Skating on the Ladies’ Skating Pond in Central Park, New York.

published in Harper’s Weekly
January 28, 1860

Image via Wikimedia Commons, no known restrictions

U.S. Attorney General Harlan F. Stone testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee during his Supreme Court confirmation process on January 28, 1925.

Stone became an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court and 16 years later became the 12th Chief Justice of the United States.

Photo of snow covered automobiles from the Knickerbocker blizzard that was taken on January 28, 1922.

Image via LOC, no known restrictions

On January 28, 1915, the US Coast Guard was formed by merging the US Revenue Cutter Service and the US Life Saving Service (and in 1939, the US Lighthouse Service was added). Shown is Ellsworth P. Bertholf, the first officer to hold the rank of captain-commandant of the Coast Guard.

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

On January 28, 1851, Northwestern University in Illinois was established.

Image: The Old College building at Northwestern University in 1899. It was the first building constructed on Northwestern University’s campus but was demolished in 1973.

Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

American celebrity Alan Alda was born on January 28, 1936 in New York City.

He played the role of “Hawkeye” Pierce in the popular TV show M*A*S*H

Image: Alda in the 1960s by Photographer-Friedman-Abeles, New York, public domain via Wikimedia Commons

Space Shuttle Challenger Memorial at Arlington

Image from dbking via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

On today’s date January 28, 1857, (some sources say 1855) William Seward Burroughs, inventor of the first successfully marketed “adding & listing machine” was born in Rochester, NY.

Huge task for Presidential Secretary. Washington, D.C., Jan. 28. The White House was virtually swamped today with letters containing 10-cent contributions to National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis. Miss Margaret Lehand, Personal Secretary to President Roosevelt, is shown as she began opening the first batch of 30,000 to arrive. By noontime an extrea crew of mail clerks had to be put on the job.

1/28/1938

via LOC, no known restrictions

Top American flying ace, Gabby Gabreski, who flew during WWII and the Korean War was born on January 28, 1919, in Oil City, Pennsylvania.

After being forced to make a crash landing in Germany, he was able to avoid capture for nearly a week in the woods, but was found by the enemy. He was taken to Stalag Luft I, a German war camp, which was eventually liberated.

Image: Gabreski in the cockpit of his P-47 Thunderbolt after his 28th aerial victory in WWII via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

On January 28, 1969, Stevie Wonder released the hit song “My Cherie Amour”

Image of Stevie Wonder c. late 1960s via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

American artist Jackson Pollock, known for his abstract art, was born on January 28, 1912 in Cody, Wyoming.

When he would paint, he used a dramatic drip and fling technique where he would incorporate his entire body (like a dance) to create his works.

His paintings are very valuable. For example his Mural on Indian Red Ground from 1950 is valued at about $250 million.

Image of Jackson Pollock via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

Site of the world’s first telephone exchange in New Haven, Connecticut. On January 28, 1878, the District Telephone Company of New Haven established the world’s first telephone exchange.

At the time the company had a little more than twenty subscribers and in less than a month that list more than doubled in size.

The building was demolished in 1973.

U.S. Army soldiers of the 732nd Railway Operations Battalion in front of a destroyed steam engine at Perl Zollbahnhof (Perl customs railyard), Germany

January 28, 1945

English explorer, Sir Francis Drake, who sailed to points in present day Florida, North Carolina, Oregon, California and even circumnavigated the globe, died from dysentery off the coast of Panama on January 28, 1596.

Inside the ruins of Fort Macomb near New Orleans, Louisiana

On January 28, 1861, a garrison of Confederate forces took control of Fort Macomb. The following year the Union regained it.

Image from Jeff Ruane via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

Born on January 28, 1928, in Lufkin, Texas, Pete Runnels rose from small‑town fields to become one of the most distinctive hitters of his era. A five‑time All‑Star, he won a batting title while moving among all four true infield positions — first, second, short, and third — a level of adaptability almost no league leader has ever matched. Ted Williams, who chose his compliments carefully, called him “one of the most intelligent hitters I ever saw,” a craftsman who could send a baseball exactly where he intended. He doesn’t have a plaque in Cooperstown, but he is honored by the Texas Sports Hall of Fame and the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame, where his impact is recognized without hesitation.

On January 28, 1978, “Baby Come Back” by Player — with bassist and vocalist Ronn Moss holding down the groove — entered its third week as the #1 song in America. In the heart of the disco era, it had even managed to dethrone the Bee Gees’ “How Deep Is Your Love,” no small feat at a time when the Gibb brothers ruled the charts. Moss would later reinvent himself on an entirely different stage, becoming a global television fixture as Ridge Forrester on The Bold and the Beautiful, a role he played for 25 years. From chart‑topping musician to soap‑opera icon, his career has always found a way to stay in the spotlight.
Image via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0

USS Naifeh (DE‑352) cuts through Pacific waters on January 28, 1956—her silhouette a Cold War sentinel. Named for a fallen WWII hero, she sails not in battle but in vigilance, part of America’s resilient shield across the Western Pacific.