August 8

August 8 in recent years

August 8 is the 220th day of the year (221st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 145 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

1220 – Sweden is defeated by Estonian tribes in the Battle of Lihula.
1503 – King James IV of Scotland marries Margaret Tudor, daughter of King Henry VII of England at Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh, Scotland.
1576 – The cornerstone for Tycho Brahe's Uraniborg observatory is laid on Ven, Sweden.
1585 – John Davis enters Cumberland Sound in search of the Northwest Passage.
1588 – Anglo-Spanish War: Battle of Gravelines – The naval engagement ends, ending the Spanish Armada's attempt to invade England.
1605 – The city of Oulu, Finland, is founded by Charles IX of Sweden.
1647 – The Irish Confederate Wars and Wars of the Three Kingdoms: Battle of Dungan's Hill – English Parliamentary forces defeat Irish forces.
1709 – Bartolomeu de Gusmão demonstrates the lifting power of hot air in an audience before the King of Portugal in Lisbon, Portugal
1786 – Mont Blanc on the French – Italian border is climbed for the first time by Jacques Balmat and Dr. Michel-Gabriel Paccard.
1793 – The insurrection of Lyon occurs during the French Revolution.
1794 – Joseph Whidbey leads an expedition to search for the Northwest Passage near Juneau, Alaska.
1844 – The 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).
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 (which is refused upon receipt).
1870 – The Republic of Ploiești, a failed Radical-Liberal rising against Domnitor Carol of Romania.
1876 – Thomas Edison receives a patent for his mimeograph.
1908 – Wilbur Wright makes his first flight at a racecourse at Le Mans, France. It is the Wright Brothers' first public flight.
1918 – World War I: the Battle of Amiens begins a string of almost continuous victories with a push through the German front lines (Hundred Days Offensive).
1927 – The predecessor to the Philippine Stock Exchange opens.
1929 – The German airship Graf Zeppelin begins a round-the-world flight.
1940 – The "Aufbau Ost" directive is signed by Wilhelm Keitel.
1942 – Quit India Movement is launched in India against the British rule in response to Mohandas Gandhi's call for swaraj or complete independence.
1944 – Anne Frank is discovered by Nazi soldiers after two years of hiding.
1946 – First flight of the Convair B-36, the world's first mass-produced nuclear weapon delivery vehicle.
1960 – South Kasai secedes from the Congo.
1963 – Great Train Robbery: in England, a gang of 15 train robbers steal £2.6 million in bank notes.
1967 – The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is founded by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
1969 – At a zebra crossing in London, photographer Iain Macmillan takes the photo that becomes the cover of the Beatles album Abbey Road, one of the most famous album covers in recording history.
1973 – Kim Dae-jung, a South Korean politician and later president of South Korea, is kidnapped.
1974 – President Richard Nixon, in a nationwide television address, announces his resignation from the office of the President of the United States effective noon the next day.
1980 – The Central Hotel Fire occurs in Bundoran, Ireland.
1988 – The "8888 Uprising" occurs in Burma.
1989 – Space Shuttle program: STS-28 Mission – Space Shuttle Columbia takes off on a secret five-day military mission.
1990 – Iraq occupies Kuwait and the state is annexed to Iraq. This would lead to the Gulf War shortly afterward.
1991 – The Warsaw radio mast, at one time the tallest construction ever built, collapses.
2000 – Confederate 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.
2007 – An EF2 tornado touches down in Kings County and Richmond County, New York, the most powerful tornado in New York to date and the first in Brooklyn since 1889.
2008 – A EuroCity express train en route from Kraków, Poland to Prague, Czech Republic strikes a part of a motorway bridge that had fallen onto the railroad track near Studénka railway station in the Czech Republic and derails, killing 8 people and injuring 64 others.
2010 – 2010 China floods: A mudslide in Zhugqu County, Gansu, China, kills more than 1,400 people.

