What happened on August 8? There are more than 309 events that were made this day in history. Here are the important historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
Interesting Facts & Myths About August 8
August 8 is the 221st day of the year 2024. There are 145 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Thursday. This day falls under the 32nd week of the year 2024.
On this day in Springfield, Virginia 22156 sunrise occured at 06:15 AM and sunset occured at 08:13 PM (local time).
The zodiac sign of a person born on this day is Leo. The modern birthstone for this month is Peridot while the mystical birthstone is Diamond.
According to the Chinese calendar, there are 174 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year (January 29, 2025).
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Historical Events For August 8
- 1220Sweden is defeated by Estonian tribes in the Battle of Lihula.
- 1503King James IV of Scotland marries Margaret Tudor, daughter of King Henry VII of England at Holyrood Abbey, Edinburgh, Scotland.
- 1576The cornerstone for Tycho Brahe’s Uraniborg observatory is laid on Hven.
- 1585John Davis enters Cumberland Sound in search of the Northwest Passage.
- 1588Anglo-Spanish War: Battle of Gravelines – The naval engagement ends, ending the Spanish Armada’s attempt to invade England.
- 1605The city of Oulu, Finland, is founded by Charles IX of Sweden.
- 1647The Irish Confederate Wars and Wars of the Three Kingdoms: Battle of Dungans Hill – English Parliamentary forces defeat Irish forces.
- 1709Bartolomeu de Gusmão demonstrates the lifting power of hot air in an audience before the King of Portugal in Lisbon
- 1786Mont Blanc on the French – Italian border is climbed for the first time by Jacques Balmat and Dr Michel-Gabriel Paccard.
- 1793The insurrection of Lyon occurs during the French Revolution.
- 1794Joseph Whidbey leads an expedition to search for the Northwest Passage near Juneau, Alaska.
- 1844The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, headed by Brigham Young, is reaffirmed as the leading body of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).
- 1863American Civil War: following his defeat in the Battle of Gettysburg, General Robert E. Lee sends a letter of resignation to Confederate President Jefferson Davis (which is refused upon receipt).
- 1870The Republic of Ploieşti, a failed Radical-Liberal rising against Domnitor Carol of Romania.
- 1876Thomas Edison receives a patent for his mimeograph.
- 1908Wilbur Wright makes his first flight at a racecourse at Le Mans, France. It is the Wright Brothers’ first public flight.
- 1918World War I: the Battle of Amiens begins a string of almost continuous victories with a push through the German front lines (Hundred Days Offensive).
- 1929The German airship Graf Zeppelin begins a round-the-world flight.
- 1940The “Aufbau Ost” directive is signed by Wilhelm Keitel.
- 1942Quit India Movement is launched in India against the British rule in response to Mahatma Gandhi’s call for swaraj or complete independence.
- 1945World War II: The Soviet Union declares war on Japan and begins the Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation.
- 1946First flight of the Convair B-36, the world’s first mass-produce nuclear weapon delivery vehicle.
- 1960South Kasai secedes from the Congo.
- 1963Great Train Robbery: in England, a gang of 15 train robbers steal 2.6 million pounds in bank notes.
- 1967The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is founded by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
- 1973Kim Dae-Jung, a South Korean politician and later president of South Korea, is kidnapped.
- 1980The Central Hotel Fire occurs in Bundoran, Ireland.
- 1988The “8888 Uprising” occurs in Burma.
- 1989Space Shuttle program: STS-28 Mission – Space Shuttle Columbia takes off on a secret five-day military mission.
- 1990Iraq occupies Kuwait and the state is annexed to Iraq. This would lead to the Gulf War shortly afterward.
- 1991The Warsaw radio mast, at one time the tallest construction ever built, collapses.
- 2000Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley is raised to the surface after 136 years on the ocean floor and 30 years after its discovery by undersea explorer E. Lee Spence and 5 years after being filmed by a dive team funded by novelist Clive Cussler.
- 2007An EF2 tornado touches down in Kings County and Richmond County, New York State, the most powerful tornado in New York to date and the first in Brooklyn since 1889.
