This Day That Year

June 28

in History

Alboin Assassinated — A Lombard king falls to conspiracy in Verona
Verona, ItalyMedieval
572

Alboin Assassinated

A Lombard king falls to conspiracy in Verona

In the palace at Verona, Alboin, the warrior-king who had led the Lombards in their conquest of Italy, was assassinated in a coup orchestrated by the Byzantine Empire. His wife Rosamund, whom Alboin had allegedly forced to drink from her father's skull, played a central role in the plot. The murder of the man who had carved a kingdom from the ruins of Roman Italy threw the Lombard realm into chaos and demonstrated the long reach of Byzantine intrigue in the barbarian West.

572 AD
Panama Canal Authorized — Congress opens the way to split a continent
Washington, D.C., United StatesEarly 20th Century
1902

Panama Canal Authorized

Congress opens the way to split a continent

The U.S. Congress passed the Spooner Act, authorizing President Theodore Roosevelt to acquire rights from Colombia for the construction of the Panama Canal. The legislation set in motion one of the most ambitious engineering projects in human history -- and one of the most controversial geopolitical maneuvers, as Roosevelt would later support Panamanian independence from Colombia to secure the canal zone. The canal, completed in 1914, transformed global trade and naval strategy forever.

1902 AD
1956 Poznań protests — Polish workers demanding better working conditions began massive protests in Poznań, but were later violently.
Late 20th Century
1956

1956 Poznań protests

Polish workers demanding better working conditions began massive protests in Poznań, but were later violently.

Polish workers demanding better working conditions began massive protests in Poznań, but were later violently repressed by the Polish People's Army and the Internal Security Corps.

1956 AD