August 8
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Template:Linked-title is the 220th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (221st in leap years), with 145 days remaining.
Events
- 1220 - Sweden was defeated by Estonian tribes in the Battle of Lihula.
- 1509 - The Emperor Krishnadeva Raya is crowned, marking the beginning of the regeneration of the Vijayanagara Empire.
- 1576 - The cornerstone for Tycho Brahe's Uraniborg observatory is laid on Hven.
- 1585 - John Davis enters Cumberland Sound in quest for the Northwest Passage.
- 1588 - Anglo-Spanish War: Battle of Gravelines - The naval engagement ends, thus 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 Dungans Hill - English Parliamentary forces defeat Irish forces.
- 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 occurred during the French Revolution.
- 1794 - Joseph Whidbey and George Vancouver lead an expedition to search for the Northwest Passage near Juneau, Alaska.
- 1810 - Eminent Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib married Maaroof, daughter of Nawab Ilahi Baksh, and moved to Delhi.
- 1839 - Beta Theta Pi is founded in Oxford, Ohio.
- 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 (the LDS or 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 (which is refused upon receipt).
- 1870 - The Republic of Ploieşti, 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's the Wright Brothers' first public flight and the French public goes wild.
- 1911 - The millionth patent is filed in the United States Patent Office by Francis Holton for a tubeless vehicle tire.
- 1911 - Public Law 62-5 sets the number of representatives in the United States House of Representatives at 435. The law would come into effect in 1913.
- 1918 - World War I: Battle of Amiens begins a string of almost continuous victories with a push through the German front lines.
- 1929 - The German airship Graf Zeppelin begins a round-the-world flight.
- 1931 - workers go on strike at the Hoover dam
- 1938 - The building of Mauthausen concentration camp begins.
- 1942 - World War II: In Washington, DC, six German would-be saboteurs are executed.
- 1942 - Quit India resolution was passed by the Bombay session of the AICC, which leads to the start of a civil disobedience movement across India
- 1945 - World War II - The Soviet Union declares war on Japan and invades Manchuria.
- 1945 - The United Nations Charter is ratified by the United States, which becomes the third nation to join.
- 1946 - First flight of the Convair B-36.
- 1947 - Pakistan's National Flag is approved.
- 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.
- 1963 - Great Train Robbery: In England, a gang of 15 train robbers steal 2.6 million pounds in bank notes.
- 1966 - The Beatles landmark album Revolver is released in the United States.
- 1967 - The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is founded.
- 1968 - Jurō Wada successfully performs Japan's first heart transplant.
- 1972 - Richard Nixon accepts the nomination as candidate for the presidency.
- 1973 - U.S. Vice President Spiro Agnew goes on television to denounce accusations he had taken kickbacks while governor of Maryland.
- 1973 - Kim Dae-Jung, a South Korean politician and later president of South Korea, is kidnapped.
- 1974 - Watergate scandal: U.S. President Richard Nixon announces his resignation, effective the next day.
- 1976 - Boston, by the rock band Boston is released. It will become the #1 best-selling debut album in history.
- 1980 - The Buttevant railway accident in Ireland occurred.
- 1986 - Altaf Hussain's address at Nishtar Park Karachi, announcement of establishing political movement MQM.
- 1988 - The "8888 Uprising" occurs in Myanmar.
- 1988 - The lights are turned on at Wrigley Field for the first time, making it the last major league stadium to host night games
- 1989 - Space Shuttle program: STS-28 Mission - Space Shuttle Columbia takes off on a secret five-day military mission.
- 1991 - Collapse of Warsaw radio mast, the tallest construction ever built
- 1991 - John McCarthy, British Journalist held hostage in Lebanon for more than five years by Islamic Jihad, is released.
- 2000 - Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley is raised to the surface after 136 years on the ocean floor.