- 20082008 Summer Olympics took place from the 8th August 2008-24th August 2008. The official opening ceremony started at 8:00pm on 8th August 2008. The number 8 is associated with prosperity and confidence in Chinese Culture and here it was a triple eight for the date and one extra for time (close to 08:08:08 pm). There were 28 sports and 302 events at the games. There were 43 new world records and 132 new Olympic records set at the 2008 Summer Olympics. An unprecedented 86 countries won at least one medal during the Games.
- 20102010 China floods: A mudslide in Zhugqu County, Gansu, China, kills more than 1,400 people.
- 2011London Riot 2011. This took place between 6th August 2011 and 10th August 2011. between the 6th and 7th a peaceful march in Tottenham, London was followed by rioting and looting, first in Tottenham.
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Who Were Born On August 8?
- 1079Emperor Horikawa of Japan (d. 1107)
- 1518Conrad Lycosthenes, French-born German humanist and encyclopedist (d. 1561)
- 1605Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, British colonial Governor of Maryland (d. 1675)
- 1646Godfrey Kneller, German-born painter (d. 1723)
- 1673John Ker, Scottish spy (d. 1726)
- 1693Laurent Belissen, French composer (d. 1762)
- 1694Francis Hutcheson, Irish philosopher (d. 1746)
- 1720Carl Fredrik Pechlin, Swedish politician (d. 1796)
- 1790Ferenc Kölcsey, Hungarian poet and politician (d. 1838)
- 1807Emilie Flygare-Carlén, Swedish novelist (d. 1892)
- 1814Esther Morris, American jurist (d. 1902)
- 1824Tsarina Maria Alexandrovna of Russia (d. 1880)
- 1839Nelson Miles, American general (d. 1925)
- 1857Cécile Chaminade, French pianist and composer (d. 1944)
- 1875Artur da Silva Bernardes, President of Brazil (d. 1955)
- 1879Bob Smith, American founder of Alcoholics Anonymous (d. 1950)
- 1879Emiliano Zapata, Mexican revolutionary (d. 1919)
- 1880Earle Page, Australian politician (d. 1961)
- 1881Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist, German field marshal (d. 1954)
- 1882Ladislas Starevich, Polish animator (d. 1965)
- 1884Sara Teasdale, American poet (d. 1933)
- 1889Jack Ryder, Australian cricketer (d. 1977)
- 1891Adolf Busch, German violinist (d. 1952)
- 1892Rafael Moreno Aranzadi, Spanish footballer (d. 1922)
- 1896Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, American author (d. 1953)
- 1898Alexis Minotis, Greek actor (d. 1990)
- 1901Ernest O. Lawrence, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1958)
- 1902Paul Dirac, English physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1984)
- 1904Achille Varzi, Italian race car driver (d. 1948)
- 1905André Jolivet, French composer (d. 1974)
- 1907Benny Carter, American musician (d. 2003)
- 1908Arthur Goldberg, U.S. Supreme Court justice (d. 1990)
- 1909Bill Voce, England cricketer (d. 1984)
- 1910Sylvia Sidney, American actress (d. 1999)
- 1911Rosetta LeNoire, American actress (d. 2002)
- 1915James “Jumbo” Elliott, American track coach (d. 1981)
- 1919Dino De Laurentiis, Italian film producer (d. 2010)
- 1920Carol Lambrino, son of Carol II of Romania and Zizi Lambrino (d. 2006)
- 1920Jimmy Witherspoon, American singer (d. 1997)
- 1920Leo Chiosso, Italian lyricist (d. 2006)
- 1921Esther Williams, American actress and swimmer
- 1921John Herbert Chapman, British physicist (d. 1979)
- 1921Vulimiri Ramalingaswami, Indian medical scientist (d. 2001)
- 1921Webb Pierce, American singer (d. 1991)
- 1921William Asher, American film producer
- 1922Gertrude Himmelfarb, American historian
