December 28

418 – A papal election begins, resulting in the election of Pope Boniface I. 457 – Majorian is acclaimed as Western Roman emperor. 484 – Alaric II succeeds his father Euric and becomes king of the Visigoths. He establishes his capital at Aire-sur-l'Adour (Southern Gaul). 893 – An earthquake destroys the city of Dvin, Armenia. 1065 – Edward the Confessor's Romanesque monastic church at Westminster Abbey is consecrated. 1308 – The reign of Emperor Hanazono of Japan begins. 1659 – The Marathas defeat the Adilshahi forces in the Battle of Kolhapur. 1768 – King Taksin's coronation achieved through conquest as a king of Thailand and established Thonburi as a capital. 1795 – Construction of Yonge Street, formerly recognized as the longest street in the world, begins in York, Upper Canada (present-day Toronto). 1832 – John C. Calhoun becomes the first Vice President of the United States to resign. He resigned after being elected Senator from South Carolina. 1835 – Osceola leads his Seminole warriors in Florida into the Second Seminole War against the United States Army. 1836 – South Australia and Adelaide are founded. 1836 – Spain recognizes the independence of Mexico with the signing of the Santa María–Calatrava Treaty. 1846 – Iowa is admitted as the 29th U.S. state. 1879 – Tay Bridge disaster: The central part of the Tay Rail Bridge in Dundee, Scotland, United Kingdom collapses as a train passes over it, killing 75. 1885 – Indian National Congress, a political party of India, is founded in Bombay Presidency, British India. 1895 – The Lumière brothers perform for their first paying audience at the Grand Cafe in Boulevard des Capucines. 1895 – Wilhelm Röntgen publishes a paper detailing his discovery of a new type of radiation, which later will be known as x-rays. 1902 – The Syracuse Athletic Club defeat the New York Philadelphians, 5–0, in the first indoor professional football game, which was held at Madison Square Garden. 1908 – The 7.1 Messina earthquake shakes Southern Italy with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), killing between 75,000 and 200,000.