August 8
August 8 is the 220th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (221st in leap years), with 145 days remaining.
Events
- 1509 - The Emperor Krishnadeva Raya is coronated in the town of Chittoor in the present-day state of Andhra Pradesh, India. His accession marks the beginning of the regeneration of the Vijayanagara Empire after a period of internal strife.
- 1585 - John Davis enters Cumberland Sound in quest for the North West Passage.
- 1588 - Battle of Gravelines ends - Defeated by the English during an invasion attempt, the surviving parts of the Spanish Armada begin to sail home. Only 67 of the original 130 ships will later reach Spain and most of these will be in poor condition.
- 1647 - Battle of Dangan Hill - Irish forces are defeated by British Parliamentary forces.
- 1786 - Mont Blanc is climbed for the first time by Dr. Michael-Gabriel Paccard and Jacques Balmat.
- 1844 - During a meeting held in Nauvoo, the Quorum of Twelve, headed by Brigham Young, is created as the leading body of the Mormon Church.
- 1863 - American Civil War: Following his defeat in the Battle of Gettysburg, General Robert E. Lee sends a letter of resignation to Confederate President Jefferson Davis (Davis will refuse the request upon receipt).
- 1876 - Thomas Edison receives a patent for his mimeograph.
- 1911 - Public Law 62-5 sets the number of representatives in the United States House of Representatives at 435. The law will take effect in 1913.
- 1918 - World War I: Battle of Amiens - Canadian troops, backed by Australians, begin a string of almost continuous victories with a push through the German front lines. German General Erich Ludendorff will later call this the "black day of the German army."
- 1929 - The German airship Graf Zeppelin begins a round-the-world flight (will end on August 29).
- 1938 - The Mauthausen concentration camp opens.
- 1942 - World War II: In Washington, DC, six German would-be saboteurs are executed (two others cooperate and receive life imprisonment instead).
- 1942- Quit India resolution was passed by the Bombay session of the AICC, which leads to the start of a historical civil disobedience movement across India
- 1945 - World War II - The Soviet Union declares war on Japan and invades Manchuria with more than 1 million troops. This action prompts Emperor Hirohito to plead with the war council to reconsider surrender.
- 1945 - The United Nations Charter is ratified by the United States, and that nation becomes the third to join the new international organization.
- 1949 - Bhutan becomes independent
- 1962 - Elizabeth Ann Duncan becomes the last woman to be executed in the United States prior to the reintroduction of capital punishment in 1977. She and the two men she hired to murder her pregnant daughter-in-law in 1958 die in San Quentin's gas chamber.
- 1963 - Great Train Robbery: In England, a gang of 15 train robbers steal 2.6 million pounds in bank notes.
- 1967 - The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is founded.
- 1974 - Watergate scandal: US President Richard Nixon announces his resignation (effective the next day, August 9).
- 1978 - Odie makes his first appearance in the cartoon strip Garfield
- 1988 - General Ne Win, ruler of Burma since 1962, suddenly resigns.
- 1989 - STS-28: The Space Shuttle Columbia takes off on a secret five-day military mission.
- 1991 - Collapse of Warsaw radio mast, the tallest construction ever built
- 2000 - Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley is raised to the surface after 136 years on the ocean floor.
Births
- 1814 - Esther Morris, suffragist and the first woman judge in U.S. history (d. 1902)
- 1839 - General Nelson Miles, Indian fighter (d. 1925)
- 1866 - Matthew Henson, explorer (North Pole)
- 1879 - Emiliano Zapata, Mexican revolutionary (d. 1919)
- 1880 - Earle Page, eleventh Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1961)
- 1896 - Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, author (d. 1953)
- 1901 - Ernest O. Lawrence, American physicist (d. 1958)
- 1902 - Paul Dirac, French physicist (d. 1984)
- 1905 - André Jolivet, French composer (d. 1974)
- 1907 - Benny Carter, American musician, arranger
- 1908 - Arthur Goldberg, American statesman, Supreme Court justice
- 1910 - Sylvia Sidney, actress (d. 1999)
- 1915 - James "Jumbo" Elliott, track coach (d. 1981)
- 1919 - Dino De Laurentiis, producer
- 1920 - Leo Chiosso, Italian lyricist
- 1921 - Webb Pierce, country singer (d. 1991)
- 1921 - Esther Williams, American actress and swimmer
- 1921 - William Asher, film producer
- 1921 - John Herbert Chapman, British physicist
- 1921 - Vulimiri Ramalingaswami, Indian medical scientist
- 1922 - Rudi Gernreich, Austrian-born American fashion designer (d. 1985)
- 1922 - Rory Calhoun, actor (d. 1999)
- 1922 - Rafael Moreno Aranzadi, Spanish footballer (d. 1922)
- 1925 - Alija Izetbegovic, Bosnian president (d. 2003)
- 1927 - Johnny Temple, Major League Baseball player (d. 1994)
- 1931 - Sir Roger Penrose, British mathematical physicist
- 1932 - Mel Tillis, country singer
- 1936 - Donald P. Bellisario, television producer
- 1937 - Dustin Hoffman, actor
- 1938 - Connie Stevens, singer and actress
- 1939 - Alexander Watson, American ambassador and diplomat
- 1944 - Peter Weir, Australian film director
- 1944 - Uli Derickson, Czech-born American flight attendant
- 1949 - Keith Carradine, actor
- 1951 - Mamoru Oshii, Japanese film director
- 1952 - Jostein Gaarder, Norwegian author
- 1953 - Don Most American actor
- 1954 - Nigel Mansell, race car driver
- 1956 - Branscombe Richmond, Native American actor
- 1958 - Deborah Norville, reporter and television host
- 1961 - The Edge, guitarist (U2)
- 1966 - Chris Eubank, boxer
- 1973 - Scott Stapp, Creed singer
- 1976 - J.C. Chasez, singer (N Sync)
- 1976 - Drew Lachey, singer
- 1980 - Pat Noonan, New England Revolution striker
- 1981 - Vanessa Amorosi, Australian singer and songwriter
- 1981 - Roger Federer, Swiss tennis player
Deaths
- 869 - Lothair II of Lotharingia (b. 825)
- 1887 - Alexander William Doniphan, American lawyer and soldier (b. 1808)
- 1898 - Eugène Boudin, French painter (b. 1824)
- 1902 - James Tissot, French artist (b. 1836)
- 1911 - William P. Frye, American politician
- 1940 - Johnny Dodds, jazz musician (b. 1892)
- 1944 - Chaim Soutine, Russian painter (b. 1894)
- 1965 - Shirley Jackson, American author (b. 1919)
- 1972 - Andrea Feldman, actor
- 1975 - Cannonball Adderley, American jazz saxophonist
- 1985 - Milton Greene, celebrity photographer
- 1985 - Louise Brooks, silent film actress
- 1987 - Danilo Blanusa, Croatian mathematician (b. 1903)
- 1991 - James Irwin, astronaut
- 1997 - Sviatoslav Richter, Ukrainian pianist (b. 1915)
- 2004 - Fay Wray, American actress
Holidays and observances
External links
August 7 - August 9 - July 8 - September 8 -- listing of all days
See also: August 8, 1509, 1585, 1588, 1647