- 1922Károly Reich, Hungarian illustrator (d. 1988)
- 1922Rory Calhoun, American actor (d. 1999)
- 1922Rudi Gernreich, Austrian-born fashion designer (d. 1985)
- 1925Alija Izetbegović, Bosniak politician (d. 2003)
- 1926Richard Anderson, American actor
- 1927Johnny Temple, American baseball player (d. 1994)
- 1928Don Burrows, Australian musician
- 1929Larisa Bogoraz, Soviet dissident (d. 2004)
- 1929Ronald Biggs, British criminal
- 1930Jerry Tarkanian, American basketball coach
- 1930Terry Nation, Welsh novelist and screenwriter (d. 1997)
- 1931Sir Roger Penrose, British physicist
- 1932Luis García Meza Tejada, Bolivian dictator
- 1932Mel Tillis, American singer
- 1933Joe Tex, American singer (d. 1982)
- 1933Serena Wilson, American belly dancer (d. 2007)
- 1935Donald P. Bellisario, American television producer
- 1935John Laws, Australia radio personality
- 1936Frank Howard, American baseball player
- 1936Keith Barron, English actor
- 1937Cornelis Vreeswijk, Dutch-Swedish musician (d. 1987)
- 1937Dustin Hoffman, American actor
- 1938Connie Stevens, American singer and actress
- 1938Jacques Hétu, French Canadian composer
- 1939Alexander Watson, American ambassador and diplomat
- 1939Phil Balsley, baritone singer with The Statler Brothers
- 1940Dennis Tito, American businessman and space tourist
- 1940Dilip Sardesai, Indian cricketer (d. 2007)
- 1943Denis Payton, English saxophonist, member of The Dave Clark Five
- 1944Brooke Bundy, American actress
- 1944John Holmes, American pornographic actor (d. 1988)
- 1944John Renbourn, English musician
- 1944Michael Johnson, American pop, country and folk singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1944Uli Derickson, TWA Flight 847 survivor
- 1946James W. Lewis, American convicted extortionist
- 1947José Cruz, Puerto Rican baseball player
- 1947Ken Dryden, Canadian ice hockey player and parliamentarian
- 1947Larry Wilcox, American actor
- 1947Terangi Adam, Nauruan politician
- 1948Svetlana Savitskaya, Russian cosmonaut
- 1949Keith Carradine, American actor
- 1949Ricardo Londoño, Colombian racing driver
- 1950Ken Kutaragi, Founder of PlayStation
- 1950Willie Hall, American drummer
- 1951Mamoru Oshii, Japanese film director
- 1951Phil Carlson, Australian cricketer
- 1951Randy Shilts, American journalist and author (d. 1994)
- 1952Anton Fig, South African musician
- 1952Doug Melvin, Canadian Major League Baseball executive
- 1952Jostein Gaarder, Norwegian author
- 1952Robin Quivers, American radio personality
- 1952Sudhakar Rao, Indian cricketer
- 1953Don Most, American actor
- 1953Mark Lazarowicz, British Politician
- 1953Nigel Mansell, English race car driver
- 1955Diddú, Icelandic soprano and songwriter
- 1955Herbert Prohaska, Austrian footballer
- 1956Branscombe Richmond, American actor
- 1956Cecilia Roth, Argentine actress
- 1956Chris Foreman, English guitarist (Madness)
- 1956David Grant, English singer and vocal coach
- 1957Dennis Drew, keyboardist for the band 10,000 Maniacs
- 1958Deborah Norville, American television host
- 1960Ulrich Maly, German politician
- 1961Bruce Matthews, American football player
- 1961Daniel House, American musician and music executive
- 1961Rikki Rockett, American drummer (Poison)
- 1961The Edge, Irish guitarist (U2)
- 1962Kool Moe Dee, American rapper
- 1962Mike Zanier, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1963Jon Turteltaub, American director
- 1963Ron Karkovice, American baseball player
- 1963Stephen Walkom, Canadian ice hockey official and executive
- 1964Anastasia Ashman, American writer
