July 8

July 8 in recent years

2024 (Monday)

2023 (Saturday)

2022 (Friday)

2021 (Thursday)

2020 (Wednesday)

2019 (Monday)

2018 (Sunday)

2017 (Saturday)

2016 (Friday)

2015 (Wednesday)

July 8 is the 189th day of the year (190th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 176 days remain until the end of the year.

Events

• 1099 – First Crusade: 15,000 starving Christian soldiers march in a religious procession around Jerusalem as its Muslim defenders look on.
• 1283 – War of the Sicilian Vespers: the naval Battle of Malta between the Aragonese and the Neapolitan fleets is fought.
• 1497 – Vasco da Gama sets sail on the first direct European voyage to India.
• 1579 – Our Lady of Kazan, a holy icon of the Russian Orthodox Church, is discovered underground in the city of Kazan, Tatarstan.
• 1663 – Charles II of England grants John Clarke a Royal Charter to Rhode Island.
• 1680 – The first confirmed tornado in America kills a servant at Cambridge, Massachusetts.
• 1709 – Great Northern War: Battle of Poltava – Peter I of Russia defeats Charles XII of Sweden at Poltava thus effectively ending Sweden's role as a major power in Europe.
• 1716 – Great Northern War: the naval Battle of Dynekilen takes place.
• 1758 – French forces hold Fort Carillon against the British at Ticonderoga, New York.
• 1760 – French and Indian War: Battle of Restigouche – British forces defeat French forces in last naval battle in New France.
• 1775 – The Olive Branch Petition is signed by the Continental Congress of the Thirteen Colonies.
• 1776 – The Declaration of Independence is read aloud in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and the Liberty Bell is rung.
• 1822 – Chippewas turn over huge tract of land in Ontario to the United Kingdom.
• 1853 – Commodore Perry sails into Tokyo Bay.
• 1859 – King Charles XV & IV accedes to the throne of Sweden-Norway.
• 1864 – Ikedaya Jiken: the Choshu Han shishi's planned Shinsengumi sabotage on Kyoto, Japan at Ikedaya.
• 1874 – The Mounties begin their March West.
• 1876 – White supremacists kill five Black Republicans in Hamburg, SC.
• 1879 – Sailing ship USS Jeannette (1878) departs San Francisco carrying an ill-fated expedition to the North Pole.
• 1889 – The first issue of the Wall Street Journal is published.
• 1892 – St. John's, Newfoundland is devastated in the Great Fire of 1892.
• 1896 – William Jennings Bryan delivers his Cross of Gold speech advocating bimetalism at the 1896 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
• 1898 – The death of crime boss Soapy Smith (who is shot) releases Skagway, Alaska from his iron grip.
• 1907 – Florenz Ziegfeld staged his first Follies on the roof of the New York Theater in New York City.
• 1932 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average reaches its lowest level of the Great Depression, bottoming out at 41.22.
• 1947 – Reports are broadcast that a UFO crash landed in Roswell, New Mexico.
• 1948 – The United States Air Force accepts its first female recruits into a program called Women in the Air Force (WAF).
• 1960 – Francis Gary Powers is charged with espionage resulting from his flight over the Soviet Union.
• 1962 – Ne Win besieges and dynamites the Rangoon University Student Union building to crash the Student Movement.
• 1965 – Train robber Ronald Biggs escapes from Wandsworth Prison, London.
• 1966 – King Mwambutsa IV Bangiriceng of Burundi is deposed by his son Prince Charles Ndizi.
• 1968 – The Municipality of General Santos was converted into a City status, named General Santos City.
• 1969 – IBM CICS is made generally available for the 360 mainframe computer.
• 1970 – Richard Nixon delivers a special congressional message enunciating Native American Self-Determination as official US Indian policy, leading to the Indian Self-Determination Act.
• 1982 – Assassination attempt against Iraqi president Saddam Hussein in Dujail.
• 1982 – The Senegalese Trotskyist political party LCT is legally recognized.
• 1992 – The Conference for Security and Co-operation in Europe creates the office of High Commissioner on National Minorities.
• 1994 – Kim Jong-il assumes office as Supreme Leader of North Korea after the death of his father, Kim Il-sung.
• 1996 – A schizophrenic man armed with a machete wounds three children and four adults at a primary school in Wolverhampton, England. Teacher Lisa Potts received the George Medal for protecting her pupils, despite being severely injured.
• 1997 – NATO invites the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland to join the alliance in 1999.
• 1999 – Allen Lee Davis is executed by electric chair by the state of Florida, the last use of the electric chair for capital punishment in Florida.
• 2007 – Boeing unveiled its first 787 in a roll-out ceremony at its Everett assembly factory.

