February 8
February 8 is the 39th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 326 days remaining, 327 in leap years.
Events
- 421 - Constantius III becomes co-Emperor of the Western Roman Empire.
- 1555 - Laurence Saunders is led barefoot to his execution and burned at the stake.
- 1587 - Mary, Queen of Scots is executed.
- 1601 - Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, rebels against Elizabeth I of England - revolt is quickly crushed.
- 1622 - King James I of England disbands the English Parliament.
- 1692 - A doctor in Salem Village, Massachusetts Bay Colony declares that three teenage girls are under domination of Satan, leading to the Salem witch trials.
- 1693 - The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia is granted a charter by King William III and Queen Mary II.
- 1726 - The Supreme Privy Council is established in Russia.
- 1807 - Battle of Eylau - Napoleon defeats Russians under General Benigssen.
- 1817 - Las Heras crosses the Andes with an army to join San Martín and liberate Chile from Spain.
- 1837 - Richard Johnson becomes the first Vice President of the United States chosen by the United States Senate.
- 1849 - Roman Republic established.
- 1855 - The Devil's Footprints mysteriously appear in southern Devon.
- 1867 - The Ausgleich results in the establishment of the Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary.
- 1879 - Sandford Fleming first proposes adoption of Universal Standard Time at a meeting of the Royal Canadian Institute.
- 1887 - The Dawes Act authorized the President of the United States to survey Native American tribal land and divide it into individual allotments.
- 1900 - British troops are defeated by Boers at Ladysmith, South Africa.
- 1904 - Battle of Port Arthur: A surprise torpedo attack by the Japanese at Port Arthur, China starts the Russo-Japanese War.
- 1910 - The Boy Scouts of America is incorporated by William D. Boyce.
- 1915 - D.W. Griffith's controversial film The Birth of a Nation premieres in Los Angeles.
- 1918 - The Stars and Stripes newspaper publishes for the first time.
- 1922 - President Warren G. Harding introduces the first radio in the White House.
- 1924 - Death penalty: The first state execution using gas in the United States takes place in Nevada.
- 1936 - Jay Berwanger becomes the first person to be selected by a National Football League draft, by the Philadelphia Eagles.
- 1943 - World War II: Battle of Kursk - the Russian army captures the city.
- 1943 - World War II: Battle of Guadalcanal - United States forces defeat Japanese troops.
- 1949 - Cardinal Mindszenty of Hungary sentenced for treason.
- 1955 - The Government of Sindh abolished Jagirdari system in the province. One million acres (4000 km²) of land thus acquired is to be distributed among the landless peasants.
- 1960 - Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom issued an Order-in-Council, stating that she and her family would be known as the House of Windsor, and that her descendants will take the name "Mountbatten-Windsor".
- 1963 - Travel, financial and commercial transactions by United States citizens to Cuba are made illegal by the John F. Kennedy administration.
- 1968 - American civil rights movement: A civil rights protest staged at a white-only bowling alley in Orangeburg, South Carolina is broken-up by highway patrolmen leading to the deaths of three college students.
- 1969 - The last weekly issue of the Saturday Evening Post hits magazine stands.
- 1971 - The Nasdaq stock market index debuts.
- 1974 - After 84 days in space, the crew of the temporary American space station Skylab return to Earth.
- 1974 - Military coup in Upper Volta.
- 1978 - Proceedings of the United States Senate are broadcast on radio for the first time.
- 1979 - Denis Sassou-Nguesso became the President of the Republic of the Congo for the first time.
- 1986 - 1984 Summer Olympics head of the LAPD bomb squad, Arleigh Mccree, and his partner Officer Ronald Ball of the Firearms and explosives unit were killed while trying to dismantle two pipe bombs when they responded to a call. McCree was recognized as one of the top explosive experts in the world.
- 1989 - An Independent Air Boeing 707 crashes into Santa Maria mountain in Azores Islands off the coast of Portugal, killing 144.
- 1991 - Roger Clemens signs record $5,380,250 per year Red Sox contract.
- 1993 - General Motors sues NBC after Dateline NBC allegedly rigs two crashes intended to demonstrate that some GM pickups can easily catch fire if hit in certain places. NBC settles the lawsuit the next day.
