Today in History Today in History Today is Wednesday, July 28, the 209th day of 2021. There are 156 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On July 28, 1976, an earthquake devastated northern China, killing at least 242,000 people, according to an official estimate. On this date: In 1540, King Henry VIII’s chief minister, Thomas Cromwell, was executed, the same day Henry married his fifth wife, Catherine Howard. In 1821, Peru declared its independence from Spain. In 1914, World War I began as Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. In 1932, federal troops forcibly dispersed the so-called “Bonus Army” of World War I veterans who had gathered in Washington to demand payments they weren’t scheduled to receive until 1945.