August 15, 1928: Germany launches the high-tech luxury liner SS EuropaAugust 27, 1928: Germany's Foreign Minister Gustav Streseman joins others in signing Kellogg-Briand Peace Pact in Paris, renouncing "war as an instrument of national policy"The Kellogg-Briand Pact and seals from 15 signatory nationsFrance's Foreign Minister Aristide Briand addresses the assembled representatives
Croatian deputies withdrew from the Yugoslavian National Assembly and set up a separatist parliament in Zagreb.[1][2] They said that they would not recognize any decisions made in Yugoslavian parliament as binding in Croatia.[3]
The Easter Act was among many bills granted Royal Assent in Britain.[4] The act fixed the date of Easter as the Sunday following the second Saturday of April. No government has ever followed up by issuing the implementation order, but the legislation has never been repealed.[5]
A volcanic eruption occurred at Paluweh in the Dutch East Indies, causing a tsunami that killed at least 160 people and affecting the global climate.[6]
A group of 11,000 Britons conducted a pilgrimage to the battlefields of northern France on the fourteenth anniversary of the British declaration of war on Germany.[7]
The anniversary was marked in Berlin with a huge anti-war demonstration organized by communists outside the City Palace. 600 red flags were dipped as the crowd sang "The Internationale" and took an oath to boycott war.[7]
All 31 crew members were killed when the Italian submarine F-14 sank, following a collision with the Italian destroyer Giuseppe Missori west of the Brijuni Islands.[9] When the F-14 was raised 34 hours after, it was found that the entire crew had died from chlorine gas that had been released when salt water flooded the submarine's storage batteries.[10]
Italy tightened its emigration laws, making it harder for Italians to reunite with relatives living abroad. Wives and sons could still join emigrated husbands and fathers, but only if they were dependent on them. Sisters had to be unmarried in order to join their brothers.[11]
Born:James Randi, stage magician and scientific skeptic, in Toronto, Canada (d. 2020)[12]
The island of Palu'e was reported to have been virtually destroyed by the eruption of the Rokatinda volcano, killing up to 1,000 people and wiping out six villages.[15]
Born:
Bob Cousy, American pro basketball player and Basketball Hall of Fame honoree, in Manhattan
In a test of Britain's defenses against an aerial attack, 250 Royal Air Force planes waged a mock nighttime air battle in the skies over London. An official report said that eight out of ten bomber raids were intercepted.[21]
The second night of aerial war maneuvers were conducted over London. It was reported that vital sections of the city would have been bombed to ruins if the air raid had been real.[24][25]
Lee Tracy originates the role of Editor Hildy Johnson
The stage comedy The Front Page, adapted for three films and several television series, opened on Broadway.[26]
Aerial maneuvers over London ended in the morning, with experts in agreement that British air defenses were inadequate. Fast bombers were found to be the most successful type of plane.[28]
Parliamentary elections were held in Greece for the Vouli, the lower house of the Hellenic Parliament, in the first elections held since the 1927 Constitution was promulgated. The Liberal Party of Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos won 178 of the 250 seats for a majority, after having had only one-third of the seats in the previous election.
An editorial in the Italian newspaper Tevere ridiculed the Kellogg–Briand Pact, saying the signatories were not sincere about wanting to abolish war.[33]
New York Governor Al Smith formally accepted the Democratic nomination for president in a speech in Albany. The planned ceremony in the park outside the Capitol was driven indoors due to rain, so 25,000 stood in the downpour to hear Smith's speech from inside the Assembly Chamber over loudspeakers. WGYofSchenectady televised the event and became the first television station to transmit a remote broadcast.[35][36]
Wreckage from Roald Amundsen's seaplane was found near Tromsø.[44] The French consul examined a pontoon and positively identified it as belonging to the plane Amundsen and his crew departed in on June 18.[45][46]
Amelia Earhart crashed her biplane at Rogers Field near Pittsburgh when the landing gear broke after hitting a rut during touchdown. Earhart and passenger George P. Putnam were uninjured.[47]
