On this day: May 28

Investigation into 2003 horse-racing fraud using electric shock device

On May 28, 2003, authorities uncovered a scheme in which an electric shock device was allegedly used to fix the outcome of a horse race, prompting criminal investigations and changes to racing oversight.

First successful robotic-arm-assisted surgery performed

On May 28, 1985, surgeons used a computer-controlled robotic arm to assist in a surgical procedure, marking an early milestone in the development of robot-assisted surgery that would later evolve into widely used systems for minimally invasive operations.

The 1932 Mass Recall after Patent-Medicines Poisoning

On May 28, 1932, a large-scale recall was triggered when multiple patent-medicine products were linked to arsenic and methanol poisoning, prompting one of the earliest documented mass product withdrawals on public-health grounds.

USS Indianapolis Departs on What Would Be Its Final Voyage

On May 28, 1945, heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis (CA-35) slipped from Mare Island Naval Shipyard to begin a voyage that would end in one of the U.S. Navy's worst maritime disasters after she completed a secret mission delivering parts for the first atomic bomb.