May 8
From Freepedia
May 8 is the 128th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (129th in leap years). There are 237 days remaining.
Contents |
Events
- 1450 - Jack Cade's Rebellion: Kentishmen revolt against King Henry VI.
- 1541 - Hernando de Soto reaches the Mississippi River and names it Río de Espíritu Santo.
- 1794 - Branded a traitor during the Reign of Terror by revolutionists, French chemist Antoine Lavoisier, who was also a tax collector with the Ferme Générale, was tried, convicted, and guillotined all on one day in Paris.
- 1846 - Mexican-American War: The Battle of Palo Alto – Zachary Taylor defeats a Mexican force north of the Rio Grande in the first major battle of the war.
- 1861 - American Civil War: Richmond, Virginia, is named the capital of the Confederate States of America.
- 1877 - At Gilmore's Gardens in New York City, the first Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show opens (ends May 11).
- 1886 - Pharmacist Dr. John Styth Pemberton invents a carbonated beverage that would later be named "Coca-Cola".
- 1896 - Against Warwickshire, Yorkshire sets a still-standing County Championship record when they accumulate an innings total of 887.
- 1898 - The first games of the Italian Football League are played.
- 1899 - The Irish Literary Theatre in Dublin opens.
- 1902 - In Martinique, Mount Pelée erupts, destroying the town of St. Pierre and killing over 30,000 people. Only a handful of residents survive the blast.
- 1914 - Paramount Pictures is formed.
- 1933 - Mohandas Gandhi begins a 21-day fast in protest of British oppression in India.
- 1942 - World War II: The Battle of the Coral Sea comes to an end. This is the first time in the naval history where two enemy fleets fight without visual contact between warring ships.
- 1945 - World War II: VE Day. German forces agree to an unconditional surrender.
- 1945 - Thousands of Algerian civilians are killed by French Army soldiers in the Setif massacre.
- 1967 - The Philippine province of Davao is split into three: Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, and Davao Oriental.
- 1972 - Vietnam War – U.S. President Richard M. Nixon announces his order to place mines in major North Vietnamese ports in order to stem the flow of weapons and other goods to that nation.
- 1973 - A 71-day standoff, between federal authorities and the American Indian Movement members occupying the Pine Ridge Reservation at Wounded Knee, South Dakota, ends with the surrender of the militants.
- 1977 - Grateful Dead performs at Barton Hall, Cornell University
- 1984 - The Soviet Union announces that it will boycott the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California.
- 1984 - Cpl. Denis Lortie enters the Quebec National Assembly and opens fire, killing three and wounding 13. René Jalbert, sergeant-at-arms of the assembly, succeeds in calming him, for which he will later receive the Cross of Valour.
- 1987 - The SAS ambushes and kills the Loughall Martyrs.
- 1997 - A China Southern Airlines Boeing 737 crashes on approach into Shenzhen's Huangtian Airport, killing 35
- 1999 - Nancy Mace becomes the first female cadet to graduate from The Citadel military college.
- 2004 - The Texas Rangers defeated the Detroit Tigers, 16-15, in 10 innings. The game featured a wild fourth inning which would take over an hour to complete. Detroit, already ahead two runs, scored eight runs in the top half of the inning to take a 10-run lead. Texas would then score 10 runs in the bottom half of the inning to tie the game (the largest deficit in franchise history which it overcame). The 18 runs tied a MLB record for most runs by two teams in one inning. Alfonso Soriano also becomes the first Ranger to have six hits in one game.
- 2005 - The new Canadian War Museum opens, in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of V-E Day.
