The residence of Lieut. William N. Grier. The first house erected in Fort Des Moines, Iowa.

On December 28, 1846 Iowa became the 29th state.

Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

President Woodrow Wilson waving to spectators from a vehicle during a parade in 1919

On December 28, 1856, nearly five years before the American Civil War, Woodrow Wilson was born in Staunton, Virginia.

Image via National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, no known restrictions

Born December 28, 1931, Martin Milner’s career in films and on television lasted 50 years. He’s best remembered for two popular TV series – “Route 66” and “Adam-12,” shown here. Milner is on the left as veteran officer Pete Malloy, with co-star Ken McCord as rookie Jim Reed.

Image via Wikimedia Commons, no known copyright, public domain in the US.

On December 28, 1912, operation of the first municipally owned street cars began in San Francisco, California.

Image of a municipal street car in San Francisco in the 1910s via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

On December 28, 1976, U.S. patent #4,000,000 was issued to Robert Mendenhall of Las Vegas, Nevada.

Robert’s “Process for recycling asphalt-aggregate compositions” offered a more efficient method of heating, mixing and ventilating used asphalt. Instead of heating old bits of roadway under direct flame his method allowed for pieces to be placed inside heated tubes within a large drum as petroleum was added. The process reduced unhealthy vapors while providing a good reusable product.

Image from kellerna via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0

A young man signals to curb brokers who are trading at an outdoor exchange on Wall Street in New York City on December 28, 1918.

By 1921 most outdoor curb trading was brought indoors.

Image via LOC, no known restrictions

Nichelle Nichols who played the role of Nyota Uhura on Star Trek was born on December 28, 1932 in Robbins, Illinois.

From the late 1970s to the mid 2010s she worked as a volunteer for NASA.

Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

Happy Pledge of Allegiance Day
December 28

Image of school children pledging allegiance to the flag in the 1940s via LOC, no known restrictions

Dogsled team with five men arriving in Skagway, Alaska from Dawson, December 28, 1898

via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

Born December 28, 1922 Stan Lee was already an experienced comic artist when he joined the Army at 20. Assigned to the Signal Corps he wrote and illustrated training manuals with Charles Addams and Theodor “Dr. Seuss” Geisel. Lee would go on to create Marvel Comics in the postwar years.

Image from US Army via Wikimedia Commons, public domain in the US.

Just after midnight on December 28, 1918 a WWI U.S. Navy transport ship, the USS Tenadores, ran aground off the north coast of the French island of Île d’Yeu in heavy fog. 162,000 pounds of supplies and the remaining crew were rescued. Despite attempts to salvage the vessel a few days later, the ship had already been in the process of being claimed by the sea.

Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

American actor Denzel Washington was born on December 28, 1954 in Mount Vernon, New York. Image of Denzel playing the role of Private Silas Trip in the film “Glory” in 1989 for which he won his first Academy Award.

Image via Alamy