On This Day - What Happened On October 28 | Britannica

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1886 Statue of Liberty dedicated On this day in 1886 U.S. President Grover Cleveland officially dedicated the Statue of Liberty—a gift from the people of France to the people of the United States—on Bedloe's (later Liberty) Island in Upper New York Bay. © shproteg/Fotolia

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John Locke English philosopher bornAugust 29, 1632Wrington, EnglanddiedOctober 28, 1704 (aged 72)Oates, EnglandUniversal History Archive/Universal Images Group/REX/Shutterstock.com 1967 Julia Roberts American actress 1956 Mahmoud Ahmadinejad president of Iran 1955 Bill Gates American computer programmer, businessman, and philanthropist 1949 Caitlyn Jenner American athlete 1914 Jonas Salk American physician and medical researcher See All Biographies On This Day

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2025 Hurricane Melissa made landfall in southern Jamaica with winds of 185 miles (about 298 km) per hour, It was the first category 5 storm to strike Jamaica.Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 2023 American actor Matthew Perry, who played Chandler Bing on the hugely popular sitcom Friends, died at age 54 of “acute effects of ketamine,” according to a medical examiner's report.© Kathy Hutchins/Shutterstock.com 2007 Cristina Fernández de Kirchner became the first woman elected president of Argentina. Test your knowledge of famous firsts for women© Matías Baglietto—NurPhoto/Getty Images 1971 Great Britain launched Prospero, its first Earth satellite. Take our quiz about objects in spaceEncyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 1967 Julia Roberts, whose deft performances in varied roles helped make her one of the highest-paid and most-influential actresses in the 1990s and early 2000s, was born in Smyrna, Georgia. Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about A-list actors© 2000 Universal Studios; photo, Bob Marshak; all rights reserved. 1965 The Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri, designed by Eero Saarinen to commemorate St. Louis's historic role as “Gateway to the West,” was completed. Read our list of 10 notable people and things from St. LouisJeremy Woodhouse/Getty Images 1962 Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev capitulated to U.S. demands to halt delivery of nuclear-armed missiles to Cuba, bringing to an end the Cuban missile crisis. Watch an overview of the Cuban missile crisis and its effect on Germany© Keystone/Getty Images 1955 Computer programmer and entrepreneur Bill Gates—who cofounded Microsoft, the world's largest personal-computer software company—was born in Seattle, Washington.Sean Gallup/Getty Images 1919 The U.S. Congress overrode President Woodrow Wilson's veto and passed the Volstead Act, providing enforcement guidelines for Prohibition. How much do you know about U.S. history?New York World-Telegram and the Sun Newspaper Photograph Collection/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (neg. no. LC-USZ62-123257) 1918 Tomáš Masaryk, Edvard Beneš, and other leaders issued a proclamation announcing the formation of an independent Czechoslovakian state. Test your knowledge of European historyEncyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 1914 American physician and medical researcher Jonas Salk, who developed the first safe and effective vaccine for polio, was born. Take our quiz about human healthCourtesy of the National Library of Medicine 1790 Spain, yielding to British demands, signed the convention that resolved the Nootka Sound controversy.Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 1726 Anglo-Irish author Jonathan Swift anonymously published Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World (later called Gulliver's Travels), a keystone of English literature that helped give birth to the novel form. Take our quiz about literary classics© Photos.com/Getty Images 1636 Harvard University, the oldest institute of higher learning in the United States, was founded by the Great and General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. How much do you know about early American history?© Jorge Salcedo/Shutterstock.com SIGN UP FOR History's Biggest Headlines Discover the fascinating events that shaped the world, straight from our editors. SIGN UP Thanks for signing up for Today in History. Your first newsletter will arrive soon! SIGN UP By clicking "Sign Up" you are agreeing to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.