July 28, 1540: King Henry VIII of England's chief minister, Thomas Cromwell, was executed and Henry married his fifth wife, Catherine Howard.

July 28, 1750: The great baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach died.

July 28, 1794: Robespierre, one of the leading figures of the French Revolution, was sent to the guillotine.

July 28, 1821: Peru declared its independence from Spain.

July 28, 1868: The 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which established the citizenship of African Americans and guaranteed due process of law, was ratified.