Births

1079 – Emperor Horikawa of Japan (d. 1107)
1518 – Conrad Lycosthenes, French-German humanist and encyclopedist (d. 1561)
1605 – Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, English lawyer and politician (d. 1675)
1640 – Amalia Catharina, German poet and composer (d. 1697)
1646 – Godfrey Kneller, German painter (d. 1723)
1673 – John Ker, Scottish spy (d. 1726)
1693 – Laurent Belissen, French composer (d. 1762)
1694 – Francis Hutcheson, Irish philosopher (d. 1746)
1709 – Hermann Anton Gelinek, German monk and musician (d. 1779)
1720 – Carl Fredrik Pechlin, Swedish politician (d. 1796)
1790 – Ferenc Kölcsey, Hungarian poet and politician (d. 1838)
1807 – Emilie Flygare-Carlén, Swedish novelist (d. 1892)
1814 – Esther Morris, American jurist (d. 1902)
1824 – Maria Alexandrovna, German wife of Alexander II of Russia (d. 1880)
1839 – Nelson Miles, American general (d. 1925)
1857 – Cécile Chaminade, French pianist and composer (d. 1944)
1866 – Matthew Henson, American explorer (d. 1955)
1874 – Albert Stanley, 1st Baron Ashfield, British transport administrator (d. 1948)
1875 – Artur Bernardes, Brazilian politician, 12th President of Brazil (d. 1955)
1876 – Varghese Payyappilly Palakkappilly, Indian-Syrian priest (d. 1929)
1879 – Bob Smith, American physician and surgeon, founder of Alcoholics Anonymous (d. 1950)
1879 – Emiliano Zapata, Mexican general (d. 1919)
1880 – Earle Page, Australian politician, 11th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1961)
1881 – Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist, German field marshal (d. 1954)
1882 – Ladislas Starevich, Polish animator (d. 1965)
1884 – Sara Teasdale, American poet (d. 1933)
1889 – Jack Ryder, Australian cricketer (d. 1977)
1891 – Adolf Busch, German violinist and composer (d. 1952)
1892 – Rafael Moreno Aranzadi, Spanish footballer (d. 1922)
1896 – Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, American author (d. 1953)
1898 – Alexis Minotis, Greek actor (d. 1990)
1901 – Ernest Lawrence, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1958)
1902 – Paul Dirac, English physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1984)
1904 – Achille Varzi, Italian race car driver (d. 1948)
1905 – André Jolivet, French composer (d. 1974)
1907 – Benny Carter, American musician, composer, and bandleader (d. 2003)
1908 – Arthur Goldberg, American politician and jurist, 6th United States Ambassador to the United Nations (d. 1990)
1909 – Bill Voce, England cricketer (d. 1984)
1910 – Jimmy Murphy, footballer and Manchester United assistant manager (d. 1989)
1910 – Sylvia Sidney, American actress (d. 1999)
1911 – Rosetta LeNoire, American actress (d. 2002)
1915 – James Elliott, American track and field coach (d. 1981)
1919 – Dino De Laurentiis, Italian actor and producer (d. 2010)
1920 – Leo Chiosso, Italian songwriter and producer (d. 2006)
1920 – Carol Lambrino, Romanian son of Carol II of Romania (d. 2006)
1920 – Jimmy Witherspoon, American singer (d. 1997)
1921 – William Asher, American director, screenwriter, and producer (d. 2012)
1921 – John Herbert Chapman, Canadian physicist (d. 1979)
1921 – Webb Pierce, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1991)
1921 – Vulimiri Ramalingaswami, Indian scientist (d. 2001)
1921 – Esther Williams, American actress and swimmer
1922 – Rory Calhoun, American actor (d. 1999)
1922 – Rudi Gernreich, Austrian-American fashion designer (d. 1985)
1922 – Gertrude Himmelfarb, American historian