Births
- 1079 - Emperor Horikawa of Japan (d. 1107)
- 1605 - Cæcilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, colonial Governor of Maryland (d. 1675)
- 1646 - Godfrey Kneller, German-born painter (d. 1723)
- 1673 - John Ker, Scottish spy (d. 1726)
- 1693 - Laurent Belissen, French composer (d. 1762)
- 1694 - Francis Hutcheson, Irish philosopher (d. 1746)
- 1720 - Carl Fredrik Pechlin, Swedish politician (d. 1796)
- 1814 - Esther Morris, first U. S. woman judge (d. 1902)
- 1839 - Nelson Miles, U.S. general (d. 1925)
- 1866 - Matthew Henson, Arctic explorer (d. 1955)
- 1875 - Artur da Silva Bernardes, President of Brazil (d. 1955)
- 1879 - Emiliano Zapata, Mexican revolutionary (d. 1919)
- 1880 - Earle Page, 11th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1961)
- 1881 - Albert Kesselring, German field marshal (d. 1960)
- 1881 - Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist, German field marshal (d. 1954)
- 1882 - Ladislas Starevich, Polish stop-motion animation filmmaker (d. 1965)
- 1884 - Sara Teasdale, American poet (d. 1933)
- 1891 - Adolf Busch, German violinist (d. 1952)
- 1892 - Rafael Moreno Aranzadi, Spanish footballer (d. 1922)
- 1898 - Alexis Minotis, Greek actor (d. 1990)
- 1896 - Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, American author (d. 1953)
- 1901 - Ernest O. 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 (d. 2003)
- 1908 - Arthur Goldberg, U.S. Supreme Court justice (d. 1980)
- 1910 - Sylvia Sidney, American actress (d. 1999)
- 1911 - Rosetta LeNoire, American actress (d. 2002)
- 1915 - Jumbo Elliott, American track coach (d. 1981)
- 1919 - Dino De Laurentiis, Italian film producer
- 1920 - Leo Chiosso, Italian lyricist (d. 2006)
- 1920 - Jimmy Witherspoon, American singer (d. 1997)
- 1920 - Carol Lambrino, son of Carol II of Romania and Zizi Lambrino (d. 2006)
- 1921 - William Asher, American film producer
- 1921 - John Herbert Chapman, British physicist (d. 1979)
- 1921 - Webb Pierce, American singer (d. 1991)
- 1921 - Vulimiri Ramalingaswami, Indian medical scientist (d. 2001)
- 1921 - Esther Williams, American actress and swimmer
- 1922 - Rory Calhoun, American actor (d. 1999)
- 1922 - Rudi Gernreich, Austrian-born fashion designer (d. 1985)
- 1925 - Alija Izetbegovic, President of Bosnia-Herzegovina (d. 2003)
- 1926 - Richard Anderson, American actor
- 1927 - Johnny Temple, American baseball player (d. 1994)
- 1928 - Don Burrows, Australian musician
- 1929 - Larisa Bogoraz, Soviet dissident (d. 2004)
- 1929 - Ronald Biggs, British criminal
- 1931 - Sir Roger Penrose, British physicist
- 1932 - Mel Tillis, American singer
- 1932 - Luis García Meza Tejada, Bolivian dictator
- 1935 - Donald P. Bellisario, American television producer
- 1935 - John Laws, Australia radio personality
- 1936 - Keith Barron, English actor
- 1936 - Frank Howard, American baseball player
- 1937 - Dustin Hoffman, American actor
- 1938 - Connie Stevens, American singer and actress
- 1939 - Alexander Watson, American ambassador and diplomat
- 1940 - Dennis Tito, first space tourist
- 1944 - Brooke Bundy, American actress
- 1947 - Ken Dryden, Canadian ice hockey player and parliamentarian
- 1947 - José Cruz, Puerto Rican baseball player
- 1948 - Svetlana Savitskaya, Russian cosmonaut
- 1949 - Keith Carradine, American actor
- 1949 - Ricardo Londoño, Colombian racing driver
- 1951 - Mamoru Oshii, Japanese film director
- 1951 - Randy Shilts, American journalist and author (d. 1994)
- 1952 - Jostein Gaarder, Norwegian author
- 1952 - Robin Quivers, American radio personality
- 1953 - Don Most, American actor
- 1953 - Nigel Mansell, English one-time Formula One World Champion
- 1955 - Herbert Prohaska, Austrian footballer
- 1956 - Branscombe Richmond, American actor
- 1958 - Deborah Norville, American television host
- 1960 - Ulrich Maly, Mayor of Nuremberg
- 1961 - The Edge, Irish guitarist (U2)
- 1961 - Daniel House, Owner C/Z Records
- 1961 - Rikki Rockett, American drummer (Poison)
- 1962 - Mike Zanier, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1963 - Jon Turteltaub, American director
- 1963 - Stephen Walkom, Canadian ice hockey official and executive
- 1964 - Anastasia Ashman, American writer
- 1966 - Chris Eubank, English boxer
- 1966 - John Hudek, American baseball player
- 1967 - Marcelo Balboa, American soccer player
- 1967 - Lee Unkrich, American director and film editor
