 days remaining.

The zodiac sign is Gemini (May 21 – June 20).

In the Northern Hemisphere, May 28 falls in late spring, with average temperatures in London reaching approximately 18°C (64°F), and the Wimbledon grass-court preparation season is underway approximately 40 days before the tournament’s traditional late June start.

Major Historical Events on May 28

May 28 spans human rights history, colonial warfare, Cold War science, and athletic records.

The following 11 events are drawn from four centuries of documented history.

1503 — The Treaty of Blois is signed between France and Spain, establishing a temporary peace between the two powers competing for control of Italy during the Italian Wars. The treaty lasted only until 1521, but it represented one of the first systematic diplomatic efforts to codify European territorial claims through formal negotiation.

1779 — George Washington orders the Sullivan-Clinton Campaign, a punitive military expedition against the Iroquois Confederacy nations that had allied with the British in the American Revolution. The campaign destroyed approximately 40 Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) villages and drove thousands of people into Canada, effectively eliminating the Iroquois Confederacy as a military force.

1830 — President Andrew Jackson signs the Indian Removal Act, authorizing the forced relocation of Native American tribes from their ancestral lands east of the Mississippi River to designated “Indian Territory” in present-day Oklahoma. The act led to the Trail of Tears (1838–1839), during which approximately 4,000 Cherokee died from disease, exposure, and starvation during forced marches.

1888 — Edmund Barraud paints His Master’s Voice, depicting a terrier named Nipper listening to a gramophone. The painting was purchased by the Gramophone Company and adopted as the trademark of the HMV record label — one of the most recognized commercial images in entertainment industry history. The Nipper image has been used continuously in music retail since 1899.

1905 — The Battle of Tsushima ends with a decisive Japanese naval victory over the Russian Baltic Fleet. Japanese Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō destroys 38 of the 45 Russian warships in the Strait of Tsushima — the most one-sided naval battle in modern history. The defeat triggered the Russian Revolution of 1905 and Japan’s emergence as a major naval power.

1934 — The Dionne Quintuplets — the world’s first verified quintuplets to survive infancy — are born to Oliva and Elzire Dionne near Corbeil, Ontario, Canada. All five girls survived, becoming international celebrities and subjects of an unethical government wardship that profited from displaying them to tourists through the 1930s–1940s.

1961 — Amnesty International is founded in London by British lawyer Peter Benenson, following his Observer newspaper article “The Forgotten Prisoners,” which called for a worldwide campaign for the release of prisoners of conscience. Amnesty International now has over 8 million members and supporters in more than 150 countries.

1987 — Mathias Rust, a 19-year-old West German amateur pilot, lands his Cessna 172 in Red Square, Moscow, having flown 5,600 miles from Helsinki, Finland, undetected through Soviet air defenses. The incident caused a major embarrassment to the Soviet military and led to the dismissal of the Soviet Defense Minister and over 150 military officers.

1998 — Pakistan conducts 5 nuclear tests in the Chagai district of Balochistan, two weeks after India’s Pokhran-II tests, making Pakistan the seventh country to demonstrate nuclear weapons capability. The tests were condemned by the United States and triggered a new phase of South Asian nuclear deterrence.

2010 — Mount Everest summit records show that Apa Sherpa completes his 21st summit of Mount Everest, setting a world record for the most ascents of the world’s highest peak. The record was later surpassed by Kami Rita Sherpa, who reached 29 summits as of 2024.

2014 — Belgium becomes the first country to legalize euthanasia for minors with no age limit, under a law requiring a terminal illness with intractable suffering, full informed consent from the patient, parental approval, and approval by a team of physicians and psychologists. Belgium had already permitted euthanasia for adults since 2002.

What’s Happening on May 28, 2026?

Azerbaijan Republic Day: May 28, 2026, marks the 108th anniversary of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, proclaimed on May 28, 1918 — the first secular democratic republic in the Muslim world. State ceremonies, military parades, and cultural events are held in Baku.

National Hamburger Day (U.S.): May 28 is observed across food media and restaurant chains as National Hamburger Day. Americans consume approximately 50 billion hamburgers annually —roughly 3 per person per day on average.

roughly 3 per person per day on average. The hamburger’s American origin is contested between Hamburg steak variants popularized at fairs in New Haven, Connecticut, and Seymour, Wisconsin, both in the late 19th century.

