20th Century Calendar Days: January 28th Quiz

Answer: the design for the Canadian flag was chosen

Designed by George Stanley in March 1964, the current Canadian flag was officially accepted on January 28th, 1965.

Death of King Henry VIII - January 28th, 1547
The Battle of Aliwal - January 28th, 1846
First British colony founded in the Caribbean - January 28th, 1624


Other 1965 events: The Watts Riots (USA, August 11th), The Moors Murders uncovered (UK, October 16th).

Answer: Therese Brandl

Born in Bavaria in 1902, Therese Brandl worked as a Nazi concentration camp guard during the 1940s. In August 1945, she was arrested by the U.S army on suspicion of being involved in selecting prisoners for execution. In December 1947, she was convicted and sentenced to death. She was hanged on January 28th, 1948.

Roza Shanina, highly successful Soviet Russian sniper, killed in action on January 28th, 1945.
Eileen Shanahan, Irish poet, died January 28th, 1979.
Astrid Lindgren, Swedish author, died January 28th, 2002.


Other 1948 events: Gerard Kuiper discovers Miranda, one of the many moons of Uranus (Mexico, February 16th). End of the Costa Rican civil war (Costa Rica, April 24th).

Answer: True

Born in Prague, Czechoslovakia, on February 26th, 1878, Ema became an opera singer at the age of 19. She followed this career until 1926. She died from a stroke on January 28th, 1930.


Other 1930 events: Phar Lap wins the Melbourne Cup (Australia, November 4th), Turkish women receive full voting rights (Turkey, December 1930).

Answer: Army Day

This day is to celebrate to formation of the Armenian Army.

The other choices listed are also Armenian holidays. Mother Language Day is observed on February 21st, Country Keeper's Day is observed on May 8th and Constitution Day is observed on June 5th.

Answer: True

Born in England on January 28th, 1918, Harry Corbett is famous for creating the hand-puppets used in the English children's T.V show, 'Sooty and Sweep'. He died in his sleep on August 17th, 1989.


Other 1918 events: More than thirty million people worldwide die from the Spanish Flu (June-December 1918). Five people die when RMS Carpathia sinks after being torpedoed by a German submarine (July 17th, 1918).

Answer: Richard Chase

Richard Chase, also known as "The Vampire of Sacramento", killed six people before finally being arrested. On May 8th, 1979, he was found guilty of six counts of first degree murder and sentenced to death. He committed suicide in December, 1980.


Dennis Rader, also known as "BTK", was arrested on February 25th, 2005. He received life imprisonment for the murders of ten people.

Aileen Wuornos killed seven men before being arrested on January 9th, 1991. She was executed via lethal injection on October 9th, 2002.

Paul Durousseau, also known as "The Jacksonville Serial Killer", murdered nine women over a seven year period. He was arrested on June 17th, 2003.

Answer: Carnegie Institution for Science opened

Built to support scientific research, the Carnegie Institution for Science first opened on January 28th, 1902. The main areas worked in are Earth and Planetary Science, Genetics and Developmental Biology, Global Ecology, Matter at Extreme States, Astronomy and Plant Science.

May 8th, 1902: Mount Pelee erupts, destroying the town of Saint-Pierre, Martinique, and killing over 30,000.

June 17th, 1902: Norwich City Football Club is formed (Norfolk, England).

December 10th, 1902: The first Aswan Dam on the Nile River in Egypt opened.

Answer: Derek Bentley executed in Wandsworth Prison

On January 28th, 1953, Derek Bentley was executed at Wandsworth Prison, London, UK, for the murder of a policeman.

The summit of Mount Everest was reached for the first time on May 29th, 1953.

In New Zealand, the Tangiwai Rail-bridge collapsed on Christmas Eve 1953. 151 people died.

From January 31st to February 1st, 1953, the North Sea Flood killed 1,836 in the Netherlands alone. Britain and Belgium also suffered badly. In all, 2,551 people were killed.

Answer: Challenger Space Shuttle disaster

On January 28th, 1986, millions of Americans settled down to watch the launch of the space shuttle Challenger, but no-one was prepared for what was about to happen. Seventy-three seconds after launch, Challenger exploded. All seven crew, including school teacher Christa McAuliffe, were killed.

Iceland legalized abortion on January 28th, 1975.
Jose Marti, Cuban poet, born January 28th, 1853.
Pope John Paul II visited Mexico on January 28th, 1979.

Other 1986 events: 92 people killed by hailstones (Bangladesh, April 14th). Queen Elizabeth II visited China (China, October 12th).

Answer: Maurice Gosfield

American actor, Maurice Gosfield, was born on January 28th, 1913. He made several radio appearances as well as starring in movies, plays and TV shows. He died from a heart attack on October 19th, 1964.

Vera Williams, American author, January 28th, 1927.
Ronnie Philp, German footballer, January 28th, 1989.
Nick Raynsford, English politician, January 28th, 1945.


Other 1913 events: Assassination of King George 1 of Greece (Greece, March 18th). British suffragette, Emily Davison, trampled by a horse at the Epsom Derby (UK, June 4th).