|
What happened in history on this day: August 8?
On August 8 in ...
- 1579 - Cornerstone is laid for Tycho Brahe's Uraniborg observatory.
- 1609 - Venetian senate examines Galileo Galilei's telescope.
- 1653 - Jean-Jacques Renouard de Villayer establishes a postal service in Paris, France, under royal mandate of King Louis XIV. Users pre-purchase a receipt for postage paid wrapper for one sou, then date and attach the wrapper to their letter, and deposit it in a letter box for delivery.
- 1700 - Denmark signs the peace treaty of Traventhal with Sweden.
- 1709 - First known ascent in hot-air balloon, Bartolomeu de Gusmao (indoors).
- 1763 - Birth of Charles Bulfinch Boston Massachusetts, first US professional architect (Mass State House).
- 1786 - The American Continental Congress defines a silver dollar containing 375.64 grains of silver as the nation's unit of account.
- 1796 - Boston African Society establishes with 44 members.
- 1814 - Peace negotiations between the US and Great Britain begin in Ghent, Belgium.
- 1815 - Napoleon Bonaparte sets sail for exile on Saint Helena.
- 1843 - Natal (in South Africa) is made a British colony.
- 1844 - Brigham Young is chosen as Mormon Church head following Joseph Smith death.
- 1848 - Death of Veera Puran Appu, Sri Lankan hero who led the Matale Rebellion against the British (born 1812).
- 1857 - Birth of Henry Osborn in Connecticut, USA; paleontologist/author (52 Years of Research).
- 1868 - In Pillistfer, Estonia, a building is struck by a falling meteorite.
- 1870 - Magic (US) defeats Cambria (England) in second running of America's Cup.
- 1876 - Dan O'Leacy completes 500 mile walk in 139 hours 32 minutes.
- 1876 - Thomas Edison patents mimeograph.
- 1879 - Birth of Emiliano Zapata; Mexican revolutionary, peasant leader.
- 1884 - Birth of Sara Teasdale; US poet (first Pulitzer Prize - 1918 - Love Songs).
- 1887 - Birth of Malcolm Keen in Bristol, England; actor (Uncle Chris - Mama).
- 1896 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average is 28.48, the lowest point ever for this index.
- 1896 - Birth of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings in Washington DC, USA; writer (The Yearling).
- 1900 - Birth of Victor Young in Chicago, Illinois, USA; orchestra leader (Milton Berle Show, In Old California).
- 1901 - Birth of Dr Ernest O Lawrence in Canton, South Carolina, USA; inventor (Cyclotron - Nobel Prize 1939).
- 1902 - Birth of Paul A.M. Dirac in England; theoretical physicist (Nobel Prize 1933).
- 1905 - Birth of André Jolivet in Paris, France; composer (L'Eunuque).
- 1907 - Birth of Benny Carter in Harlem, New York, USA; jazz musician: alto saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, bandleader from the 1930s to the 1990s ("Easy Money").
- 1908 - Birth of Arthur J Goldberg in Illinois, USA; United Nations ambassador, Supreme Court justice (1962-65).
- 1908 - Birth of Paul Dirae in Bristol; theoretical physicist, a founding father of quantum mechanics, predicted existence of anti-matyter, Nobel Prize for Physics 1933.
- 1910 - Birth of Francisco Brochado Da Rocha; Prime Minister of Brazil (1962).
- 1910 - Birth of Sylvia Sidney in the Bronx, New York, USA; actress (46 years of TV guest appearances, WKRP, Thirtysomething, Fantasy Island, Sabotage, Beetlejuice, Demon).
- 1913 - Birth of Axel Stordahl in Staten Island, New York, USA; orchestra leader (Frank Sinatra Show).
- 1913 - Birth of Robert Stafford; American politician (Senator-Republican-Vermont).
- 1914 - Sweden and Norway make a common declaration of neutrality.
- 1918 - Six US soldiers are surrounded by Germans in France, Alvin York is given command and shoots 20 Germans and captures 132 more.
- 1918 - Birth of Rory Calhoun in Los Angeles, California, USA; actor (Capitol, Motel Hell, Bill - Texan).
- 1919 - Birth of Dino DeLaurentis; movie producer (King Kong).
- 1919 - Treaty of Rawalpindi, British recognize Afghanistan's independence.
- 1920 - Detroit Tigers beat New York Yankees 1-0 in shortest American League game, 73 minutes.