- 1996 - The U.S. Congress passes the Communications Decency Act.
- 1998 - First female ice hockey game in Olympic history: Finland beats Sweden 6-0.
- 2005 - Israel and Palestinians agree to cease-fire.
- 2006 - Palestinians attack Temporary International Presence in Hebron offices in Hebron; International observers end decade-long presence
Births
- 412 - Proclus, Greek philosopher (d. 487)
- 1191 - Yaroslav II of Russia (d. 1246)
- 1291 - King Afonso IV of Portugal (d. 1357)
- 1487 - Ulrich, Duke of Württemberg (d. 1550)
- 1552 - Agrippa d'Aubigné, French poet and soldier (d. 1630)
- 1577 - Robert Burton, English cleric and writer (d. 1640)
- 1586 - Jacob Praetorius, German composer (d. 1651)
- 1649 - Gabriel Daniel, French Jesuit historian (d. 1728)
- 1677 - Jacques Cassini, French astronomer (d. 1756)
- 1685 - Charles-Jean-François Hénault, French historian (d. 1770)
- 1700 - Daniel Bernoulli, Dutch-born mathematician (d. 1782)
- 1720 - Emperor Sakuramachi of Japan (d. 1750)
- 1804 - Richard Lemon Lander, British explorer (d. 1834)
- 1807 - Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins, English sculptor and naturalist (d. 1889)
- 1819 - John Ruskin, English author
- 1820 - William Tecumseh Sherman, American Union general (d. 1891)
- 1828 - Jules Verne, French author (d. 1905)
- 1834 - Dmitri Mendeleev, Russian chemist (d. 1907)
- 1847 - Hugh Price Hughes, English social reformer (d. 1902)
- 1851 - Kate Chopin, American author (d. 1904)
- 1878 - Martin Buber, German philosopher (d. 1965)
- 1880 - Franz Marc, German painter (d. 1916)
- 1883 - Joseph Alois Schumpeter, Austrian economist (d. 1950)
- 1886 - Charles Ruggles, American actor (d. 1970)
- 1888 - Dame Edith Evans, British actress (d. 1976)
- 1890 - Claro M. Recto, Filipino nationalist (d. 1960)
- 1894 - Ludwig Marcuse, German author and philosopher (d. 1971)
- 1895 - King Vidor, American film director (d. 1982)
- 1902 - Demchugdongrub, Mongolian politician (d. 1966)
- 1903 - Greta Keller, Austrian-born cabaret singer and actress (d. 1977)
- 1906 - Chester Carlson, American physicist and inventor (d. 1968)
- 1911 - Elizabeth Bishop, American poet (d. 1979)
- 1911 - Big Joe Turner, American singer (d. 1985)
- 1918 - Fred Blassie, American professional wrestler (d. 2003)
- 1920 - Lana Turner, American actress (d. 1995)
- 1925 - Jack Lemmon, American actor and film director (d. 2001)
- 1926 - Neal Cassady, American writer (d. 1968)
- 1926 - Audrey Meadows, American actress (d. 1996)
- 1930 - Alejandro Rey, Argentine actor (d. 1987)
- 1931 - James Dean, American actor (d. 1955)
- 1932 - John Williams, American composer and conductor
- 1933 - Elly Ameling, Dutch soprano
- 1933 - Jack Larson, American actor
- 1937 - Manfred Krug, German actor
- 1940 - Ted Koppel, American journalist
- 1941 - Nick Nolte, American actor
- 1941 - Tom Rush, American singer and songwriter
- 1942 - Robert Klein, American comedian
- 1942 - Terry Melcher, American musician and record producer (d. 2004)
- 1948 - John Ford Coley, American singer
- 1949 - Brooke Adams, American actress
- 1950 - Dan Seals, American singer
- 1953 - Mary Steenburgen, American actress
- 1953 - Roger Clavet, Quebecois politician
- 1955 - John Grisham, American writer
- 1960 - Dino Ciccarelli, Canadian hockey player
- 1961 - Vince Neil, American musician
- 1966 - Hristo Stoichkov, Bulgarian footballer
- 1966 - Kirk Muller, Canadian hockey player
- 1968 - Gary Coleman, American actor
- 1968 - Claudette Pace, Maltese singer
- 1972 - Paul Wight, American professional wrestler
- 1974 - Seth Green, American actor
- 1974 - Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, French disc jockey (Daft Punk)
- 1977 - Bridgette Kerkove, American actress
- 1977 - Dave Farrell, American musician (Linkin Park)
- 1977 - Yucef Merhi, Venezuelan artist
- 1982 - Eric Alexander, American football player
- 1983 - Jim Verraros, American singer
- 1988 - Keegan Meth, Zimbabwean cricketer
Deaths
- 1204 - Alexius IV Angelus, deposed Eastern Roman Emperor (strangled) (b. circa 1182)
- 1250 - Robert I of Artois, French crusader (killed in battle) (b. 1216).
