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What happened in history on this day: February 8?
On February 8 in ...
- 1735 - First opera in US, Flora, opens in Charleston, South Carolina.
- 1837 - First Vice President chosen by the US Senate: Richard Johnson (Van Buren administration).
- 1861 - Confederate States of America is proclaimed in Montgomery, Alabama.
- 1862 - Battle of Roanoke Island, North Carolina, CSA: Federals gain control of Pamlico Sound.
- 1887 - Aurora Ski Club of Red Wing Minnesota becomes the first US ski club.
- 1887 - Dawes Act is passed in the US; Indians living apart from tribe are granted US citizenship.
- 1894 - Enforcement Act repealed, making it easier to disenfranchise blacks.
- 1910 - Boy Scouts of America is incorporated and chartered (William D Boyce - Chicago, Illinois).
- 1911 - US helps overthrow President Miguel Dávila of Honduras.
- 1912 - First eastbound US transcontinental flight lands in Jacksonville, Florida.
- 1918 - Stars and Stripes, weekly US armed forces newspaper, first published.
- 1922 - President Warren G. Harding introduces the first radio in the White House.
- 1923 - Coal mine explosion at Dawson, New Mexico, USA kills 120.
- 1924 - First coast-to-coast radio hookup: General John Joseph Carty speech in Chicago, Illinois.
- 1924 - US mobster Gee John is first executed in gas chamber, in Nevada.
- 1926 - Walt Disney Studios is formed.
- 1933 - -23 degrees F (-31 degrees C), Seminole, Texas (state record low).
- 1933 - First flight of all-metal Boeing 247.
- 1934 - Export-Import Bank organizes in Washington DC.
- 1942 - US Congress advises President Franklin Roosevelt that Americans of Japanese descent should be locked up en masse so they wouldn't oppose the US war effort.
- 1960 - US Congress opens hearings looking into payola.
- 1962 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.
- 1963 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.
- 1964 - Representative Martha Griffiths' address gets civil rights protection for women added to the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
- 1965 - Eastern DC-7B crashes into Atlantic Ocean off Jones Beach, New Jersey, USA; 84 dead.
- 1967 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.
- 1968 - Officers kill three students demonstrating in South Carolina State (Orangeburg).
- 1969 - Last edition of Saturday Evening Post.
- 1971 - The Nasdaq stock market index debuts.
- 1973 - US Senate names seven members to investigate Watergate scandal.
- 1974 - After 84 days in space, the crew of the first American space station Skylab return to Earth.
- 1977 - Earthquake in San Francisco, California, at 5.0, strongest since 1966.
- 1978 - United States Senate proceedings are broadcast on radio for the first time.
- 1979 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.
- 1981 - Operation Pipe Wrench begins, as the US government begins transfer of 56 tons (1.633 million troy ounces) of gold on three tractor-trailers from New York Assay Office to the Bank of England, as ransom payment to Iran for the release of hostages.
- 1993 - General Motors sues NBC, after Dateline NBC allegedly rigged two crashes showing that some GM pickups can easily catch fire if hit in certain places.
- 2001 - In Anaheim, California, Disney's California Adventure theme park opens, next to Disneyland. The 55-acre site includes three areas: Paradise Pier, Hollywood Pictures Backlot, and the Golden State. The theme park cost US$1.4 billion to build. Admission prices are US$43 for adults, and US$33 for children.
- 2008 - In the USA, the Supreme Court of Nebraska rules the electric chair is unconstitutional (cruel and unusual). This is the last state in the country to have allowed death by the electric chair.
- 2010 - The NASA space shuttle Endeavour blasts off from Florida, carrying six astronauts on a voyage to install the last two main pieces of the International Space Station.
Births on February 8
- 1886 - Birth of Charlie Ruggles in Los Angeles, California, USA; actor (The Ruggles, Aesop - The Bullwinkle Show).
- 1896 - Birth of Orville Caldwell in California, USA; actor (Patsy, French Doll, Last Warning).
- 1902 - Birth of Lyle Talbot [Lysle Hollywood] in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; actor (Glen or Glenda).
- 1905 - Birth of Truman Bradley in Missouri, USA; TV host (Science Fiction Theater).
- 1908 - Birth of Myron McCormick in Albany, New York, USA; actor (Hustler, Jolson Sings Again).
- 1911 - Birth of Anne Aitken [nee Hopkins] in Chicago, Illinois, USA; co-founder (Diamond Sangha).
- 1913 - Birth of Betty Field in Boston, Massachusetts, USA; actress (Kings Row, Bus Stop).
- 1921 - Birth of Lana Turner in Wallace, Idaho, USA; actress (Survivors, Falcon Crest).
