I thought this would be neat. Perhaps others can help post this on a daily basis. Use Wikipedia to look for the day of the year:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January_28
Events
* 1521 - Diet of Worms begins, lasting until May 25.
* 1547 - Edward VI becomes King, and the first Protestant ruler of England.
* 1573 - articles of Warsaw Confederation are signed, sanctioning religious freedom in Poland
* 1788 - The first penal colony is founded at Botany Bay, Australia.
* 1846 - Battle of Aliwal, India won by British troops commanded by Sir Harry Smith.
* 1855 - The first locomotive runs from the Atlantic to the Pacific on the Panama Railway.
* 1871 - France surrenders to end the Franco-Prussian War.
* 1878 - The Yale News becomes the first daily, college newspaper in the United States.
* 1887 - In a snowstorm at Fort Keogh, Montana, USA, the world's largest snowflakes are reported, being 15 inches (38cm) wide and 8 inches (20cm) thick.
* 1902 - The Carnegie Institution is founded in Washington, DC with a $10 million gift from Andrew Carnegie.
* 1909 - United States troops leave Cuba after being there since the Spanish-American War.
* 1915 - An act of the U.S. Congress creates the United States Coast Guard.
* 1916 - Louis D. Brandeis becomes the first Jew appointed to the United States Supreme Court.
* 1917 - United States ends search for Pancho Villa.
* 1918 - Finnish Civil War: Rebels seized control of the capital, Helsinki, and members of the Senate of Finland went underground.
* 1921 - A symbolic Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was installed beneath the Arc de Triomphe in Paris to honour the unknown dead of World War I.
* 1932 - World War II: Japan occupies Shanghai.
* 1935 - Iceland becomes the first country to legalize abortion.
* 1938 - The first ski tow in America begins operation in Vermont.
* 1945 - World War II: Supplies begin to reach China over the newly reopened Burma Road.
* 1946 - Bluenose, Canada's greatest sailing ship, founders on a Haitian reef.
* 1958 - Charles Starkweather and Caril Ann Fugate begin their murder spree with the killings of her parents and infant sister.
* 1973 - Barnaby Jones premieres on CBS.
* 1982 - James L. Dozier is rescued by Italian anti-terrorism forces after 42 days of captivity under the Red Brigades.
* 1986 - Space Shuttle Challenger explodes just after takeoff killing all seven astronauts onboard.
* 1990 - Super Bowl XXIV: The San Francisco 49ers are crowned "Team of the 1980s" by defeating the Denver Broncos, 55-10.
* 1994 - The first trial of accused murderer Lyle Menendez ends in a mistrial. He and his brother Erik are later found guilty and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
* 1996 - Super Bowl XXX: The Dallas Cowboys win their fifth Super Bowl title by defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers, 27-17.
* 1997 - Clive Davis receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
* 1998 - Ford Motor Company announces the buyout of Volvo for $6.45 billion.
* 1998 - Gunmen hold at least 400 children and teachers hostage for several hours at an elementary school in Manila, Philippines.
* 2001 - Super Bowl XXXV: The Baltimore Ravens defeat the New York Giants, 34-7.
* 2002 - An Ecuadoran airline Boeing 727-100 crashes in the Andes mountains in southern Colombia killing 92.
* 2004 - September Dossier: Lord Hutton publishes his report into the death of UN weapons inspector Dr. David Kelly.
Births
* 1600 - Pope Clement IX (d. 1669)
* 1706 - John Baskerville, printer, typefounder (d. 1775)
* 1784 - George Hamilton Gordon Aberdeen, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1860)
* 1822 - Alexander Mackenzie, second Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1892)
* 1833 - Charles George 'Chinese' Gordon, British soldier and administrator (d. 1885)
* 1841 - Henry Morton Stanley, explorer, journalist (d. 1904)
* 1853 - José MartÃÂ, revolutionary (d. 1895)
* 1857 - William Seward Burroughs, inventor of the calculator (d. 1898)
* 1873 - Colette, writer (d. 1954)
* 1879 - Francis Picabia, painter, poet (d. 1953)
* 1884 - Auguste Piccard, physicist (d. 1962)
* 1887 - Artur Rubinstein, Polish pianist, conductor (d. 1982)
* 1892 - Ernst Lubitsch, film director (d. 1947)
* 1900 - Heinrich Kesten, author (d. 1996)
* 1912 - Jackson Pollock, painter, initiator of Dripping painting (d. 1956)
* 1923 - Ivo Robić, singer - Croatia, Mister Morgen (d. 2001)
* 1927 - Hiroshi Teshigahara, director (d. 2001)
* 1929 - Claes Oldenbourg, artist
* 1929 - Acker Bilk, musician
* 1935 - David Lodge, author
* 1936 - Alan Alda, American actor, writer and director
* 1945 - Marthe Keller, actress
* 1949 - Mikhail Baryshnikov, dancer
* 1960 - Robert von Dassanowsky, cultural historian, writer, producer
* 1961 - Meister Eduard Gröller, visualizer
* 1968 - Sarah McLachlan, singer/songwriter
* 1974 - Tony Delk, basketball player
* 1976 - Mark Madsen, NBA basketball player
* 1977 - Daunte Culpepper, American football quarterback
* 1977 - Joey Fatone, performer
* 1978 - Gianluigi Buffon, Italian football star
* 1979 - Pixie (glamour model)
* 1980 - Nick Carter, performer
* 1981 - Elijah Wood, actor
Deaths
* 814 - Charlemagne (b. 742)
* 1547 - King Henry VIII of England (b. 1491)
* 1596 - Sir Francis Drake, explorer, soldier (b. ca. 1540)
* 1599 - Cristofano Malvezzi, Italian composer.
* 1621 - Pope Paul V (b. 1550)
* 1754 - Ludvig Holberg, historian and writer (b. 1684)
* 1903 - Augusta Holmès, French composer
* 1912 - Gustave de Molinari, Belgian economist
* 1939 - William Butler Yeats, writer (b. 1865)
* 1949 - Jean-Pierre Wimille, race car driver (b. 1908)
* 1953 - James Scullin, ninth Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1876)
* 1960 - Zora Neale Hurston, author (b. 1891)
* 1965 - Maxime Weygand, soldier (b. 1867)
* 1971 - Donald Winnicott, British psychoanalyst (b. 1896)
* 1977 - Freddie Prinze, actor (b. 1954)
* 1983 - Frank Forde, fifteenth Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1890)
* 1986 - Crew of Space Shuttle Challenger: Francis R. Scobee (b. 1939), Michael J. Smith (b. 1945), Judith Resnik (b. 1949), Ellison Onizuka (b. 1946), Ronald McNair (b. 1950), Greg Jarvis (b. 1944), Christa McAuliffe (b. 1948)
* 1996 - Jerry Siegel, cartoonist, creator of Superman (b. 1914)
* 1996 - Joseph Brodsky, poet (b. 1940?)
* 2002 - Astrid Lindgren, author (b. 1907)
* 2004 - Don Cholito, radio host, hosted the longest running uninterrupted radio show (b. 1923)
Holidays and observances
* Catholicism - Feast day of St. Thomas Aquinas