1922 – Károly Reich, Hungarian illustrator (d. 1988)
1925 – Alija Izetbegović, Bosnian politician, 1st President of Bosnia and Herzegovina (d. 2003)
1926 – Richard Anderson, American actor
1927 – Johnny Temple, American baseball player (d. 1994)
1928 – Don Burrows, Australian musician
1929 – Ronnie Biggs, English criminal, part of the Great Train Robbery of 1963
1929 – Larisa Bogoraz, Soviet dissident (d. 2004)
1930 – Terry Nation, Welsh novelist and screenwriter (d. 1997)
1930 – Jerry Tarkanian, American basketball coach
1931 – Roger Penrose, English physicist
1932 – Luis García Meza Tejada, Bolivian general and dictator, 68th President of Bolivia
1932 – Mel Tillis, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Old Dogs)
1933 – Joe Tex, American singer-songwriter (d. 1982)
1933 – Serena Wilson, American dancer and choreographer (d. 2007)
1935 – Donald Bellisario, American screenwriter and producer
1935 – John Laws, Australian radio host
1936 – Keith Barron, English actor
1936 – Frank Howard, American baseball player
1937 – Dustin Hoffman, American actor
1937 – Cornelis Vreeswijk, Dutch-Swedish singer-songwriter, poet, and actor (d. 1987)
1938 – Jacques Hétu, Canadian composer
1938 – Connie Stevens, American actress, singer, and director
1939 – Alexander Watson, American ambassador and diplomat
1939 – Phil Balsley, American singer-songwriter (The Statler Brothers)
1939 – Paul Hogan, Australian comedian and actor
1940 – Dilip Sardesai, Indian cricketer (d. 2007)
1940 – Dennis Tito, American engineer and businessman, founded Wilshire Associates
1943 – Denis Payton, English saxophonist (The Dave Clark Five)
1944 – Brooke Bundy, American actress
1944 – Uli Derickson, Czech-American flight attendant, TWA Flight 847 survivor
1944 – John Holmes, American porn actor (d. 1988)
1944 – John Renbourn, English guitarist and songwriter (Pentangle)
1944 – Michael Johnson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1947 – Terangi Adam, Nauruan politician
1947 – José Cruz, Puerto Rican baseball player
1947 – Ken Dryden, Canadian ice hockey player and politician
1947 – Larry Wilcox, American actor
1948 – Svetlana Savitskaya, Russian astronaut
1949 – Keith Carradine, American actor
1949 – Ricardo Londoño, Colombian race car driver (d. 2009)
1950 – Willie Hall, American drummer (The Bar-Kays)
1950 – Ken Kutaragi, Japanese businessman, created PlayStation
1951 – Phil Carlson, Australian cricketer
1951 – Mamoru Oshii, Japanese director
1951 – Randy Shilts, American journalist and author (d. 1994)
1951 – Mohamed Morsi, Egyptian politician, 5th President of Egypt
1952 – Anton Fig, South African drummer (Spider and Frehley's Comet)
1952 – Jostein Gaarder, Norwegian author
1952 – Doug Melvin, Canadian baseball player and executive
1952 – Robin Quivers, American radio host, actress, and author
1952 – Sudhakar Rao, Indian cricketer
1952 – Ali Score, English musician (A Flock of Seagulls)
1953 – Mark Lazarowicz, English Politician
1953 – Nigel Mansell, English race car driver
1953 – Don Most, American actor
1955 – Diddú, Icelandic soprano and songwriter
1955 – Herbert Prohaska, Austrian footballer
1956 – Chris Foreman, English guitarist and songwriter (Madness)
1956 – David Grant, English singer (Linx)
1956 – Branscombe Richmond, American actor
1956 – Cecilia Roth, Argentine actress
1957 – Dennis Drew, American keyboard player (10,000 Maniacs)
1958 – Deborah Norville, American journalist
1960 – Ulrich Maly, German politician