- 1928 - First transatlantic TV image received, in Hartsdale, New York, USA.
- 1930 - Birth of Catherine Hardy in Carollton, Georgia, USA; 4x100 metre runner (Olympics-gold-1952).
- 1931 - Birth of James Dean in Marion, Indiana, USA; American stage/film actor (Giant, Rebel Without a Cause) (dies 1955).
- 1932 - Birth of John Towner Williams in Flushing, New York, USA; composer/conductor (Boston Pops).
- 1933 - Birth of Jack Larson in Los Angeles, California, USA; actor (Jimmy Olsen - Superman).
- 1941 - Birth of Nick Nolte in Omaha, Nebraska, USA; actor (Under Fire, Lorenzo's Oil, Teachers, 48 Hours, North Dallas 40).
- 1941 - Birth of Tom Rush in New Hampshire, USA; rock guitarist/vocalist (Circle Game, Urge For Going).
- 1942 - Birth of Robert Klein in the Bronx, New York, USA; comedian/actor (Hooper, Deadly Rivals).
- 1943 - Birth of Creed Bratton in California, USA; rock guitarist (Grass Roots - "Sooner or Later").
- 1946 - Birth of "Fito" Adolpho De La Parra in Los Angeles, California, USA; rocker (Canned Heat - "Hot Money").
- 1948 - Birth of Dan Seals in McCamey, Texas, USA; vocalist (England Dan and John Ford Coley - "I'd Really Love to See You Tonight", "Nights Are Forever Without You", "Meet Me in Montana").
- 1949 - Birth of Brooke Adams in New York City, New York, USA; actress (Cynthia - OK Crackerby, Body Snatchers).
- 1949 - Birth of Julia Barr in Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA; actress (Brooke - All My Children).
- 1953 - Birth of Mary Steenburgen in Newport, Arkansas, USA; actress (Parenthood, Time After Time).
- 1960 - Birth of Linda Fratianne in Los Angeles, California, USA; figure skater (Olympics-silver-1980).
- 1961 - Birth of Vince Neil [Wharton] in California, USA; rock vocalist (Mötley Crüe - "Girls Girls Girls").
- 1968 - Birth of Gary Coleman in Zion, Illinois, USA; actor (Arnold - Diff'rent Strokes).
- 1968 - Birth of Joy Fawcett in Inglewood, California, USA; soccer defender (Olympics-1996).
- 1973 - Birth of Dave Dopek in Bolingbrook, Illinois, USA; 200 metre runner.
- 1974 - Birth of Seth Green; American actor (Austin Powers movies, voice of Chris, Griffin in Family Guy), creator of Robot Chicken TV series).
- 1975 - Birth of Joshua Morrow in Juneau, Alaska, USA; actor (Nicholas Newman - The Young and the Restless).
- 1976 - Birth of Holly Manthei in Edina, Minnesota; soccer midfielder/forward (Olympics-1996).
- 1976 - Birth of Jim Parque in Norwalk, California; baseball pitcher (Olympics-bronze-1996).
- 1978 - Birth of Christa Williams in Houston, Texas; softball pitcher (Olympics-gold-1996).
- 1979 - Birth of Tara Tucker; Miss Alabama Teen-USA (1997).
- 1981 - Birth of Tommy Michaels in Staten Island, New York; actor (Timmy Hutton - All My Children).
Deaths on February 8
- 1924 - US mobster Gee John is first executed in gas chamber, in Nevada.
- 1956 - Connie Mack, baseball manager (Philadelphia Athletics, 1901-50), dies at age 93.
- 1974 - Fritz Zwicky, Swiss/US astronomer (supernova), dies at age 75.
- 1982 - John Hay Whitney, US newspaper magnate, dies at age 76.
- 1985 - Marvin Miller, American actor (Michael Anthony of The Millionaire), dies at age 71 (born 1913).
- 1990 - Death of Del Shannon AKA Charles Westover at age 50 in Santa Clarita, California, USA, of self-inflicted rifle shot in the head; singer ("Runaway" (1961), "Hats Off to Larry", "Little Town Flirt", "Keep Searchin' (We'll Follow the Sun)").
- 1998 - Death of Julian Lincoln Simon, American economist and author (born 1932).
- 2007 - American model and television personality Anna Nicole Smith AKA Vickie Lynn Hogan AKA Nikki Hart dies of combined drug intoxication in Hollywood, Florida at age 39 (born 1967); model (Playboy magazine Playmate of the Year (1993)), actor (Naked Gun 33 1/3 movie (1994)).
- 2010 - US Democratic Representative John Murtha, chairman of the House of Representatives defense appropriations subcommittee, dies at age 77, from complications related to gallbladder surgery.
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