- 1921 - Birth of Webb Pierce at West Monroe, Louisiana, USA; country singer (Louisiana Hayride radio show, Grand Ole Opry, "There Stands the Glass" (1953)).
- 1922 - Birth of Rory Calhoun AKA Francis McCown in Los Angeles, California, USA; actor (over 80 movies and 1,000 television episodes, The Texan, The Blue and the Grey mini-series, Capitol).
- 1922 - Birth of Rudi Gernreich; designed first women's topless swimsuit, miniskirt.
- 1922 - Pittsburgh Pirates set baseball record of 46 hits in a doubleheader (against Philadelphia Phillies).
- 1923 - Birth of Jimmy Witherspoon in rural Arkansas, USA; blues singer ("Ain't Nobody's Business" (1949), "No Rollin' Blues", "Big Fine Girl").
- 1923 - Birth of Esther Williams in Inglewood, California, USA; actress/swimmer (Dangerous when Wet).
- 1926 - Birth of Richard Anderson in Long Beach, New Jersey, USA; actor (Oscar Goldman - The Six Million Dollar Man, The Bionic Woman).
- 1926 - Birth of Webb Pierce in West Monroe, Louisiana, USA; country singer (Ozark Jubilee).
- 1927 - Birth of Jim Weaver; American politician (Democrat-Representative-Oregon).
- 1929 - Birth of Josef Suk in Prague, Czechoslovakia; violinist (Artist of Merit-1977).
- 1929 - German airship Graf Zeppelin begins a round-the-world flight from Lakehurst, New Jersey, USA.
- 1930 - Birth of Nita Talbot in New York City, New York, USA; actress (Supertrain, Here We Go Again).
- 1931 - Washington Senators' pitcher Bob Burke no-hits Boston Red Sox, 5-0.
- 1932 - Birth of Mel Tillis, country singer/stutterer ("Who's Julie", "M-M-Mel").
- 1933 - Birth of Joe Tex AKA Joseph Arrington Junior in Baytown, Texas, USA; soul and disco singer-songwriter (Joe Tex Band - "I Gotcha", "Hold What You've Got", "Skinny Legs and All", "Ain't Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman)".
- 1933 - In Sioux County, Nebraska, USA a meteorite falls harmlessly to the ground.
- 1936 - Birth of Don Bowden; first American to run a sub-4 minute mile.
- 1936 - Birth of Frank Howard; baseball player (National League Rookie of the Year 1960).
- 1936 - Birth of Keith Barron in Mexborough, England; actor (At the Earth's Core).
- 1937 - Birth of Dustin Hoffman in Louisiana, USA; actor (The Graduate, Tootsie, Kramer versus Kramer).
- 1937 - Bonneville Dam on Columbia River (USA) begins producing power.
- 1937 - The ship Normandie crosses the Atlantic eastbound in record time, 3 days, 22 hours, 7 minutes.
- 1938 - Birth of Connie Stevens in Brooklyn, new York, USA; singer/actress (Hawaiian Eye, Back to Beach).
- 1938 - The ship Queen Mary crosses the Atlantic westbound in record time, 3 days, 21 hours, 48 minutes.
- 1939 - Birth of Phil Balsley in Virginia, USA; country singer (The Statler Brothers - "Flowers on the Wall").
- 1942 - Six convicted German saboteurs who landed in US are executed in Washington DC.
- 1945 - US President Harry Truman signs United Nations Charter.
- 1945 - The Soviet Union declares war on Japan.
- 1945 - USSR establishes a communist government in North Korea.
- 1946 - India agrees to give Bhutan 32 square miles.
- 1947 - Birth of Jose Cruz; leftfielder (Saint Louis Cardinals, Houston Astros).
- 1947 - Birth of Larry Wilcox in San Diego, California, USA; actor (Lassie, CHiPs).
- 1948 - Birth of Svetlana Y Savitskaya; second woman in space (Soyuz T-7, T-12).
- 1949 - Bhutan becomes an independent monarchy.
- 1949 - Birth of Keith Carradine in San Mateo, California, USA; actor (Young Guns, Pretty Baby).
- 1949 - Birth of Airrion Love; singer (The Stylistics).
- 1952 - Birth of Robin Quivers; radio/TV personality (Howard Stern's sidekick).
- 1952 - Death of Adolph A. Weinmann, designer of US Walking Liberty half dollar and Winged Liberty Head dime.