- 1969 - Faye Wong, Hong Kong singer and actress
- 1970 - Trev Alberts, American football player
- 1970 - Pascal Duquenne, Belgian actor
- 1972 - Lüpüs Thünder, American musician (The Bloodhound Gang)
- 1973 - Scott Stapp, American singer (Creed)
- 1974 - Ulises De la Cruz, Ecuadoran footballer
- 1974 - Scott D'Amore, professional wrestler and manager
- 1976 - JC Chasez, American singer (*NSYNC)
- 1976 - Tawny Cypress, American actress
- 1976 - Drew Lachey, American singer
- 1976 - Seung-Yeop Lee, Korean baseball player
- 1977 - Kurt Bernard, Costa Rican footballer
- 1977 - Rocky Thompson, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1977 - Szilard Nemeth, Slovak footballer
- 1978 - Louis Saha, French footballer
- 1978 - Alan Maybury, Irish footballer
- 1979 - Richard Harwood, British cellist
- 1979 - Paris Latsis, Greek shipping heir
- 1980 - Sabine Klaschka, German tennis player
- 1980 - Pat Noonan, American soccer player
- 1980 - Michael Urie, American actor and director
- 1981 - Vanessa Amorosi, Australian singer and songwriter
- 1981 - Roger Federer, Swiss tennis player
- 1981 - Meagan Good, American actress
- 1981 - Kaori Iida, Japanese singer and actress
- 1981 - Bradley McIntosh, British pop singer
- 1983 - Guy Burnet, British actor
- 1985 - Brayan Ruiz, Costa Rican soccer player
- 1986 - Peyton List, American actress
- 1988 - Princess Beatrice of York
- 1989 - Sesil Karatantcheva, Bulgarian tennis player
- 1995 - Malin Reitan, Norwegian singer
Deaths
- 869 - Lothair II of Lotharingia (b. 825)
- 1445 - Oswald von Wolkenstein, Austrian composer
- 1553 - Girolamo Fracastoro, Italian physician (b. 1478)
- 1555 - Oronce Finé, French mathematician (b. 1494)
- 1588 - Alonso Sánchez Coello, Spanish painter
- 1604 - Horio Tadauji, Japanese warlord (b. 1578)
- 1631 - Konstantinas Sirvydas, Lithuanian lexicographer (b. 1579)
- 1684 - George Booth, 1st Baron Delamer (b. 1622)
- 1759 - Carl Heinrich Graun, German composer (b. 1704)
- 1827 - George Canning, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1770)
- 1828 - Carl Peter Thunberg, Swedish naturalist (b. 1743)
- 1879 - Immanuel Hermann Fichte, German philosopher (b. 1797)
- 1887 - Alexander William Doniphan, American lawyer and soldier (b. 1808)
- 1897 - Jacob Burckhardt, Swiss art historian (b. 1818)
- 1898 - Eugène Boudin, French painter (b. 1824)
- 1902 - James Tissot, French artist (b. 1836)
- 1911 - William P. Frye, American politician (b. 1830)
- 1933 - Adolf Loos, Austrian architect (b. 1870)
- 1940 - Johnny Dodds, American musician (b. 1892)
- 1944 - Chaim Soutine, Russian painter (b. 1894)
- 1944 - Erwin von Witzleben, German field marshal (b. 1881)
- 1944 - Michael Wittmann, German Tank ace and Knight's Cross holder, killed in action, Normandy. (b. 1914)
- 1947 - Anton Ivanovich Denikin, Russian general (b. 1872)
- 1965 - Shirley Jackson, American author (b. 1916)
- 1972 - Andrea Feldman, American actor (b. 1948)
- 1973 - Vilhelm Moberg, Swedish author and historian (b. 1898)
- 1975 - Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, American jazz saxophonist (b. 1928)
- 1977 - Edgar Douglas Adrian, 1st Baron Adrian, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1889)
- 1985 - Louise Brooks, American actress (b. 1906)
- 1987 - Danilo Blanuša, Croatian mathematician (b. 1903)
- 1988 - Alan Napier, English actor (b. 1903)
- 1988 - Ramón Valdés, Brazilian actor (b. 1923)
- 1991 - James Irwin, astronaut (b. 1930)
- 1992 - Grand Ayatollah Abul-Qasim Khoei, considered to be the Supreme Shi'ite authority at the time of his death
- 1996 - Nevill Mott, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1905)
- 2004 - Fay Wray, American actress (b. 1907)
- 2004 - Dimitris Papamichael, Greek actor (b. 1934)
- 2005 - Barbara Bel Geddes, American actress (b. 1922)
- 2005 - John H. Johnson, African-American publisher (b. 1918)
- 2005 - Gene Mauch, American athlete (b. 1925)
- 2005 - Monica Sjöö, Swedish artist (b. 1938)
- 2005 - Ilse Werner, German actress (b. 1921)
- 2005 - Ahmed Deedat, Islamic scholar (b. 1918)
Holidays and observances
- Sweden - Namesday of Queen Silvia, an Official Flag Day.
- Taiwan: Father's Day. (In Mandarin, Ba Ba means father and 8-8, or August 8).
- Roman Catholicism - the feasts of at least 5 saints:
- St. Dominic de Guzman, priest, (1170-1221).
- St. Cyriacus
- St. Largus
- St. Smaragdus (and companions)
- St. Hormisdas