The following events occurred in January 1928:
Sunday, January 1, 1928
The Battle of Las Cruces was fought in Nicaragua. In Nicaragua, five U.S. Marines were killed and 23 wounded in a clash with followers of Sandino. Nearly 250,000 domestic slaves in the British Protectorate of Sierra Leone were freed by decree of 1927. Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhanov, Joseph Stalin's personal secretary, crossed the border to Iran to defect from the Soviet Union. Died: Loie Fuller, 65, American dancer
Monday, January 2, 1928
Stanford University edged the University of Pittsburgh Panthers 7–6 in the Rose Bowl. A diplomatic row broke out following the discovery by an Austrian customs official on the Hungarian border of five carloads of machine gun parts falsely labeled as machine parts in a shipment from Italy heading towards Czechoslovakia. Born: Howard Caine, American character actor, in Nashville, Tennessee (d. 1993) Robert Goralski, American journalist, in Chicago (d. 1988) Daisaku Ikeda, Japanese Buddhist philosopher and activist; Ōta, Tokyo Kate Molale, South African political activist (d. 1980) Dan Rostenkowski, U.S. Congressman for 38 years, later convicted of corruption; in Chicago (d. 2010) Died: Emily Stevens, 45, American actress
Tuesday, January 3, 1928
The United States ordered the deployment of 1,000 additional Marines and five destroyers to Nicaragua. The Senussi leader in Cyrenaica surrendered to Italy, bringing the colony of Italian Libya fully under Italian control. Died: Dorothy Donnelly, 47, American actress, playwright, producer and director Emily Stevens, 45, American actress
Wednesday, January 4, 1928
Half of England was under water due to flooding.
Thursday, January 5, 1928
Charles Lindbergh landed in Nicaragua during his goodwill tour of Latin America where he met President Adolfo Díaz. Born: Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, 4th President and 9th Prime Minister of Pakistan, in Larkana, British India (d. 1979); Walter Mondale, U.S. Senator and 42nd Vice President of the United States, in Ceylon, Minnesota (d. 2021)
Friday, January 6, 1928
The Charlie Chaplin silent comedy film The Circus premiered at the Strand Theatre in New York City. A 92 m.p.h. gale struck the British Isles, increasing the high risk of flooding even further. Italian Finance Minister Giuseppe Volpi banned industries from taking out foreign loans without government approval. Born: George H. Ross, American businessman and TV personality, in Brooklyn, New York Died: Alvin Kraenzlein, 51, American track-and-field athlete
Saturday, January 7, 1928
1928 Thames flood: The River Thames burst its banks in London shortly after midnight, killing 14. Westminster Abbey, the Tate Gallery and the Tower of London were among the buildings flooded. Charles Lindbergh flew to Costa Rica where he was greeted by President Ricardo Jiménez Oreamuno along with a huge crowd. Born: William Peter Blatty, American writer and filmmaker known for The Exorcist; in New York City (d. 2017)
Sunday, January 8, 1928
The flood tide in London passed at 2:18 a.m. The Emir of Afghanistan Amānullāh Khān and his wife Soraya Tarzi arrived in Rome during their first visit to Europe.
Monday, January 9, 1928
A council in Rome declared that the city's new coat of arms would include a fasces along with the Savoy cross. Charles Lindbergh flew to Panama where President Rodolfo Chiari presented him with a medal and praised him for "establishing a basis of fraternity, and bringing together all of the American countries on a basis of real understanding." Born: Domenico Modugno, Italian singer, songwriter, actor and politician, in Polignano a Mare (d. 1994)
Tuesday, January 10, 1928
New York Governor Al Smith denied clemency to convicted murderer Ruth Snyder and her partner Henry Gray. The New York Giants traded star player-manager Rogers Hornsby to the Boston Braves for Shanty Hogan and Jimmy Welsh. Born: Philip Levine, American poet, in Detroit (d. 2015)