From Historynet: Today in History January 28

28               The Roman Emperor Nerva  names 

Trajan , an army general, as his successor.

1547          Henry VIII of England  dies and is succeeded by his nine-year-old son Edward VI .

1757          Ahmed Shah , the first King of Afghanistan, occupies Delhi and annexes the Punjab.

1792          Rebellious slaves in Santo Domingo launch an attack on the city of Cap.

1871          Surrounded by Prussian troops and suffering from famine, the French army in Paris surrenders. During the siege, balloons were used to keep contact with the outside world.

1915          The U.S. Coast Guard is founded to fight contraband trade and aid distressed vessels at sea.

1915          The German navy attacks the U.S. freighter William P. Frye, loaded with wheat for Britain.

1921          Albert Einstein  startles Berlin by suggesting the possibility of measuring the universe.

1932          The Japanese attack Shanghai, China, and declare martial law.

1936          A fellow prison inmate slashes infamous kidnapper, 

Richard Loeb , to death.

1941          French General Charles DeGaulle's  Free French forces sack south Libya oasis.

1945          Chiang Kai-shek  renames the Ledo-Burma Road the Stilwell Road, in honor of 

General Joseph Stilwell .

1955          The U.S. Congress passes a bill allowing mobilization of troops if China should attack Taiwan.

1964          The Soviets down a U.S. jet over East Germany killing three.

1970          Israeli fighter jets attack the suburbs of Cairo.

1986          The space shuttle Challenger explodes just after liftoff.