History of 28 January
- 1935 – Iceland becomes the first Western country to legalize therapeutic abortion.
- 1938 – The World Land Speed Record on a public road is broken by Rudolf Caracciola in the Mercedes-Benz W195 at a speed of 432.7 kilometers per hour (268.9 mph).
- 1941 – Franco-Thai War: Final air battle of the conflict. A Japanese-mediated armistice goes into effect later in the day.
- 1945 – World War II: Supplies begin to reach the Republic of China over the newly reopened Burma Road.
- 1956 – Elvis Presley makes his first national television appearance.
- 1958 – The Lego company patents the design of its Lego bricks, still compatible with bricks produced today.
- 1960 – The National Football League announced expansion teams for Dallas to start in the 1960 NFL season and Minneapolis-St. Paul for 1961 NFL season.
- 1964 – An unarmed United States Air Force T-39 Sabreliner on a training mission is shot down over Erfurt, East Germany, by a Soviet MiG-19.
- 1965 – The current design of the Flag of Canada is chosen by an act of Parliament.
- 1977 – The first day of the Great Lakes Blizzard of 1977 which dumps 10 feet (3.0 m) of snow in one day in Upstate New York, with Buffalo, Syracuse, Watertown, and surrounding areas are most affected.
- 1980 – USCGC Blackthorn collides with the tanker Capricorn while leaving Tampa, Florida and capsizes, killing 23 Coast Guard crewmembers.
- 1981 – Ronald Reagan lifts remaining domestic petroleum price and allocation controls in the United States helping to end the 1979 energy crisis and begin the 1980s oil glut.
- 1982 – US Army general James L. Dozier is rescued by Italian anti-terrorism forces from captivity by the Red Brigades.
- 1984 – Tropical Storm Domoina makes landfall in southern Mozambique, eventually causing 214 deaths and some of the most severe flooding so far recorded in the region.
- 1985 – Supergroup USA for Africa (United Support of Artists for Africa) records the hit single We Are the World, to help raise funds for Ethiopian famine relief.
- 1986 – Space Shuttle program: STS-51-L mission: Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrates after liftoff, killing all seven astronauts on board.
- 1988 – In R v Morgentaler the Supreme Court of Canada strikes down all anti-abortion laws.
- 2002 – TAME Flight 120, a Boeing 727-100 crashes in the Andes mountains in southern Colombia, killing 92.
- 2006 – The roof of one of the buildings at the Katowice International Fair in Poland, collapses due to the weight of snow, killing 65 and injuring more than 170 others.
Celebrating Birthday’s Today
- 1980 – Michael Hastings, American journalist and author (d. 2013)
- 1980 – Brian Fallon, American singer-songwriter
- 1981 – Elijah Wood, American actor, and producer
- 1984 – Ben Clucas, English race car driver
- 1984 – Stephen Gostkowski, American Football player
- 1984 – Andre Iguodala, American Basketball player
- 1984 – Anne Panter, English field hockey player
- 1985 – J. Cole, American singer
- 1985 – Daniel Carcillo, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1985 – Lauris Dārziņš, Latvian ice hockey player
- 1985 – Arnold Mvuemba, French footballer
- 1985 – Libby Trickett, Australian swimmer
- 1986 – Jessica Ennis-Hill, English heptathlete and hurdler
- 1986 – Nathan Outteridge, Australian sailor
- 1986 – Asad Shafiq, Pakistani cricketer
- 1988 – Paul Henry, English footballer
- 1988 – Seiya Sanada, Japanese wrestler
- 1989 – Siem de Jong, Dutch footballer
- 1991 – Jordan Kahu, Australian rugby league player
- 1991 – Carl Klingberg, Swedish ice hockey player
- 1992 – Sergio Araujo, the Argentinian footballer
- 1992 – Andrei Savchenko, Russian footballer
- 1993 – Richmond Boakye, Ghanaian footballer
- 1993 – Mitch Cornish, Australian rugby league player
- 1998 – Ariel Winter, American actress