1961 – The Edge, Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist (U2)
1961 – Daniel House, American bass player and producer (10 Minute Warning and Skin Yard)
1961 – Bruce Matthews, American football player
1961 – Rikki Rockett, American drummer (Poison)
1962 – Kool Moe Dee, American rapper (Treacherous Three)
1962 – Mike Zanier, Canadian ice hockey player
1963 – Ron Karkovice, American baseball player
1963 – Jon Turteltaub, American director
1963 – Stephen Walkom, Canadian ice hockey referee and executive
1964 – Anastasia M. Ashman, American writer
1964 – Paul Taylor, England cricketer
1964 – Eddie Trunk, American radio host and author
1965 – Angus Fraser, England cricketer
1965 – El Hefe, American guitarist (NOFX)
1965 – Kate Langbroek, Australian talk show host
1966 – Chris Eubank, English boxer
1966 – John Hudek, American baseball player
1967 – Sable, American wrestler and actress
1967 – Eric Angle, American wrestler
1967 – Marcelo Balboa, American soccer player
1967 – Lee Unkrich, American director and editor
1968 – Abey Kuruvilla, Indian cricketer
1968 – Huey Morgan, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Fun Lovin' Criminals)
1969 – Yvie Burnett, Scottish soprano
1969 – Dick Togo, Japanese wrestler
1969 – Faye Wong, Chinese singer-songwriter and actress
1970 – Trev Alberts, American football player
1970 – Pascal Duquenne, Belgian actor
1972 – Joely Collins, Canadian actress
1972 – Axel Merckx, Belgian cyclist
1972 – Andrea de Rossi, Italian rugby player and coach
1972 – Steven Tweed, Scottish footballer
1973 – Shane Lee, Australian cricketer
1973 – Senta Moses, American actress
1973 – Scott Stapp, American singer-songwriter and producer (Creed)
1974 – Scott D'Amore, Canadian wrestler and manager
1974 – Brian Harvey, English singer (East 17)
1974 – Andy Priaulx, English race car driver
1976 – JC Chasez, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actor ('N Sync)
1976 – Tawny Cypress, American actress
1976 – Drew Lachey, American singer and actor (98 Degrees)
1976 – Lee Seung-Yeop, South Korean baseball player
1976 – Jeff Simmons, American race car driver
1977 – Kurt Bernard, Costa Rican footballer
1977 – Szilárd Németh, Slovak footballer
1977 – Lindsay Sloane, American actress
1977 – Rocky Thompson, Canadian ice hockey player
1977 – Nicolas Vogondy, French cyclist
1977 – Mohammad Wasim, Pakistani cricketer
1978 – Alan Maybury, Irish footballer
1978 – Louis Saha, French footballer
1978 – Miho Shiraishi, Japanese actress
1978 – Countess Vaughn, American actress and singer
1979 – Richard Harwood, English cellist
1979 – Paris Latsis, Greek shipping heir
1979 – Rashard Lewis, American basketball player
1979 – Pooja Shah, English actress
1979 – Guðjón Valur Sigurðsson, Icelandic handball player
1980 – Shayna Baszler, American mixed martial artist
1980 – Craig Breslow, American baseball player
1980 – Denisse Guerrero, Mexican singer-songwriter (Belanova)
1980 – Mike Hindert, American singer and bass player (The Bravery)
1980 – Sabine Klaschka, German tennis player
1980 – Pat Noonan, American soccer player
1980 – Tatum Reed, American porn actress and producer
1980 – Michael Urie, American actor and director
1981 – Vanessa Amorosi, Australian singer-songwriter
1981 – Roger Federer, Swiss tennis player
1981 – Meagan Good, American actress
1981 – Kaori Iida, Japanese singer and actress (Morning Musume and Dream Morning Musume)
1981 – Bradley McIntosh, English singer (S Club)
