April 28: Holidays, Historical Events, Famous Birthdays & Zodiac Sign
On April 28, 1789, Fletcher Christian seized the Bounty and cast Captain Bligh adrift—just one of the riveting dramas that define this date.
About April 28
April 28 brims with sovereignty and defiance. Japan marks Restoration of Sovereignty Day, recalling the 1952 Treaty of San Francisco that formally ended its postwar occupation. Afghanistan observes Mujahideen Victory Day, while Barbados honors its National Heroes. Canada holds a National Day of Mourning for workers killed on the job—an observance echoed globally as Workers' Memorial Day.
The date also witnessed breathtaking acts of human daring. In 1789, mutineers aboard HMS Bounty forced Lieutenant William Bligh and eighteen loyal sailors into a small boat, setting them adrift in the Pacific. Bligh miraculously navigated them to safety. In 1947, Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl launched the Kon-Tiki balsa raft from Peru, aiming to prove ancient South Americans could have reached Polynesia. And in 1973, Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon began its legendary 741-week run atop the Billboard chart—a testament to artistic ambition as boundless as Heyerdahl's voyage.
Holidays & Observances on April 28
- Mujahideen Victory Day (Afghanistan)
- National Heroes Day (Barbados)
- Restoration of Sovereignty Day (Japan)
- Sardinia Day (Sardinia)
- Workers' Memorial Day and World Day for Safety and Health at Work (international) National Day of Mourning (Canada)
- Ed Balls Day
Fun & National Days on April 28
- National Superhero Day — Channel your inner caped crusader and celebrate the heroes—real and fictional—who make the world better.
- Great Poetry Reading Day — Grab your favorite collection and read a verse aloud; let someone else's words transport you somewhere new.
- International Pay it Forward Day — Buy a stranger's coffee, hold the door, surprise someone—small kindnesses ripple outward in beautiful ways.
- National Blueberry Pie Day — Bake or buy a blueberry pie and savor every bite of this quintessential springtime dessert.
- National Cubicle Day — Decorate your workspace, tidy that desk, and show your office nook a little well-deserved love.
- Biological Clock Day
- Clean Comedy Day
- National Kiss Your Mate Day
- School Bus Drivers' Day
On This Day in History
- 224 — Ardashir I defeats and kills Artabanus V at the Battle of Hormozdgan, effectively ending the Parthian Empire and founding the Sassanian dynasty.
- 1253 — Japanese Buddhist monk Nichiren first chants Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō, declaring it the core of Buddhism and founding Nichiren Buddhism.
- 1503 — At Cerignola, Spanish forces defeat the French in one of the first European battles decided by gunpowder small-arms fire.
- 1788 — Maryland ratifies the U.S. Constitution, becoming the seventh state to join the newly formed American republic.
- 1789 — Fletcher Christian leads the famous mutiny on the Bounty, casting Captain William Bligh and eighteen loyal sailors adrift in the Pacific.
- 1869 — Chinese and Irish laborers lay ten miles of Central Pacific track in a single day for the first transcontinental railroad—a feat never equaled.
- 1937 — South African researcher Max Theiler develops the yellow fever vaccine at the Rockefeller Foundation in New York City.
- 1945 — Italian resistance fighter Walter Audisio shoots and kills Benito Mussolini and his mistress Clara Petacci as they attempt to flee to Switzerland.
- 1947 — Thor Heyerdahl and five crewmates depart Peru on the balsa raft Kon-Tiki to demonstrate South Americans could have settled Polynesia.
- 1952 — The Treaty of San Francisco takes effect, restoring Japanese sovereignty and formally ending its state of war with most Allied powers.
- 1967 — Boxer Muhammad Ali refuses induction into the U.S. Army on religious grounds and is stripped of his heavyweight championship and boxing license.
- 1973 — Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon reaches number one on the U.S. Billboard chart, launching a record-shattering 741-week chart run.
Famous Birthdays on April 28
- 1758 — James Monroe, Fifth President of the United States, renowned for the Monroe Doctrine opposing European colonialism in the Americas.
- 1906 — Kurt Gödel, Brilliant Czech-American mathematician whose incompleteness theorems revolutionized logic and our understanding of mathematics.
- 1908 — Oskar Schindler, Czech-German businessman who saved more than 1,000 Jewish lives during the Holocaust, immortalized in Schindler's List.
- 1916 — Ferruccio Lamborghini, Italian industrialist who turned his tractor business into Lamborghini, creating one of the world's most iconic supercar brands.
- 1926 — Harper Lee, American novelist whose debut To Kill a Mockingbird became a defining work on racial injustice in the American South.
- 1937 — Saddam Hussein, Iraqi dictator whose brutal regime launched wars against Iran and Kuwait before his ouster in the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
- 1950 — Jay Leno, American comedian who hosted The Tonight Show for over two decades, becoming a beloved fixture of late-night television.
- 1974 — Penélope Cruz, Spanish actress and the first Spaniard nominated for an Academy Award, celebrated for collaborations with director Pedro Almodóvar.
- 1980 — Bradley Wiggins, English cyclist and the first Briton to win the Tour de France, later adding an Olympic time trial gold medal.
- 1981 — Jessica Alba, American actress turned entrepreneur who parlayed Hollywood stardom into founding The Honest Company consumer brand.