- 1953 - Birth of "Sweet" Lou Dunbar; basketball player (Harlem Globetrotters).
- 1953 - Birth of Donny Most in Brooklyn, New York, USA; actor (Ralph Malph - Happy Days).
- 1953 - US and South Korea initial a mutual security pact.
- 1954 - Birth of Nigel Mansell; Formula-1 racer (Portugal Grand Prix-1990).
- 1955 - Geneva, Switzerland, conference held to discuss peaceful uses of atomic energy.
- 1956 - Birth of Chris Foreman; guitar (Madness - "One Step Beyond").
- 1956 - Birth of David Grant; rocker (Heaven Knows).
- 1956 - Fire and explosion kill 263 miners at Marcinelle, Belgium.
- 1957 - Birth of Dennis Drew; keyboardist (10,000 Maniacs).
- 1958 - Birth of Deborah Norville; TV host (Today).
- 1958 - Birth of Harry Crosby in Los Angeles, California, USA; actor (Friday the 13th), singer.
- 1959 - Birth of Rikki Rockett; rocker (Poison - "Every Rose Has a Thorn").
- 1960 - Danton Walker, columnist (Broadway Spotlight), dies at age 61.
- 1961 - Birth of The Edge AKA Dave Evans in London, England; rocker (U2 - "I Will Follow").
- 1961 - Birth of Rikki Rockett; drummer (Poison).
- 1961 - Charlie Gemora, actor who portrayed King Kong, dies at age 58.
- 1961 - Hamilton Tigercats (Canadian Football League) beat Buffalo Bills (NFL) 38-21 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
- 1962 - Birth of Suzee Pai in Toledo, Ohio, USA; actress (Big Trouble in Little China).
- 1963 - Great Train Robbery in England, 2.6 million pounds (US$7.3 million).
- 1966 - South Arican Broadcasting bans The Beatles (due to John Lennon's anti-Jesus remark).
- 1967 - Birth of Lorraine Pearson; rocker (5 Star - "Silk and Steel").
- 1968 - Race riot in Miami, Florida.
- 1970 - New York Yankees honor Casey Stengel, retiring his number 37.
- 1972 - New York Yankees sign 30-year lease with New York City.
- 1973 - US Vice President Spiro T Agnew brands as "damned lies" reports he took kickbacks from government contracts in Maryland. He vows not to resign.
- 1974 - President Richard M Nixon announces he will resign his office 12PM August 9.
- 1975 - Birth of Tom Linton; guitarist (Jimmy Eat World).
- 1976 - Birth of J.C. Chasez; singer ('N Sync).
- 1976 - Birth of Drew Lachey; singer (98 Degrees).
- 1976 - John Roselli, hired by US Central Intelligence Agency to kill Cuban leader Fidel Castro, is found murdered.
- 1977 - Birth of Marsha Ambrosius; singer (Floetry).
- 1977 - Birth of Lindsay Sloane; actress (Wonder Years, Dharma and Greg).
- 1977 - Texas Rangers turn their first triple play (vs Oakland Athletics).
- 1978 - Birth of Countess Vaughn; American actress (The Parkers, Moesha).
- 1978 - Pioneer-Venus 2 with five atmospheric probes launched toward Venus.
- 1979 - Death of Feodor Lynen in Munich, Germany; chemist at the University of Munich, won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1964 for his research on the metabolism of cholesterol and fatty acids.
- 1980 - Birth of Michael Urie; actor (Ugly Betty).
- 1980 - The 17th century Swedish warship Kronan is discovered by an archealogical team lead by Anders Franzén. The ship lies scattered in mud four miles east of Öland, where it sunk in 1676.
- 1983 - Near the south coast of Honshu, Japan, a magnitude 5.9 earthquake occurs.
- 1983 - Brigadier General Efrain Rios Montt is deposed as president of Guatemela.
- 1984 - Carl Lewis wins his third (200m) gold medal in the Summer Olympics.
- 1984 - Richard Deacon, actor (Mel - Dick Van Dyke Show), dies at age 62.
- 1985 - Japan launches Planet A, a probe to Halley's comet.
- 1986 - The TV series The Ellen Burstyn Show first airs on ABC.
- 1987 - Milwaukee Brewers' Rob Deer struck-out five times in a game.
- 1987 - Lynne Cox becomes first to swim from US to Russia across Bering Strait.