1981 – Harel Skaat, Israeli singer-songwriter
1982 – David Florence, Scottish canoe racer
1983 – Guy Burnet, English actor
1983 – Fred Meyers, American actor
1984 – Kirk Broadfoot, Scottish footballer
1984 – Suzie Diamond, Slovak porn actress
1984 – Brenda Gandini, Argentine actress and model
1984 – Devon McTavish, American soccer player
1984 – Norbert Michelisz, Hungarian race car driver
1984 – Martrez Milner, American football player
1985 – Toby Flood, English rugby player
1985 – James Morgan, Welsh actor
1985 – Brett Ratliff, American football player
1986 – Kateryna Bondarenko, Ukrainian tennis player
1986 – Pierre Garçon, American football player
1986 – Cody Lightning, American actor
1986 – Peyton List, American actress
1986 – Chris Pressley, American football player
1986 – Charlotte Stokely, American porn actress
1987 – Pierre Boulanger, French actor
1987 – Katie Leung, Scottish actress
1987 – Tatjana Malek, German tennis player
1988 – Princess Beatrice of York
1988 – Danilo Gallinari, Italian basketball player
1988 – Ni Ni, Chinese actress
1988 – Laura Slade Wiggins, American actress
1989 – Ken Baumann, American actor and author
1989 – Ali Cobrin, American actress
1989 – Sesil Karatantcheva, Bulgarian-Kazakhstan tennis player
1989 – Hannah Miley, Scottish swimmer
1989 – Aleksandra Szwed, Polish actress and singer
1991 – Nélson Oliveira, Portuguese footballer
1993 – Ben Breedlove, American blogger (d. 2011)
1995 – Malin Reitan, Norwegian singer

Deaths

869 – Lothair II, Italian son of Lothair I (b. 825)
1303 – Enrique de Castilla, son of Ferdinand III (b. 1230)
1445 – Oswald von Wolkenstein, Austrian composer (b. 1377)
1553 – Girolamo Fracastoro, Italian physician (b. 1478)
1555 – Oronce Finé, French mathematician (b. 1494)
1588 – Alonso Sánchez Coello, Spanish painter (b. 1532)
1604 – Horio Tadauji, Japanese warlord (b. 1578)
1631 – Konstantinas Sirvydas, Lithuanian lexicographer (b. 1579)
1684 – George Booth, 1st Baron Delamer (b. 1622)
1719 – Christoph Ludwig Agricola, German painter (b. 1667)
1747 – Madeleine de Verchères, Canadian raid leader (b. 1678)
1759 – Carl Heinrich Graun, German composer (b. 1704)
1827 – George Canning, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1770)
1828 – Carl Peter Thunberg, Swedish naturalist (b. 1743)
1863 – Angus MacAskill, Scottish giant (b. 1825)
1879 – Immanuel Hermann Fichte, German philosopher (b. 1797)
1887 – Alexander William Doniphan, American lawyer and soldier (b. 1808)
1897 – Jacob Burckhardt, Swiss historian (b. 1818)
1898 – Eugène Boudin, French painter (b. 1824)
1902 – James Tissot, French painter (b. 1836)
1909 – Mary MacKillop, Australian nun, co-founded the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart (b. 1842)
1911 – William P. Frye, American politician (b. 1830)
1921 – Juhani Aho, Finnish author and journalist (b. 1861)
1928 – Stjepan Radić, Croatian politician (b. 1871)
1930 – Launceston Elliot, Scottish weightlifter (b. 1874)
1934 – Wilbert Robinson, American baseball player (b. 1863)
1940 – Johnny Dodds, American clarinetist and saxophonist (b. 1892)
1944 – Chaim Soutine, Russian painter (b. 1894)
1944 – Erwin von Witzleben, German field marshal (b. 1881)
1944 – Michael Wittmann, German commander (b. 1914)
1947 – Anton Denikin, Russian general (b. 1872)
1950 – Fergus McMaster, Australian businessman, founded Qantas (b. 1879)
1961 – Mei Lanfang, Chinese opera singer (b. 1894)
1965 – Shirley Jackson, American author (b. 1916)
