History Events on January 28

Walter Arnold of East Peckham, Kent, becomes the first person to be convicted of speeding. He was fined one shilling, plus costs, for speeding at 8 mph (13 km/h), thereby exceeding the contemporary speed limit of 2 mph (3.2 km/h).
#East_Peckham

Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice is first published in the United Kingdom.
#Jane_Austen

United States troops leave Cuba with the exception of Guantanamo Bay Naval Base after being there since the Spanish-American War.
#Cuba

The current design of the Flag of Canada is chosen by an act of Parliament.
#Flag_of_Canada

Franco-Prussian War: The Siege of Paris ends in French defeat and an armistice.
#Franco-Prussian_War

A locomotive on the Panama Canal Railway runs from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean for the first time.
#Panama_Canal_Railway

Sir Horace Walpole coins the word serendipity in a letter to a friend.
#Horace_Walpole

Iceland becomes the first Western country to legalize therapeutic abortion.
#Iceland

Ronald Reagan lifts remaining domestic petroleum price and allocation controls in the United States helping to end the 1979 energy crisis and begin the 1980s oil glut.
#Ronald_Reagan

Elvis Presley makes his first national television appearance.
#Elvis_Presley

The Battle of Aliwal, India, is won by British troops commanded by Sir Harry Smith.
#Battle_of_Aliwal

The Lego company patents the design of its Lego bricks, still compatible with bricks produced today.
#Lego

The Diet of Worms begins, lasting until May 25.
#Diet_of_Worms

Articles of the Warsaw Confederation are signed, sanctioning freedom of religion in Poland.
#Warsaw_Confederation

Finnish Civil War: The Red Guard rebels seize control of the capital, Helsinki; members of the Senate of Finland go underground.
#Finnish_Civil_War

USCGC Blackthorn collides with the tanker Capricorn while leaving Tampa, Florida and capsizes, killing 23 Coast Guard crewmembers.
#USCGC_Blackthorn_(WLB-391)

The Russian Academy of Sciences is founded in St. Petersburg by Peter the Great, and implemented by Senate decree. It is called the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences until 1917.
#Russian_Academy_of_Sciences

Space Shuttle program: STS-51-L mission: Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrates after liftoff, killing all seven astronauts on board.
#Space_Shuttle_program

The death of Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman Emperor, brings about the accession of his son Louis the Pious as ruler of the Frankish Empire.
#Charlemagne

An unarmed United States Air Force T-39 Sabreliner on a training mission is shot down over Erfurt, East Germany, by a Soviet MiG-19.
#United_States_Air_Force

US Army general James L. Dozier is rescued by Italian anti-terrorism forces from captivity by the Red Brigades.
#United_States_Army

World War II: Supplies begin to reach the Republic of China over the newly reopened Burma Road.
#World_War_II

Foundation of the Spanish Legion.
#Spanish_Legion

Tropical Storm Domoina makes landfall in southern Mozambique, eventually causing 214 deaths and some of the most severe flooding so far recorded in the region.
#Tropical_Storm_Domoina

Original city of Panama (founded in 1519) was destroyed by a fire when privateer Henry Morgan sacked and set fire to it. The site of the previously devastated city is still in ruins (see Panama Viejo).
#Panama

Northwestern University becomes the first chartered university in Illinois.
#Northwestern_University

Franco-Thai War: Final air battle of the conflict. A Japanese-mediated armistice goes into effect later in the day.
#Franco-Thai_War

In R v Morgentaler the Supreme Court of Canada strikes down all anti-abortion laws.
#R_v_Morgentaler

The name Pakistan is coined by Choudhry Rahmat Ali Khan and is accepted by Indian Muslims who then thereby adopted it further for the Pakistan Movement seeking independence.
#Pakistan

King Charles VI of France is nearly killed when several dancers' costumes catch fire during a masquerade ball.
#Charles_VI_of_France

An act of the U.S. Congress creates the United States Coast Guard as a branch of the United States Armed Forces.
#United_States_Congress