- 1250 - William II Longespee
- 1265 - Hulagu Khan, Mongol ruler (b. 1217)
- 1296 - King Przemysł II of Poland (b. 1257)
- 1529 - Baldassare Castiglione, Italian writer and diplomat (b. 1478)
- 1587 - Mary, Queen of Scots (executed) (b. 1542)
- 1599 - Robert Rollock, Scottish educator
- 1623 - Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter, English politician (b. 1546)
- 1696 - Tsar Ivan V of Russia (b. 1666)
- 1709 - Giuseppe Torelli, Italian composer (b. 1658)
- 1725 - Tsar Peter I of Russia (b. 1672)
- 1749 - Jan van Huysum, Dutch painter (b. 1682)
- 1750 - Aaron Hill, English writer (b. 1685)
- 1768 - George Dance the Elder, English architect (b. 1695)
- 1772 - Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, Princess of Wales (b. 1719)
- 1849 - France Prešeren, Slovenian poet (b. 1800)
- 1856 - Agostino Bassi, Italian entomologist (b. 1773)
- 1910 - Hans Jæger, Norwegian writer and political activist (b. 1854)
- 1921 - Peter Kropotkin, Russian anarchist (b. 1842)
- 1929 - Maria Christina, Queen Regent of Spain (b. 1858)
- 1956 - Connie Mack, baseball manager and executive (b. 1862)
- 1957 - Walther Bothe, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1891)
- 1957 - John von Neumann, Hungarian-born mathematician and physicist (b. 1903)
- 1960 - Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, English architect (b. 1880)
- 1964 - Ernst Kretschmer, German psychiatrist (b. 1888)
- 1973 - Max Yasgur, American Woodstock Festival host (b. 1919)
- 1975 - Robert Robinson, British chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1886)
- 1977 - Eivind Groven, Norwegian composer and ethnomusicologist (b. 1901)
- 1984 - Karel Miljon, Dutch boxer (b. 1903)
- 1985 - Sir William Lyons, British automobile manufacturer (b. 1901)
- 1987 - Harriet E. MacGibbon, American actress (b. 1905)
- 1990 - Del Shannon, American entertainer (suicide) (b. 1934)
- 1993 - N. Shanmugathasan, Sri Lankan communist leader
- 1994 - Raymond Scott, American composer, bandleader, and inventor (b. 1908)
- 1998 - Halldór Laxness, Icelandic writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1902)
- 1998 - Julian Lincoln Simon, American economist and author (b. 1932)
- 1999 - Iris Murdoch, Irish author (b. 1919)
- 2000 - Sid Abel, Canadian hockey player and coach (b. 1918)
- 2000 - Derrick Thomas, American football player (b. 1967)
- 2001 - Ivo Caprino, Norwegian animated film director (b. 1920)
- 2002 - Joachim Hoffmann, German historian (b. 1930)
- 2002 - Ong Teng Cheong, President of Singapore (b. 1936)
- 2004 - Julius Schwartz, American comic book and science fiction editor (b. 1915)
- 2005 - Jimmy Smith, American jazz musician
- 2006 - Akira Ifukube, Japanese composer (b. 1914)
Holidays and observances
- Slovenia - Prešeren Day, the Slovenian cultural holiday.
- Nirvana Day - an annual Buddhist festival.
- Boy Scouts of America - Scout Sunday; The Sunday preceding February 8 is designated as Scout Sunday and the following Saturday is designated as Scout Sabbath.
Liturgical Feasts
External links
February 7 - February 9 - January 8 - March 8 — listing of all days