Births

• 1528 – Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy (d. 1580)
• 1545 – Carlos, Prince of Asturias (d. 1568)
• 1593 – Artemisia Gentileschi, Italian painter (d. 1653)
• 1621 – Jean de la Fontaine, French writer (d. 1695)
• 1760 – Christian Kramp, French mathematician (d. 1826)
• 1766 – Dominique Jean Larrey, French surgeon (d. 1842)
• 1792 – Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen, Queen of Bavaria (d. 1854)
• 1819 – Francis Leopold McClintock, British naval officer and explorer (d. 1907)
• 1830 – Frederick William Seward, 6th and 11th United States Assistant Secretary of State (d. 1915)
• 1830 – Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Altenburg, German-born wife of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich of Russia (d. 1911)
• 1831 – John Stith Pemberton, American druggist and inventor of Coca-Cola (d. 1888)
• 1836 – Joseph Chamberlain, British politician (d. 1914)
• 1838 – Ferdinand von Zeppelin, German inventor (d. 1917)
• 1839 – John D. Rockefeller, American industrialist and philanthropist (d. 1937)
• 1851 – Arthur Evans, English archaeologist (d. 1941)
• 1857 – Alfred Binet, French psychologist (d. 1911)
• 1867 – Käthe Kollwitz, German painter, printmaker and sculptor (d. 1945)
• 1878 – Jimmy Quinn, Scottish footballer (d. 1945)
• 1882 – Percy Grainger, Australian composer (d. 1961)
• 1885 – Ernst Bloch, German philosopher (d. 1977)
• 1892 – Richard Aldington, English poet (d. 1962)
• 1892 – Pavel Korin, Russian painter (d. 1967)
• 1895 – Igor Tamm, Russian physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 1971)
• 1898 – Melville Ruick, American actor (d. 1972)
• 1904 – Henri Cartan, French mathematician (d. 2008)
• 1905 – Leonid Amalrik, Russian animator (d. 1997)
• 1906 – Philip Johnson, American architect (d. 2005)
• 1907 – George W. Romney, American businessman and politician (d. 1995)
• 1908 – Louis Jordan, American saxophonist (d. 1975)
• 1908 – Nelson A. Rockefeller, 41st Vice President of the United States (d. 1979)
• 1914 – Jyoti Basu, Indian politician (d. 2010)
• 1914 – Billy Eckstine, American jazz singer (d. 1993)
• 1917 – Faye Emerson, American actress (d. 1983)
• 1918 – Craig Stevens, American actor (d. 2000)
• 1918 – Paul B. Fay, American businessman and cabinet member in the Kennedy administration (d. 2009)
• 1919 – Walter Scheel, German politician
• 1920 – Godtfred Kirk Christiansen, Danish industrialist (Lego Group) (d. 1995)
• 1923 – Harrison Dillard, American sprinter and hurdler
• 1924 – Johnnie Johnson, American blues pianist (d. 2005)
• 1926 – Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, Swiss-born psychiatrist (d. 2004)
• 1927 – Maurice Hayes, Irish politician
• 1931 – Roone Arledge, American sports broadcaster
• 1932 – Jerry Vale, American singer
• 1933 – Antonio Lamer, French Canadian lawyer and chief justice (d. 2007)
• 1934 – Ed Lumley, Canadian corporate executive and politician
• 1934 – Marty Feldman, English comedian and actor (d. 1982)
• 1935 – Steve Lawrence, American entertainer and singer
• 1935 – Vitali Sevastyanov, Russian cosmonaut
• 1940 – Ben Chapman, English politician and civil servant
• 1941 – Dario Gradi, Italian-born English football manager
• 1942 – Phil Gramm, American politician
• 1942 – Janice Pennington, American game show model
• 1944 – Jai Johanny Johanson, American drummer and percussionist (The Allman Brothers Band)
• 1944 – Jeffrey Tambor, American actor
• 1945 – Micheline Calmy-Rey, Swiss politician
• 1947 – Kim Darby, American actress
• 1947 – Luis Fernando Figari, Peruvian founder of Sodalitium Christianae Vitae
• 1948 – Raffi, Egyptian born Canadian children's entertainer
• 1949 – Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, Indian politician, the 14th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh (d. 2009)
• 1949 – Frank Delima, American comedian
• 1949 – Dale Hoganson, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1949 – Wolfgang Puck, Austrian-born celebrity chef
• 1951 – Anjelica Huston, American actress
• 1952 – Jack Lambert, American football player
• 1952 – Marianne Williamson, American spiritual activist and founder of the Peace Alliance
• 1952 – Anna Quindlen, American newspaper columnist
• 1955 – Mihaela Mitrache, Romanian actress (d. 2008)
• 1955 – Alison Fraser, American actress
• 1956 – Terry Puhl, Canadian baseball player
• 1957 – Aleksandr Gurnov, Russian television personality
• 1957 – Carlos Cavazo, Mexican-born American guitarist (Quiet Riot, Ratt)
• 1958 – Kevin Bacon, American actor
• 1958 – Tzipi Livni, Israeli politician
• 1958 – Neetu Singh, Indian actress
• 1958 – Andreas Carlgren, Swedish politician
• 1959 – Robert Knepper, American actor
• 1959 – Pauline Quirke, British actress
• 1960 – Mal Meninga, Australian rugby league footballer
• 1961 – Toby Keith, American country music singer-songwriter
• 1961 – Andrew Fletcher, English vocalist and synth and bass player (Depeche Mode)
• 1962 – Joan Osborne, American singer and songwriter
• 1963 – Mark Christopher, American film director
• 1964 – Linda de Mol, Dutch actress and host
• 1964 – Alexei Gusarov, Russian ice hockey player
• 1965 – Lee Tergesen, American actor
• 1966 – Ralf Altmeyer, German virologist
• 1966 – Shadlog Bernicke, Nauruan politician
• 1967 – Jordan Chan, Hong Kong actor and singer
• 1968 – Akio Suyama, Japanese seiyu
• 1968 – Billy Crudup, American actor
• 1968 – Thom Fitzgerald, American-Canadian film director
• 1968 – Shane Howarth, New Zealand rugby player (also capped by Wales)
• 1968 – Michael Weatherly, American actor
• 1969 – Sugizo Japanese guitarist and singer (Luna Sea)
• 1970 – Beck, American singer
• 1971 – Amanda Peterson, American actress
• 1971 – John Juanda, Indonesian poker player
• 1971 – Neil Jenkins, Welsh rugby player
• 1972 – Karl Dykhuis, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1972 – Shōsuke Tanihara, Japanese actor
• 1972 – Sourav Ganguly, Indian cricketer
• 1973 – Kathleen Robertson, Canadian actress
• 1974 – Zhanna Friske, Russian actress and singer
• 1974 – Tami Erin, American actress and model
• 1975 – Elias Viljanen, Finnish guitarist (Sonata Arctica)
• 1976 – Talal El Karkouri, Moroccan footballer
• 1976 – David Kennedy, American guitarist (Angels & Airwaves)
• 1977 – Wang Zhizhi, Chinese basketball player
• 1977 – Milo Ventimiglia, American actor
• 1977 – Paolo Tiralongo, Italian cyclist
• 1978 – Rachael Lillis, American actress
• 1978 – Eve Myles, Welsh actress
• 1979 – Mat McBriar, American football player
• 1979 – André, Armenian singer
• 1980 – Robbie Keane, Irish footballer
• 1981 – Anastasia Myskina, Russian tennis player
• 1982 – Hakim Warrick, American basketball player
• 1982 – Joshua Alba, American actor
• 1982 – Sophia Bush, American actress
• 1983 – Jaroslav Janiš, Czech racing car driver
• 1983 – John Bowker, American baseball player
• 1983 – Daniel Navarro García, Spanish cyclist
• 1984 – Alexis Dziena, American actress
• 1985 – Jamie Cook, British guitarist (Arctic Monkeys)
• 1986 – Renata Costa (Kóki), Brazilian footballer
• 1986 – Jake McDorman, American actor
• 1987 – Vlada Roslyakova, Russian model
• 1988 – Jesse Sergent, New Zealand cyclist
• 1988 – Dave Taylor, Australian rugby league player
• 1992 – Sky Ferreira, American singer
• 1992 – Benjamin Grosvenor, British pianist
• 1998 – Jaden Smith, American actor
• 2000 – Sophie Nyweide, American actress
• 2001 – Yang Peiyi, Chinese singer