Births
- 1460 - Frederick I, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (d. 1536)
- 1521 - Petrus Canisius, Dutch Jesuit (d. 1597)
- 1587 - Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy (d. 1637)
- 1622 - Claes Rålamb, Swedish statesman (d. 1698)
- 1629 - Niels Juel, Danish admiral (d. 1697)
- 1632 - Heino Heinrich Graf von Flemming, German field marshal and Governor of Berlin (d. 1706)
- 1653 - Claude-Louis-Hector de Villars, Marshall of France (d. 1734)
- 1668 - Alain-René Lesage, French writer (d. 1747)
- 1670 - Charles Beauclerk, 1st Duke of St Albans, English soldier (d. 1726)
- 1735 - Sir Nathaniel Dance-Holland, English painter (d. 1811)
- 1737 - Edward Gibbon, English historian (d. 1794)
- 1825 - George Bruce Malleson, Indian officer and author (d. 1898)
- 1828 - Jean Henri Dunant, Swiss founder of the Red Cross, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1910)
- 1829 - Louis Moreau Gottschalk, American composer and pianist (d. 1869)
- 1842 - Emil Christian Hansen, Danish fermentation physiologist (d. 1909)
- 1850 - Ross Barnes, baseball player (d. 1915)
- 1884 - Harry S. Truman, President of the United States (d. 1972)
- 1895 - Fulton J. Sheen, bishop and television personality (d. 1979)
- 1899 - Friedrich Hayek, Austrian economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1992)
- 1903 - Fernandel, French actor (d. 1971)
- 1905 - Red Nichols, American jazz cornettist (d. 1965)
- 1906 - Roberto Rossellini, Italian director (d. 1977)
- 1911 - Robert Johnson, American singer and guitarist (d. 1938)
- 1914 - Romain Gary, Polish writer (d. 1980)
- 1916 - João Havelange, Brazilian industrialist and football league president
- 1919 - Lex Barker, American actor (d. 1973)
- 1925 - Ali Hassan Mwinyi, President of Tanzania
- 1926 - Sir David Attenborough, British television presenter and producer
- 1926 - Don Rickles, American comedian
- 1928 - Theodore Sorenson, American political operative and writer
- 1930 - Heather Harper, Irish soprano
- 1930 - Gary Snyder, American poet
- 1932 - Phyllida Law, Scottish actress
- 1932 - Sonny Liston, American boxer (d. 1970)
- 1935 - Jack Charlton, English footballer
- 1937 - Thomas Pynchon, American novelist
- 1940 - Ricky Nelson, American singer (d. 1985)
- 1943 - Toni Tennille, American singer
- 1944 - Gary Glitter, English singer
- 1945 - Keith Jarrett, American musician
- 1948 - Felicity Lott, English soprano
- 1951 - Chris Frantz, drummer (Talking Heads)
- 1953 - Alex Van Halen, Dutch-born drummer
- 1954 - David Keith, American actor
- 1957 - Marie Myriam, French singer
- 1964 - Melissa Gilbert, American actress and president of the Screen Actors Guild
- 1964 - Bobby Labonte, American race car driver
- 1964 - Dave Rowntree, Drummer with British band Blur
- 1966 - Claudio Taffarel, Brazilian footballer
- 1972 - Darren Hayes, Australian singer
- 1973 - Hiromu Arakawa, Japanese Manga Artist
- 1974 - Korey Stringer, American football player (d. 2001)
- 1975 - Enrique Iglesias, Spanish-born singer
- 1976 - Martha Wainwright, Canadian musician and songwriter
- 1980 - Michelle McManus, Scottish singer
- 1989 - Jordan Abrams, President of Jordan Co.
Deaths
- 1278 - Emperor Duanzong of China (b. 1268)
- 1319 - King Haakon V of Norway (b. 1270)
- 1473 - John Stafford, 1st Earl of Wiltshire, English politician (b. 1420)
- 1538 - Edward Fox, English bishop
- 1766 - Samuel Chandler, English non-conformist minister (b. 1693)
- 1773 - Ali Bey Al-Kabir, Mamluk Sultan of Egypt (b. 1728)
- 1788 - Giovanni Antonio Scopoli, Italian physician and naturalist (b. 1723)
- 1794 - Antoine Lavoisier, French chemist (executed) (b. 1743)
- 1828 - Mauro Giuliani, Italian composer (b. 1781)
- 1842 - Jules Dumont d'Urville, French explorer (b. 1790)
- 1873 - John Stuart Mill, English philosopher (b. 1806)
- 1880 - Gustave Flaubert, French novelist (b. 1821)
- 1891 - Helena Blavatsky, Russian-born author (b. 1831)
- 1936 - Oswald Spengler, German historian and philosopher (b. 1880)
- 1947 - Harry Gordon Selfridge, American-born department store founder (b. 1858)
- 1952 - William Fox, Austrian-born film producer (b. 1879)
- 1960 - J. H. C. Whitehead, British mathematician (b. 1904)
- 1975 - Avery Brundage, President of the International Olympic Committee (b. 1887)
- 1982 - Gilles Villeneuve, Canadian race car driver (b. 1950)
- 1985 - Theodore Sturgeon, American writer (b. 1918)
- 1988 - Robert A. Heinlein, American writer (b. 1907)
- 1990 - Luigi Nono, Italian composer (b. 1924)
- 1991 - Jean Langlais, French composer and pianist (b. 1907)
- 1991 - Rudolf Serkin, Austrian pianist (b. 1903)
- 1993 - Avram Davidson, writer (b. 1923)
- 1994 - George Peppard, American actor (b. 1928)
- 1996 - Beryl Burton, English cyclist (b. 1937)
- 1999 - Dirk Bogarde, American actor (b. 1921)
- 1999 - Dana Plato, American actress (b. 1964)
Holidays and observances
- Roman Empire - festival in honour of Mens
- Mother's Day - 1977, 1988, 1994, 2005, 2011
- World Red Cross Day
- VE Day
Recorded this day
- 1906 - "It Takes The Irish To Beat The Dutch" by Billy Murray
- 1941 - "Let Me Off Uptown" by Anita O'Day & Roy Eldridge with Gene Krupa & his Orchestra
External links
May 7 - May 9 - April 8 - June 8 – listing of all days
| January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December |