- 1964Eddie Trunk, American radio show host and author
- 1964Paul Taylor, England cricketer
- 1965Aaron Abeyta, American musician
- 1965Angus Fraser, England cricketer
- 1965Kate Langbroek, Australian media personality
- 1966Chris Eubank, English boxer
- 1966John Hudek, American baseball player
- 1967Eric Angle, American wrestler
- 1967Lee Unkrich, American director and film editor
- 1967Marcelo Balboa, American soccer player
- 1967Rena Mero, American wrestler
- 1968Abey Kuruvilla, Indian cricketer
- 1968Huey Morgan, American singer / guitarist (Fun Lovin' Criminals)
- 1969Dick Togo, Japanese professional wrestler
- 1969Faye Wong, Hong Kong singer and actress
- 1969Yvie Burnett, British television vocal coach
- 1970Pascal Duquenne, Belgian actor
- 1970Trev Alberts, American football player
- 1972Andrea de Rossi, Italian rugby player and coach
- 1972Axel Merckx, Belgian bicycle racer
- 1972Joely Collins, Canadian actress
- 1972Steven Tweed, Scottish footballer
- 1973Scott Stapp, American singer (Creed)
- 1973Senta Moses, American actress
- 1973Shane Lee, Australian cricketer
- 1973Toby Allen, Australian singer (Human Nature)
- 1974Andy Priaulx, British racing driver
- 1974Brian Harvey, English singer
- 1974Scott D'Amore, Canadian professional wrestler and manager
- 1976Drew Lachey, American singer
- 1976JC Chasez, American singer (*NSYNC)
- 1976Jeff Simmons, American race car driver
- 1976Seung-Yeop Lee, Korean baseball player
- 1976Tawny Cypress, American actress
- 1977Kurt Bernard, Costa Rican footballer
- 1977Lindsay Sloane, American actress
- 1977Mohammad Wasim, Pakistani cricketer
- 1977Nicolas Vogondy, French cyclist
- 1977Rocky Thompson, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1977Szilard Nemeth, Slovak footballer
- 1978Alan Maybury, Irish footballer
- 1978Countess Vaughn, American actress and singer
- 1978Louis Saha, French footballer
- 1978Miho Shiraishi, Japanese actress
- 1979Dan Smith, English musician (Noisettes)
- 1979Guðjón Valur Sigurðsson, Icelandic handball player
- 1979Paris Latsis, Greek shipping heir
- 1979Rashard Lewis, American basketball player
- 1979Richard Harwood, British cellist
- 1980Craig Breslow, American baseball player
- 1980Denisse Guerrero, Mexican Singer (Belanova)
- 1980Michael Urie, American actor and director
- 1980Mike Hindert, American musician
- 1980Pat Noonan, American soccer player
- 1980Sabine Klaschka, German tennis player
- 1981Bradley McIntosh, British pop singer
- 1981Harel Skaat, Israeli singer
- 1981Kaori Iida, Japanese singer and actress
- 1981Meagan Good, American actress
- 1981Roger Federer, Swiss tennis player
- 1981Vanessa Amorosi, Australian singer and songwriter
- 1983Guy Burnet, British actor
- 1984Devon McTavish, American soccer player
- 1984Kirk Broadfoot, Scottish footballer
- 1984Martrez Milner, American football player
- 1984Norbert Michelisz, Hungarian car racer
- 1985Brett Ratliff, American football player
- 1985Toby Flood, English Rugby Union player
- 1986Chris Pressley, American football player
- 1986Kateryna Bondarenko, Ukrainian tennis player
- 1986Peyton List, American actress
- 1986Pierre Garçon, American football player
- 1987Katie Leung, Scottish actress
- 1987Pierre Boulanger, French actor
- 1988Danilo Gallinari, Italian basketball player
- 1988Princess Beatrice of York, British royal
- 1989Hannah Miley, British swimmer
- 1989Sesil Karatantcheva, Bulgarian/Kazakhstani tennis player
- 1993Ben Breedlove, American Internet personality
- 1995Malin Reitan, Norwegian singer
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Who Died On August 8?
