What Happened on August 28?

March back to 1963, when a quarter of a million people gathered in peace at the Lincoln Memorial and heard Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. share his dream for America.

• 1609 — Henry Hudson reaches Delaware Bay while searching for a northwest passage

  English navigator Henry Hudson sailed into Delaware Bay aboard the Halve Maen (Half Moon), hunting for a shortcut to Asia that did not exist. Read the full story →

• 1749 — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe is born in Frankfurt

  On August 28, 1749, the German writer Goethe was born — later author of Faust and one of Europe's greatest literary figures. Read the full story →

• 1833 — Britain's Parliament passes the Slavery Abolition Act

  Royal assent was given to the law that abolished slavery across most of the British Empire, freeing hundreds of thousands of enslaved people. Read the full story →

• 1955 — Emmett Till is murdered in Mississippi, galvanizing the civil rights movement

  Fourteen-year-old Emmett Till was abducted and killed while visiting relatives in Mississippi, and his mother's brave decision to mourn him publicly helped spark the civil rights movement. Read the full story →

• 1963 — The March on Washington draws 250,000; Dr. King shares his dream

  About a quarter of a million people joined the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous 'I Have a Dream' speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Read the full story →

Famous birthdays

Roger Tory Peterson (1908–1996) · Jack Black (1969) · Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) · Shania Twain (1965)

Days & observances

March on Washington Day · Emmett Till Day of remembrance · National Bow Tie Day · National Cherry Turnover Day