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28th July

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1976: Massive earthquake in China


Early in the morning, a massive earthquake of 8.2 magnitude strikes Tangshan, a Chinese industrial city with a population of about 1 million people. As almost everyone was at home in their beds instead of outside in the relative safety of the streets or fields, the earthquake was especially costly in terms of human life. By the time the rescue effort came to an end, the Chinese government estimated that 250,000 people had been killed, making it the deadliest earthquake of the 20th century. Because it is situated between the Indian and Pacific plates, China has been a very active location for earthquakes throughout history.

1977

Cricketer Ian Botham makes his Test debut for England.

1965

In Britain, Edward Heath becomes leader of the Conservative Party.

1917

World War I: Formation of the British Army Tank Corps.

1914

Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia - beginning World War I.

1907

Fire destroys hundreds of buildings in the seaside resort of Coney Island New York .

1904

Assassination of Russian Minister of the Interior Vyacheslav Plehve.

1865

A crowd of 100,000 watches the last public execution in Scotland when Dr Edward Pritchard is hanged for poisoning his wife and mother-in-law.

1858

First recorded use of fingerprints as a means of identification by William Herschel.

1833

Britain passes the Emancipation Act - abolishing slavery throughout the British Empire.

1794

French Revolutionary politician Maximilien de Robespierre is executed in Paris.

1586

The first potatoes arrive in Britain - brought by explorer Sir Thomas Harriot from Colombia.

1540

King Henry VIII of England marries Catherine Howard - wife number five.

1936

West Indies cricketer Sir Garfield Sobers.

1929

Jacqueline Onassis - wife of assassinated US president John F Kennedy.

1904

British politician Selwyn Lloyd.

1902

British philosopher Sir Karl Popper born in Vienna. Influential works include: The Logic of Scientific Discovery (1931); The Open Society and Its Enemies (1945) and Objective Knowledge (1972).

1866

Children's writer and illustrator Beatrix Potter.

1844

English poet Gerard Manley Hopkins.

1898

German statesman Otto Von Bismarck.

1794

French Revolutionary politician Maximilien de Robespierre is executed in Paris.

1750

German composer Johann Sebastian Bach.

1741

Austrian composer Antonio Vivaldi.

1629

English cartographer John Speed.