- 869Lothair II of Lotharingia (b. 825)
- 1445Oswald von Wolkenstein, Austrian composer
- 1553Girolamo Fracastoro, Italian physician (b. 1478)
- 1555Oronce Finé, French mathematician (b. 1494)
- 1588Alonso Sánchez Coello, Spanish painter
- 1604Horio Tadauji, Japanese warlord (b. 1578)
- 1631Konstantinas Sirvydas, Lithuanian lexicographer (b. 1579)
- 1684George Booth, 1st Baron Delamer (b. 1622)
- 1719Christoph Ludwig Agricola, German painter (b. 1667)
- 1747Madeleine de Verchères, New France heroine (b. 1678)
- 1759Carl Heinrich Graun, German composer (b. 1704)
- 1827George Canning, British statesman (b. 1770)
- 1828Carl Peter Thunberg, Swedish naturalist (b. 1743)
- 1863Angus MacAskill, British circus performer (b. 1825)
- 1879Immanuel Hermann Fichte, German philosopher (b. 1797)
- 1887Alexander William Doniphan, American lawyer and soldier (b. 1808)
- 1897Jacob Burckhardt, Swiss art historian (b. 1818)
- 1898Eugène Boudin, French painter (b. 1824)
- 1902James Tissot, French artist (b. 1836)
- 1909Mary MacKillop, Australian Roman Catholic nun (b. 1842)
- 1911William P. Frye, American politician (b. 1830)
- 1928Stjepan Radić, Croatian politician (b. 1871)
- 1933Adolf Loos, Austrian architect (b. 1870)
- 1934Wilbert Robinson, American baseball player (b. 1863)
- 1940Johnny Dodds, American musician (b. 1892)
- 1944Chaim Soutine, Russian painter (b. 1894)
- 1944Erwin von Witzleben, German field marshal (b. 1881)
- 1944Michael Wittmann, German WWII tank commander (b. 1914)
- 1947Anton Ivanovich Denikin, Russian general (b. 1872)
- 1950Fergus McMaster, Australian businessman (b. 1879)
- 1961Mei Lanfang, Chinese opera performer (b. 1894)
- 1965Shirley Jackson, American author (b. 1916)
- 1969Otmar Freiherr von Verschuer, German eugenicist and Nazi physician (b. 1896)
- 1971Freddie Spencer Chapman, British army officer (b. 1907)
- 1972Andrea Feldman, American actor (b. 1948)
- 1973Dean Corll, American serial killer (b. 1939)
- 1973Nikos Zachariadis, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Greece (b. 1903)
- 1973Vilhelm Moberg, Swedish author and historian (b. 1898)
- 1974Baldur von Schirach, Nazi youth leader (b. 1907)
- 1975Julian “Cannonball” Adderley, American jazz saxophonist (b. 1928)
- 1977Edgar Adrian, 1st Baron Adrian, British electrophysiologist; Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1889)
- 1979Nicholas Monsarrat, British novelist (b. 1910)
- 1980Paul Triquet, French Canadian army officer (b. 1910)
- 1982Eric Brandon, British racing driver (b. 1920)
- 1984Ellen Raskin, American author (b. 1928)
- 1985Louise Brooks, American actress (b. 1906)
- 1987Danilo Blanuša, Croatian mathematician (b. 1903)
- 1988Alan Napier, English actor (b. 1903)
- 1988Félix Leclerc, Quebec singer and songwriter (b. 1914)
- 1991James Irwin, astronaut (b. 1930)
- 1991Julissa Gomez, American gymnast (b. 1972)
- 1992Bertalan Papp, Hungarian fencer (b. 1913)
- 1992Grand Ayatollah Abu al-Qasim al-Khoei, Iranian religious figure (b. 1899)
- 1992John Kordic, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1965)
- 1995John Adams, American football player (b. 1937)
- 1996Nevill Francis Mott, British physicist; Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1905)
- 1998Mahmoud Saremi, Iranian journalist
- 2004Dimitris Papamichael, Greek actor (b. 1934)
- 2004Fay Wray, American actress (b. 1907)
- 2005Ahmed Deedat, Islamic scholar (b. 1918)
- 2005Barbara Bel Geddes, American actress (b. 1922)
- 2005Dean Rockwell, American wrestling and football coach (b. 1912)
- 2005Gene Mauch, American baseball player (b. 1925)
- 2005Ilse Werner, German actress (b. 1921)
- 2005John H. Johnson, African-American publisher (b. 1918)
- 2005Monica Sjöö, Swedish artist (b. 1938)
- 2007Joybubbles, A notable phone phreak. (b. 1949)
- 2007Ma Lik, Chinese politician (b. 1952)
- 2007Melville Shavelson, American film director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1917)
- 2008Leonard Pagliero, British stationer (b. 1913)
- 2008Orville Moody, American golfer (b. 1933)
- 2009Daniel Jarque, Spanish footballer (b. 1983)
- 2010Patricia Neal, American actress (b. 1926)
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