On This Day 2026
Hello, … Welcome to day 28 of the year.

Wednesday, January 28th

Today is International LEGO Day, Data Privacy Day, International Reducing CO2 Emissions Day and Pop Art Day. Your star sign is Aquarius and your birthstone is Garnet.
1986 – Space Shuttle Challenger exploded just 73 seconds after takeoff, killing all seven crew members. The explosion was caused by a failure of an O-ring seal in one of the solid rocket boosters, which led to a breach in the fuel tank.
Space Shuttle Challenger exploded just 73 seconds after takeoff, killing all seven crew members. Several crew survived the initial breakup of the craft but not the impact of the Atlantic Ocean. The explosion was caused by a failure of an O-ring seal in one of the solid rocket boosters, which led to a breach in the fuel tank.
Famous deaths
2018 – Chas Hodges (b. 1943), English musician and singer. He was the lead vocalist, pianist and guitarist of the musical duo Chas & Dave.
Today’s birthdays
1957 – Frank Skinner (69), English comedian (Baddiel and Skinner Unplanned), actor and presenter (Room 101), born in West Bromwich, West Midlands.
1975 – Lee Latchford-Evans (51), English singer with dance-pop group Steps (“Better Best Forgotten”, “Last Thing on My Mind”), born in Chester.
1978 – Jamie Carragher (48), English football pundit and former footballer (Liverpool 1996–2013, England 1999–2010), born in Bootle, Merseyside.
1980 – Nick Carter (46), American singer and a member of pop group Backstreet Boys (“Quit Playing Games With My Heart”), born in Jamestown, New York, United States.
1981 – Elijah Wood (45), American actor (Deep Impact), best known for his role as Frodo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings franchise, born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States.
1986 – Jessica Ennis Hill (40), English former track and field athlete (Heptathlon, Pentathlon and 100 metres hurdles), born in Sheffield, South Yorkshire.
1993 – Will Poulter (33), English actor (We Are The Millers, Maze Runner, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader), born in Hammersmith, London.
1998 – Ariel Winter (28), American actress best known for playing the intelligent and nerdy Alex Dunphy in the sitcom Modern Family, born in Fairfax, Virginia, United States.
Famous deaths
1547 – Henry VIII (b. 1509), English monarch who was dominant and forceful. He is known for his six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage, to Catherine of Aragon, annulled.

1983 – Billy Fury (b. 1940), English singer and musician with songs such as “Wondrous Place”, “Halfway to Paradise” and “Jealousy” which spent 332 weeks on the UK singles chart.

The day today
1918 – The birth of Harry Corbett, the English puppeteer who created Sooty. The puppet was 60 years old on 19th July 2008 and, as this was close to Nelson Mandela’s 90th birthday, Sooty sent him a birthday message! The show entered the Guinness Book of Records as the longest-running children’s TV programme in the world but has since been taken over by Blue Peter (1958–present).
1920 – Spain founded the Spanish Legion; an army unit made up of foreign soldiers. The Spanish Legion was founded to provide professional troops to Spain’s colonies, as local units of conscripts were not very effective.

1953 – 19 year-old Derek Bentley was hanged at Wandsworth Prison. On 2nd November 1952, he and 16-year-old Christopher Craig were attempting to rob a confectioner’s warehouse in Croydon when they were caught by police. It was alleged that Bentley urged Craig to fire his gun, injuring one policeman and killing another. Both boys were found guilty of murder. Craig, too young to hang, was imprisoned, while Bentley was sentenced to death despite considerable public protest.

1962 – Honeybees stung Johannes Relleke a world record 2,443 times in Zimbabwe. Amazingly she survived. Locals call the event “The Relleke Massacre” because all the bees died!
1973 – Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather won five Golden Globe awards. It won the categories of Best Actor – Drama (Marlon Brando), Best Original Score, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Picture – Drama at the 30th Golden Globe Awards.
1986 – Space Shuttle Challenger exploded just 73 seconds after takeoff, killing all seven crew members. Several crew survived the initial breakup of the craft but not the impact of the Atlantic Ocean. The explosion was caused by a failure of an O-ring seal in one of the solid rocket boosters, which led to a breach in the fuel tank.
1990 – The Independent on Sunday was launched in London and was established as the Sunday sister paper to The Independent (which launched in 1986). The final print edition of The Independent on Sunday was published on March 20, 2016, before the publication moved to a digital-only format.
1994 – The first women only boxing tournament was held at the Marine Halls, Fleetwood. Diane Berry became the first British super-flyweight women’s champion.
2014 – A report by the Commons public accounts committee found that the Queen’s advisers were failing to control her finances, while the royal palaces were ‘crumbling’. MPs said that her advisers had overspent to such an extent that her reserve fund had fallen from £35 million in 2001 to just £1 million. The Queen’s courtiers were advised to take money-saving tips from the Treasury.
2014 – DNA analysis confirms that the 6th century Plague of Justinian (named after Byzantine Emperor Justinian I who caught and survived it), was caused by a variant of Yersinia pestis (the same bacteria responsible for the Black Death) which devastated the Mediterranean, Near East, and Europe.
2017 – Serena Williams defeats older sister Venus Williams 6–4, 6–4 for her 7th Australian title and record 23rd Grand Slam event singles victory.
2024 – Environmental activists from the French group Riposte Alimentaire (Food Response) threw pumpkin soup at the protective glass covering Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa at the Louvre Museum, demanding better food systems and farmer rights amid French agricultural protests.
Today in music
1977 – Pink Floyd’s tenth studio album Animals entered the UK charts at No.2. The sleeve concept was that of Roger Waters, who lived at the time near Clapham Common, and regularly drove past Battersea Power Station. A view of the imposing but disused former power station building was chosen for the cover image, complete with massive inflatable pig suspended between two of the towers.