1969 – Otmar Freiherr von Verschuer, German eugenicist and nazi physician (b. 1896)
1971 – Freddie Spencer Chapman, English army officer (b. 1907)
1972 – Andrea Feldman, American actor (b. 1948)
1973 – Dean Corll, American serial killer (b. 1939)
1973 – Vilhelm Moberg, Swedish author and historian (b. 1898)
1973 – Nikos Zachariadis, Greek politician (b. 1903)
1974 – Baldur von Schirach, German nazi youth leader (b. 1907)
1975 – Cannonball Adderley, American saxophonist (b. 1928)
1977 – Edgar Adrian, 1st Baron Adrian, English physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1889)
1979 – Nicholas Monsarrat, English novelist (b. 1910)
1980 – Paul Triquet, Canadian army officer (b. 1910)
1981 – Thomas McElwee, Irish hunger striker (b. 1957)
1982 – Eric Brandon, English race car driver (b. 1920)
1984 – Ellen Raskin, American author (b. 1928)
1985 – Louise Brooks, American actress (b. 1906)
1987 – Danilo Blanuša, Croatian mathematician (b. 1903)
1988 – Félix Leclerc, Canadian singer-songwriter (b. 1914)
1988 – Alan Napier, English actor (b. 1903)
1991 – Julissa Gomez, American gymnast (b. 1972)
1991 – James Irwin, American astronaut (b. 1930)
1992 – Abu al-Qasim al-Khoei, Iranian spiritual leader and scholar (b. 1899)
1992 – John Kordic, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1965)
1992 – Bertalan Papp, Hungarian fencer (b. 1913)
1995 – John Adams, American football player (b. 1937)
1996 – Nevill Francis Mott, English physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1905)
1998 – Mahmoud Saremi, Iranian journalist (b. 1968)
2003 – Falaba Issa Traoré, Malian playwright (b. 1930)
2004 – Dimitris Papamichael, Greek actor (b. 1934)
2004 – Fay Wray, American actress (b. 1907)
2005 – Barbara Bel Geddes, American actress and author (b. 1922)
2005 – Ahmed Deedat, South African missionary and writer (b. 1918)
2005 – John H. Johnson, American publisher, founded the Johnson Publishing Company (b. 1918)
2005 – Gene Mauch, American baseball player (b. 1925)
2005 – Dean Rockwell, American wrestling and football coach (b. 1912)
2005 – Monica Sjöö, Swedish painter and writer (b. 1938)
2005 – Ilse Werner, German actress (b. 1921)
2007 – Joybubbles, American phone phreak (b. 1949)
2007 – Ma Lik, Chinese politician (b. 1952)
2007 – Melville Shavelson, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1917)
2008 – Orville Moody, American golfer (b. 1933)
2008 – Leonard Pagliero, English pilot and dog breeder (b. 1913)
2009 – Abdullah al-Asiri, Saudi Arabian terrorist (b. 1986)
2009 – Daniel Jarque, Spanish footballer (b. 1983)
2010 – Patricia Neal, American actress (b. 1926)
2012 – Sancho Gracia, Spanish actor (b. 1936)
2012 – Surya Lesmana, Indonesian footballer (b. 1944)
2012 – Kurt Maetzig, German director (b. 1911)
2012 – Hans R. Camenzind, Swiss engineer (b. 1934)

Holidays and observances

Christian Feast Day:
- Cyriacus
- Dominic de Guzman, founder of the Dominican Order.
- Hormisdas
- Largus
- Mary MacKillop
- Smaragdus (and companions)
- August 8 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Earliest day on which Melon Day can fall, while August 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Sunday in August. (Turkmenistan)
Farmer’s Day or Nane Nane, Swahili for "8-8". (Tanzania)
Father's Day or Bā bā Day (爸爸節), Bā Bā is Mandarin for "father" and "8-8", or August 8. (Taiwan)
Flag Day, namesday of Queen Silvia. (Sweden)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: August 8

August 8 Ultimate Study Guide