This Day In History : June 28

1971 United States

The U.S.S.R. Mars 3 was launched

The U.S.S.R. Mars 3 spacecraft was launched on May 28, 1971. Mars 3 was part of the Soviet Mars program and was notable for being the first spacecraft to achieve a soft landing on Mars.

Also on This Day in History June 28

Discover what happened on June 28 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries,
famous births and notable deaths.

Births on This Day, June 28
  • 1943 Klaus von Klitzing

    German physicist who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1985 for his discovery, made in 1980, of the quantized Hall effect.

  • 1928 John Stewart Bell II

    Northern Irish physicist who has been described as breathing “new and exciting life into the foundations of quantum theory.

  • 2024 Maria Goeppert-Mayer

    German physicist who shared one-half of the 1963 Nobel Prize for Physics with J. Hans D. Jensen of West Germany for their proposal of the shell nuclear model.

  • 1875 Henri-Léon Lebesgue

    French mathematician who developed a theory of integration, now known by his name

  • 1857 Robert Jones

    English orthopaedic surgeon who has been called the founder of modern orthopaedic surgery.

Deaths on This Day, June 28
  • 1974 Vannevar Bush

    American electrical engineer who headed the U.S. Office of Scientific Research and Development during WW II to stimulate scientific research.

  • 1972 Prasanta Mahalanobis

    He was an Indian statistician who set up large-scale surveys, applied statistical theory and created institutions to carry out such work.

  • 1923 Hermann M. Biggs

    American physician who pioneered the use of bacteriological studies in the field of public health for the prevention and control of contagious diseases.

  • 1889 Maria Mitchell

    American astronomer who was the first professional woman in the field in the United States.

  • 1768 George Hadley

    English physicist and meteorologist who first formulated an accurate theory describing the trade winds and the associated meridional circulation pattern now known as the Hadley cell.

1672

Frontenac Sets Sail for New France

1672 French aristocrat and new Governor of New France Louis de Buade de Frontenac sets sail from La Rochelle for Quebec.
1838

Coronation of Queen Victoria

1838 Coronation of Queen Victoria aged 19 during a five-hour ceremony at Westminster Abbey, London.
1914

Assassination of Franz Ferdinand

1914 Assassination of Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria and his wife Sophie by Bosnian-Serb assassin Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo, setting off chain of alliances that begin WWI.
1919

Signing of the Treaty of Versailles

1919 Treaty of Versailles, ending WWI and establishing the League of Nations, is signed in France.  
Holiday
Special day
Discover invention