Amnesty International anniversary: May 28, 2026, marks the 65th anniversary of Amnesty International’s founding. The organization uses the date to release its annual State of the World’s Human Rights report, documenting political prisoners, torture, extrajudicial executions, and civil liberties violations across its 150+ country network.

Pakistan nuclear test anniversary: May 28, 2026, marks the 28th anniversary of Pakistan’s 1998 nuclear tests. The South Asian nuclear balance between India and Pakistan, both non-signatories to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, remains a primary concern for international security analysts.

Famous Birthdays on May 28

Notable Deaths on May 28

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National Days & Holidays on May 28

National Hamburger Day (U.S.): Observed on May 28 as one of the most commercially supported food holidays in the United States. McDonald’s, Burger King, and Wendy’s collectively sell approximately 14 billion hamburgers annually in the United States. The beef patty served in a bun is estimated to have been sold in some form at American county fairs from as early as 1885.

Azerbaijan Republic Day: The national holiday of the Republic of Azerbaijan, observed on May 28 since the country’s independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. The holiday marks the proclamation of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic — the first secular democratic republic in the Muslim-majority world — on May 28, 1918.

International Menstrual Hygiene Day (worldwide): Observed on May 28 since 2014, coordinated by the global NGO WASH United. The date was chosen because menstruation typically lasts 5 days and occurs 28 days apart. The day raises awareness of access to menstrual products, sanitation facilities, and stigma reduction, particularly in low-income countries where menstruation-related school absenteeism remains a documented barrier to girls’ education.

International Observances on May 28

International Menstrual Hygiene Day is recognized by the United Nations, with UNFPA, UNICEF, and UN Women all participating in advocacy programming. The WHO estimates that approximately 500 million women and girls globally lack adequate facilities for menstrual hygiene management, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

Amnesty International’s founding anniversary is observed as a global advocacy day, with member groups in over 150 countries releasing reports, holding vigils for prisoners of conscience, and launching new campaign cycles targeting governments with documented patterns of human rights abuse.

Fun & Weird Facts About May 28

Mathias Rust landed a plane in Red Square and accidentally accelerated the end of the Cold War. When 19-year-old Rust landed his Cessna on a bridge adjacent to Red Square on May 28, 1987, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev used the incident to fire the Defense Minister and over 150 military officers who had opposed his reform agenda. The purge of hardliners gave Gorbachev greater control of the military — control he used to accelerate arms reduction negotiations with the United States and, ultimately, glasnost and perestroika reforms.

Ian Fleming based James Bond partly on himself. Fleming worked for British Naval Intelligence during World War II, coordinating Operation Golden Eye (later used as a Bond film title). He also created No. 10 Downing Street’s wartime intelligence annex. He began writing Casino Royale at his Jamaican estate, Goldeneye, in 1952. The Bond name was borrowed from the author of a birding guide Fleming used in Jamaica: Birds of the West Indies by James Bond.

The Dionne Quintuplets became a government-run tourist attraction. After their birth on May 28, 1934, the Ontario government placed the Dionne quints under provincial wardship, built an observation nursery called “Quintland,” and allowed hundreds of thousands of tourists to watch them play behind one-way glass. The girls received no share of the approximately $500 million that their tourism generated. The three surviving sisters received a formal apology and a $4 million settlement from the Ontario government in 1998.

Jim Thorpe’s Olympic medals were stripped for professionalism and restored 70 years later. The IOC stripped Thorpe’s 1912 gold medals in 1913 after discovering he had received $2 per game playing minor league baseball in 1909–1910 — technically making him a professional. His medals were posthumously restored by the IOC in 1983, 30 years after his death, following a campaign by his family and Native American advocacy organizations.

Gladys Knight auditioned for Amateur Hour at age 7 and won. In 1951, seven-year-old Gladys Knight performed on Ted Mack’s Amateur Hour television program and won the $2,000 first prize. She used the money to buy her family a television set. The Pips — named after her cousin William Guest’s nickname — performed with her for the first time when she was 8 years old.

FAQ – May 28 in History