TODAY’S HISTORY LESSON – JAN 28
1077 German King Henry IV is absolved by Holy Roman Emperor Pope Gregory VII and invited back to the Church after his penitent Walk to Canossa
1495 Pope Alexander VI (Roderic Llançol i de Borgia) gives his son Cesare as hostage to Charles VIII of France
1521 The Diet of Worms began, at which Protestant reformer Luther was declared an outlaw by the Roman Catholic church
1547 Henry VIII of England dies and is succeeded by his nine-year-old son Edward VI.
1792 Rebellious slaves in Santo Domingo launch an attack on the city of Cap.
1858 John Brown organized raid on Arsenal at Harper’s Ferry
1871 Surrounded by Prussian troops and suffering from famine, the French army in Paris surrenders. During the siege, balloons were used to keep contact with the outside world.
1909 US military forces leave Cuba for 2nd time
1915 The U.S. Coast Guard is founded to fight contraband trade and aid distressed vessels at sea.
1915 US President Woodrow Wilson refuses to prohibit immigration of illiterates
1933 The name “Pakistan” is coined by Choudhry Rahmat Ali and gradually accepted by Muslims in the Indian sub-continent who use it to push for a separate Muslim homeland in South Asia
1936 A fellow prison inmate slashes infamous kidnapper, Richard Loeb, to death
1945 Chiang Kai-shek renames the Ledo-Burma Road the Stilwell Road, in honor of General Joseph Stilwell.
1955 The U.S. Congress passes a bill allowing mobilization of troops if China should attack Taiwan.
1958 The Lego company patents their design of Lego bricks, still compatible with bricks produced today
1961 Republic of Rwanda proclaimed
1970 Israeli fighter jets attack the suburbs of Cairo.
1982 Italian anti-terrorism forces rescued U.S. Brigadier General James L. Dozier. 42 days before he had been kidnapped by the Red Brigades.
1986 Space Shuttle Challenger explodes 73 seconds after liftoff from Cape Canaveral, with all 7 crew members killed, including Christa McAuliffe who was to be the first teacher in space
1994 In Los Angeles, Superior Court Judge Stanley Weisberg declared a mistrial in the case of Lyle Menendez in the murder of his parents. Lyle, and his brother Erik, were both retried later and were found guilty. They were sentenced to life in prison without parole.
1998 In Manilla, Philippines, gunmen held at least 400 children and teachers for several hours at an elementary school.
** history.net, onthisday.com, infoplease.com, timeanddate.com, thepeoplehistory.com, on-this-day.com **
