146 things happened on 28 September, from 551 BC to 2023. UK stories come first, then the rest of the world.
1928 · 98 years ago
Scottish scientist Alexander Fleming noticed that a mould growing in his laboratory was killing bacteria. The substance it made became known as penicillin, the first antibiotic ever discovered. Antibiotics are medicines that fight infections caused by bacteri…
UK history first: stories from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
UK story
William, Duke of Normandy, landed at Pevensey in Sussex with a fleet of around 600 ships. His arrival was the start of the Norman Conquest of England. William went on to defeat Harold Godwinson's Anglo-Saxon army at the Battle of Hastings. He became the first Norman king of England and is remembered as William the Conqueror.
UK story
King Henry I of England invaded Normandy and fought the army of his older brother, Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy. Henry's knights won a clear victory at Tinchebray and captured Robert. Henry kept his brother as a prisoner, first in England and later in Wales, for the rest of Robert's life.
UK story
The Ulster Covenant was a solemn promise signed by nearly 500,000 people in Ulster, on and before this day. They were protesting against the Third Home Rule Bill, a British government plan to give Ireland self-government within the United Kingdom. The signers were Unionists, who wanted to keep Ireland's union with England, Scotland and Wales. The date is still marked in Northern Ireland as Ulster Day.
UK story
Scottish scientist Alexander Fleming noticed that a mould growing in his laboratory was killing bacteria. The substance it made became known as penicillin, the first antibiotic ever discovered. Antibiotics are medicines that fight infections caused by bacteria. Fleming later shared the 1945 Nobel Prize for the discovery, which has been called one of the greatest victories ever won over disease.
UK story
The Sycamore Gap tree grew in a dip beside Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland. It was one of the most photographed trees in the country and won England's Tree of the Year award in 2016. It was also called the Robin Hood tree because it appeared in a 1991 Robin Hood film. The tree was illegally cut down, leaving only its stump.
UK story
King James I of Aragon conquers Valencia from the Moors. Shortly thereafter, he proclaims himself king of Valencia.
Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, a Portuguese explorer sailing for the Spanish Empire, arrived at what is now San Diego in California. He was the first European to explore the coast of present-day California. His voyage along the coast lasted from 1542 into the following year.
American and French forces, backed by a French fleet, began a siege of British troops at Yorktown. The British army there was led by Charles Cornwallis, while the Americans were led by George Washington. Yorktown became the last major land battle of the American War of Independence. Washington's victory there helped the Americans win the war against Britain.
An international conference on weights and measures, known as the CGPM, set out the length of the metre. The metre had been introduced during the French Revolution as a measurement based on nature. It was first defined as one ten-millionth of the distance from the North Pole to the equator, along a line through Paris. One agreed length means people everywhere can measure things in the same way.
A team from the United States Army Air Service landed in Seattle, completing the first flight all the way around the world. The journey took 175 days and covered more than 42,000 kilometres. Four airmen from an eight-man team finished the trip, flying two single-engined planes with open cockpits. For most of the journey the planes were fitted with floats so they could land on water.
Whaam!, a painting by American artist Roy Lichtenstein, was shown to the public for the first time at a gallery in New York City. Lichtenstein was famous for large paintings inspired by comic books. Whaam! is made of two panels and is one of the best-known works of pop art. The Tate bought it in 1966, and it hangs in Tate Modern in London.
Canada's ice hockey team beat the team from the Soviet Union to win the Summit Series. The contest took place during the Cold War, a long rivalry between the United States, the Soviet Union and their allies. The nickname 'Team Canada' was first used for this series. It is still used for Canada's national hockey teams.
Pope Pontian resigned after being exiled to Sardinia, becoming the first pope to relinquish the position.
The Eastern Roman armies under Constantius II defeated those of the usurper Magnentius at the Battle of Mursa Major.
Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor, defeats Frederick I of Austria in the Battle of Mühldorf.
Ottoman–Venetian War: The Ottoman Navy scores a decisive victory over a Holy League fleet in the Battle of Preveza.
A Hospitaller galley squadron defeats an Ottoman convoy in the action of 28 September 1644.
American Revolution: Samuel Huntington is elected President of the Continental Congress, succeeding John Jay.
The Congress of the Confederation votes to send the newly written United States Constitution to the state legislatures for approval.
The Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire from Spain was drafted in the National Palace in Mexico City.
Oscar I of Sweden–Norway is crowned king of Sweden.
Toronto becomes the capital of Ontario, having also been the capital of Ontario's predecessors since 1796.
The Battle of Alcolea causes Queen Isabella II of Spain to flee to France.
The Brazilian Parliament passes a law that frees all children thereafter born to slaves, and all government-owned slaves.
The first night game for American football takes place in a contest between Wyoming Seminary and Mansfield State Normal.
World War I: The Fifth Battle of Ypres begins.
World War II: The siege of Warsaw comes to an end.
Ted Williams achieves a .406 batting average for the season, and becomes the last major league baseball player to bat .400 or better.
World War II: The Drama uprising against the Bulgarian occupation in northern Greece begins.
CBS makes the first color televisions available for sale to the general public, but the product is discontinued less than a month later.
A military coup in Damascus effectively ends the United Arab Republic, the union between Egypt and Syria.
The Democratic Progressive Party becomes the first opposition party in Taiwan.
Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat sign the Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Bob Denard and a group of mercenaries take the islands of the Comoros in a coup.
Al-Aqsa Intifada: Ariel Sharon visits Al-Aqsa Mosque known to Jews as the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
Falcon 1 becomes the first privately developed liquid-fuel ground-launched vehicle to put a payload into orbit by the RatSat mission.
War in Somalia: Somali National Army forces and their AMISOM and Raskamboni allies launched an offensive against Al-Shabaab in the latter's last major stronghold of Kismayo.
The 2014 Hong Kong protests begin in response to restrictive political reforms imposed by the NPC in Beijing.
The 2016 South Australian blackout occurs, lasting up to three days in some areas.
Every answer is somewhere on this page. Have a go, then check!
In which year did this happen: “Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin”?
B: 1928. 1928 — that’s 98 years ago. Find it on the page
In which year did this happen: “William of Normandy lands at Pevensey to invade England”?
B: 1066. 1066 — that’s 960 years ago. Find it on the page
Which of these happened first?
C: William of Normandy lands at Pevensey to invade England. 2023: The famous Sycamore Gap tree on Hadrian's Wall is cut down · 1928: Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin · 1066: William of Normandy lands at Pevensey to invade England Find it on the page
“Henry I captures his brother Robert at the Battle of Tinchebray” happened in 1106. How many years ago was that?
B: 920 years. 2026 − 1106 = 920. Find it on the page
Famous people whose birthday is 28 September.
UK story
Sir William Jones was a British scholar of languages and a judge. He was born in Westminster, the son of a Welsh mathematician. He moved to Bengal in India, where he worked as a judge and studied India's ancient history. He was one of the first scholars to argue that many languages of Europe and India are related. This family of languages is now called Indo-European.
Well-known people who died on 28 September.
Festivals, holidays and saints’ days celebrated on 28 September somewhere in the world.
Content note: these entries mention things like war, violence, deaths, disasters or crime. They are part of history, but they can be upsetting. Grown-ups and teachers: you may want to read them first. They come straight from Wikipedia and have not been rewritten for children.
Stories with a heading have been written for young readers by A Day in the Past, using the linked articles as sources. Other entries show text from Wikipedia’s “September 28” page and its “On this day” feed, written by Wikipedia contributors and shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. Each “Read more” link goes to the article an entry is based on. Photos are credited under each picture. Spotted a mistake? Please tell us.