February 8
February 8 is the 39th day of the year in the
Gregorian Calendar. There are 326 days remaining, 327 in
leap years.
*
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 MartÃn and liberate
Chile from Spain.
*
1837 -
Richard Johnson becomes the first
Vice President of the United States chosen by the
United States Senate.
*
1849 -
New 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
*
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 (d.
1900)
*
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)
*
1893 -
Ba Maw, Burmese politician (d.
1977)
*
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
* 1948 -
Lynda Lyon Block, convicted murderer (d. 2002)
*
1949 -
Brooke Adams, American actress
*
1950 -
Dan Seals, American singer
* 1950 -
Cristina Ferrare, American former supermodel and actress
*
1951 -
Z'EV, American Text/Sound artist (born Stefan Weisser)
*
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
*
1971 -
Gas, H.I.M drum player
*
1972 -
Paul Wight, American professional wrestler
*
1973 -
Keith McDonald, baseball player
*
1974 -
Seth Green, American actor
* 1974 -
Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, French disc jockey (
Daft Punk)
* 1974 -
Ulises de la Cruz, Ecuadorian footballer
* 1974 -
Jamey Carroll, Baseball player
*
1977 -
Bridgette Kerkove, American actress
* 1977 -
Dave Farrell, American musician (
Linkin Park)
* 1977 -
Yucef Merhi, Venezuelan artist
*
1979 -
Aaron Cook, Baseball player
*
1981 -
IBM launches
PC*
1982 -
Eric Alexander, American football player
*
1983 -
Jim Verraros, American singer
*
1988 -
Keegan Meth, Zimbabwean cricketer
*
1995 -
Jordan Todosey, Canadian actress
*
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)
* 1849 -
François Antoine Habeneck, French violinist (b.
1781)
*
1856 -
Agostino Bassi, Italian entomologist (b.
1773)
*
1907 -
Hendrik Willem Bakhuis Roozeboom, Dutch chemist (b.
1854)
*
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)
*
1992 -
Denny Wright, British jazz guitarist (b.
1924)
*
1993 -
N. Shanmugathasan, Sri Lankan communist leader
*
1994 -
Raymond Scott, American composer, bandleader, and inventor (b.
1908)
*
1996 -
Del Ennis, baseball player (b.
1925)
*
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)
*
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
*
Saint Jerome Emiliani.
*
Saint Juventius*
Saint Mengold of Huy*
Saint Jacoba (d.1239)
*
On this day in Canada*
NY Times: On this day*
BBC: On This DayFebruary 7 -
February 9 -
January 8 -
March 8 â€"
listing of all days
