May 28th

Solar eclipse, as predicted by Greek philosopher Thales, while Lydians at war with the Medes leads to a truce. One of the cardinal dates from which other dates calculated.

Pakistan staged nuclear tests in response to India's nuclear tests two weeks earlier.

Linda Finch completed Amelia Earhart's attempted around-the-world flight.

Mathias Rust, a 19-year-old pilot from West Germany, landed his private plane in Moscow’s Red Square. He was arrested and sentenced to four years in a labor camp, but was released after just one.

White House "plumbers" break into the Democratic National Headquarters at Watergate in Washington D.C.

Amnesty International is founded. The publication of Peter Benenson's article “The forgotten prisoners” is commonly considered the organization's birth hour. Amnesty International is one of the world's most influential human rights organizations.

Baseball owners voted to allow the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants to move to Los Angeles and San Francisco, respectively. Many New Yorkers still haven’t recovered. See other baseball city and nickname changes.

Volkswagen (VW) is founded. The automobile manufacturer whose name means “People's Car” in German is one of the world's biggest. It produced classics like the VW Golf and the VW Beetle.

Alan Turing submits "On Computable Numbers" for publication, in which he set out the theoretical basis for modern computers.

The Dionne quintuplets were born in Ontario, Canada.

The first all-color, full-length talking picture, On With the Show!, debuted.

Robert Gould Shaw, leading the first northern all-black regiment, leaves Boston for the Civil War.

US Congress authorizes native Indian to be removed from all states to the western prairie.

Spanish Armada under the Duke of Medina-Sidonia departs Lisbon to invade England.

Joan of Arc is accused of relapsing into heresy by donning male clothing again, providing justification for her execution.