July 28 Birthday
On July 28, 1914, one month after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. The declaration activated a network of alliances: Russia mobilized to defend Serbia, Germany declared war on Russia and France, and Britain declared war on Germany after the invasion of Belgium. The war that began that day lasted four years and killed seventeen million people. It destroyed four empires — Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman, Russian, and German — and set the conditions for the next, larger war. The assassination in Sarajevo was the spark; the alliances were the powder. A B-25 Mitchell bomber crashed into the Empire State Building on July 28, 1945, in thick fog. The plane struck the 79th floor. Fourteen people were killed — three in the plane and eleven in the building. The crash caused $1 million in damage. One engine went through the building and fell down an elevator shaft. Elevator operator Betty Lou Oliver survived a 75-story elevator fall — the longest survived elevator fall in history. The building remained open the next day. People born on July 28 fall under the zodiac sign of Leo. The birthstone is Ruby and the birth flower is Larkspur. Historical events on July 28 include 1914: Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia, beginning World War I, 1945: US B-25 bomber crashes into Empire State Building (14 dead), 1868: 14th Amendment adopted, guaranteeing equal protection under law. Famous people born on July 28 include Beatrix Potter (1866), Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (1929), Terry Fox (1958).