- 1987 - In Northern Chile, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake occurs. Five people killed, 112 injured and more than 1,000 houses destroyed.
- 1988 - Chicago Cubs starts first home game under lights (rained-out).
- 1988 - Discovery of most distant galaxy (15 * 10^12 light years away) announced.
- 1988 - In England, Duchess of York gives birth to 6-pound 12-ounce baby girl, Beatrice.
- 1988 - Pitcher Goose Gossage registers career save number 300.
- 1988 - Jose Canseco of the Oakland Athletics becomes 11th player to get 30 home runs and 30 steals in a season.
- 1988 - Minnesota Twins pull second triple-play of year and beat Cleveland Indians 6-2.
- 1988 - Renovated New York City Central Park Zoo reopens after four years.
- 1988 - Russian troops begin pull-out of Afghanistan after nine-year war.
- 1988 - US Secretary of State George Shultz narrowly escapes assassination attempt in Bolivia.
- 1988 - South Africa declares cease-fire in Angola.
- 1988 - Death of Alan Napier of a stroke at age 85; American actor (Alfred the butler on Batman), at age 85 (born 1903).
- 1988 - Thousands of protesters in Myanmar are killed during anti-government demonstrations.
- 1989 - STS-28: Space Shuttle Columbia takes off on a secret five-day military mission.
- 1990 - Baltimore Orioles pull their 10th triple play (1-6-3 versus Oakland Athletics).
- 1990 - Carlton Fisk ties Johnny Bench hitting 327 home runs as a catcher.
- 1990 - Iraq annexes Kuwait.
- 1991 - Shite Muslims release British hostage John McCarthy.
- 1991 - The Warsaw radio mast, the tallest construction ever built, collapses.
- 1993 - South of the Mariana Islands, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake occurs. Forty-eight people injured on Guam.
- 1996 - Death of Nevill Francis Mott, English physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1905).
- 1998 - In Myanmar, a popular uprising against military rule is staged.
- 1999 - The first Callatis Festival, the largest music and culture festival in Romania, is held.
- 2000 - Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley is raised to the surface after 136 years on the ocean floor.
- 2000 - An unknown ship dumps oil off the South Florida coast, creating an oil slick covering 24km of beaches.
- 2005 - Death of Barbara Bel Geddes at age 82 of lung cancer; actress (Eleanor Ewing - Dallas TV show).
- 2006 - Nintendo holds a 10th birthday Pokémon Party at the Bryant Park in New York City. Over 25,000 attend. Included is a giant Flying Pikachu from Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
- 2007 - The Space Shuttle Endeavour is successfully launched on mission STS-118.
- 2008 - Russian tanks cross border into Georgia, in response to Georgian forces bombing civilian areas of capital of South Ossetia.
- 2008 - US home mortgage funder Fannie Mae posts a second-quarter loss of US$2.3 billion, its fourth straight quarter loss, totaling US$9.44 billion over the past year.
- 2008 - Royal Bank of Scotland, Britain's second-biggest bank, records a 5.9 billion pound (US$11.4 billion) writedown on risky assets for the first half of the year.
- 2008 - Russian forces clash with Georgia inside the breakaway South Ossetia region.
- 2008 - (8:08 PM) In Beijing, China, the Games of the XXIX Olympiad open. An estimated one billion people worldwide watch the opening ceremonies on TV.
- 2014 - The United States military begins an air campaign in northern Iraq to stem the influx of ISIS militants.
- 2022 - Death Lamont Dozier at age 81 at home near Scottsdale, Arizona, USA; songwriter ("Heatwave" song, "You Can't Hurry Love" song), producer.
- 2022 - Death of Olivia Newton-John at age 73 of cancer at home in California, USA; singer ("Let Me Be There", "Have You Never Been Mellow", "A Little More Love", "I Honestly Love You", "Physical" (1981), "Xanadu" song, "The Best of Me" song (1986), four Grammy Awards), actor (Sandy - Grease movie (1978), Glee TV show (2010), Xanadu movie (1980)), author (Don't Stop Believin' book (2018)).
- 2023 - A firestorm rages through the town of Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii, killing 100, burning 1000 structures.
|
|
vvv advertisement vvv
^^^ advertisement ^^^
You can pick a particular day to view that day's events in history.
Bookmark this URL: http://kpolsson.com/thisday/ and revisit each day.
(this URL will automatically re-direct to the file containing the current day's events)
Or, visit my Timelines of History page.
|