1978 – The Fleetwood Mac album Rumours went to No.1 on the UK album chart. The groups eleventh studio album went on to sell over 45 million copies world-wide and spent over 440 weeks on the UK chart. The songs ‘Go Your Own Way’, ‘Dreams’, ‘Don’t Stop’, and ‘You Make Loving Fun’ were released as singles.

1978 – Van Halen released their first single, a cover of The Kinks’ ‘You Really Got Me’. The Kinks’ Dave Davies has claimed to dislike Van Halen’s rendition of the song and spoke of how a concert-goer once approached him after a live Kinks show and congratulated him on performing a “great cover of the Van Halen song.”
1983 – British Rock & Roll singer Billy Fury died of heart failure aged 42. An early British rock and roll (and film) star, he equalled the Beatles’ record of 24 hits in the Sixties , and spent 332 weeks on the UK chart, without a chart-topping single or album.
1984 – Frankie Goes To Hollywood started a five-week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Relax!’ BBC Radio 1 DJ Mike Read expressed on air his distaste for both the record’s suggestive sleeve and its lyrics, he announced his refusal to play the record, not knowing that the BBC had decided that the song was not to be played on the BBC anyway. Produced by Trevor Horn the song remained on the chart for 48 weeks.
1985 – The recording took place for We Are The World the US equivalent of Band Aid at A&M Studios in Hollywood. Written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie the all star cast included Stevie Wonder, Tina Turner, Bruce Springsteen, Diana Ross, Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, Daryl Hall, John Oates, Cyndi Lauper, Steve Perry and Bob Geldof.
1994 – Paul and Linda McCartney attended the premiere of Wayne’s World II in London. The couple then went on to Hard Rock Cafe, where the film star Mike Myers presented them with a cheque for LIPA (the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts) for £25,000 from the sale of Linda’s vegetarian burgers.
1995 – TLC started a four week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Creep’ the group’s first US No.1, it made No.6 in the UK the following year.
2005 – English drummer and singer songwriter Jim Capaldi died of stomach cancer aged 60. He co-founded Traffic with Steve Winwood who had the 1967 UK No.2 single ‘Hole In My Shoe’. Capaldi also had the solo 1975 UK No.4 single ‘Love Hurts’. Capaldi also worked with Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and George Harrison.
2008 – Madonna topped the list for the richest female musician, according to Forbes.com. Its first-ever list focusing on women in the music industry estimated the 49-year-old banked $72m (£36m) between June 2006 and June 2007. Madonna earned much of that from her Confessions tour, the highest-grossing tour for a female artist earning $260m (£130m) worldwide. Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour (2023–2024) is now officially the highest-grossing tour for a female artist.
2018 – Bruno Mars wins Best Song “That’s What I Like,” and Best Album “24K Magic” at the 60th Grammy Awards.
Today in history
1457 – The birth of Henry VII, founder of the Tudor dynasty in England. Henry won the throne when he defeated Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was the last king of England to win his throne on the field of battle and he restored order after the Wars of the Roses.
1547 – The death of Henry VIII, exactly 90 years after the birth of his father Henry VII. His nine year old son, Edward VI succeeded him and became the first Protestant ruler of England.
1596 – Sir Francis Drake died from dysentery aboard his ship, off Porto Bello. His exploits were legendary, making him a hero to the English but a pirate to the Spaniards. It’s claimed that King Philip II of Spain offered a reward of 20,000 ducats, (equivalent to £4,000,000 in today’s money) for Drake’s life.
1813 – The novel Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen, was first published. It follows Elizabeth Bennet as she deals with the issues of manners, upbringing, morality, education and marriage in the society of the landed gentry of early 19th-century England.
1829 – The public hanging of Irish body-snatcher William Burke in Edinburgh. Burke and his accomplice William Hare, sold the corpses of their 17 victims to provide material for dissection to Doctor Robert Knox. Hare was offered immunity from prosecution if he confessed and if he testified against Burke. After Burke was hanged he was publicly dissected at the Edinburgh Medical College.
1896 – Walter Arnold of Kent was the first British motorist to receive a speeding fine, for exceeding 2 mph in a built-up area. He was doing 8 mph as he passed the house of the local policeman. The constable gave chase on his bicycle and after a 5 mile chase Mr. Arnold was arrested. He was fined one shilling for his offence.