January 28 in history — What Happened Today in History

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.

USCGC Blackthorn collides with the tanker Capricorn while leaving Tampa, Florida and capsizes, killing 23 Coast Guard crewmembers.

The first day of the Great Lakes Blizzard of 1977, which dumps 3 metres (10 ft) of snow in one day in Upstate New York. Buffalo, Syracuse, Watertown, and surrounding areas are most affected.

The Shining, the horror novel and the first hardcover bestseller by Stephen King, is published.

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

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.

The National Football League announces expansion teams for Dallas to start in the 1960 NFL season and Minneapolis-St. Paul for the 1961 NFL season.

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

Elvis Presley makes his first national television appearance.

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

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

The World Land Speed Record on a public road is broken by Rudolf Caracciola in the Mercedes-Benz W125 Rekordwagen at a speed of 432.7 kilometres per hour (268.9 mph).

Iceland becomes the first Western country to legalize therapeutic abortion.

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.

Japanese forces attack Shanghai.

Knickerbocker Storm: Washington, D.C.'s biggest snowfall, causes a disaster when the roof of the Knickerbocker Theatre collapses, killing over 100 people.

Foundation of the Spanish Legion.

The Order of the White Rose of Finland is established by Baron Gustaf Mannerheim, the regent of Finland.

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

The Canadian province of Manitoba grants women the right to vote and run for office in provincial elections (although still excluding women of Indigenous or Asian heritage), marking the first time women in Canada are granted voting rights.

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

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

Members of the Portuguese Republican Party fail in their attempted coup d'état against the administrative dictatorship of Prime Minister João Franco.

The Carnegie Institution of Washington is founded in Washington, D.C., with a $10 million gift from Andrew Carnegie.

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).

Yale Daily News becomes the first independent daily college newspaper in the United States.

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

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

Mimi-Isabella Cesar, British rhythmic gymnast

Joel Bolomboy, Russian-American basketball player

Lin Zhu, Chinese tennis player

Maluma, Colombian singer-songwriter, rapper, and actor

Will Poulter, English actor

Alan Williams, American basketball player

Sergio Araujo, Argentinian footballer

Carl Klingberg, Swedish ice hockey player

Calum Worthy, Canadian actor

Siem de Jong, Dutch footballer

Paul Henry, English footballer

Alexandra Krosney, American actress

Sanada, Japanese wrestler

Lionel Gilbert, Australian historian, author, and academic (born 1924)

John Cacavas, American composer and conductor (born 1930)

Harry Gamble, American football player, coach, and manager (born 1930)

Dwight Gustafson, American composer and conductor (born 1930)

Nigel Jenkins, Welsh poet, journalist, and geographer (born 1949)

Jorge Obeid, Argentinian engineer and politician, Governor of Santa Fe (born 1947)

Florentino Fernández, Cuban-American boxer and coach (born 1936)

Hattie N. Harrison, American educator and politician (born 1928)

Oldřich Kulhánek, Czech painter, illustrator, and stage designer (born 1940)

Roman Juszkiewicz, Polish astronomer and astrophysicist (born 1952)

Don Starkell, Canadian adventurer and author (born 1932)

Werner Flume, German jurist (born 1908)

Billy Powell, American keyboard player and songwriter (born 1952)