Deaths

• 810 – King Pepin of Italy, son of Charlemagne (b. 773)
• 901 – Grimbald, Benedectine monk and Saint (b. 827)
• 975 – Edgar the Peaceful, King of England (b. 943)
• 1153 – Pope Eugene III (b. c. 1087)
• 1538 – Diego de Almagro, Spanish explorer (b. 1475)
• 1623 – Pope Gregory XV (b. 1554)
• 1689 – Edward Wooster, English-born Connecticut pioneer (b. 1622)
• 1695 – Christiaan Huygens, Dutch mathematician, astronomer, physicist and horologist (b. 1629)
• 1716 – Robert South, English churchman (b. 1634)
• 1721 – Elihu Yale, American benefactor of Yale University (b. 1649)
• 1726 – John Ker, Scottish spy (b. 1673)
• 1784 – Torbern Bergman, Swedish chemist (b. 1735)
• 1822 – Percy Bysshe Shelley, English poet (b. 1792)
• 1826 – Luther Martin, American statesman (b. 1748)
• 1850 – Prince Adolphus, 1st Duke of Cambridge (b. 1774
• 1855 – Sir William Edward Parry, English Arctic explorer (b. 1790)
• 1859 – King Oscar I of Sweden and Norway (b. 1799)
• 1887 – Ben Holladay, American businessman and founder of the Overland Stagecoach Company (b. 1819)
• 1895 – Johann Josef Loschmidt, Austrian chemist and physicist (b. 1821)
• 1898 – Soapy Smith, American con artist and gangster (b. 1860)
• 1905 – Walter Kittredge, American violinist and abolitionist (b. 1834)
• 1913 – Louis Hémon, French-born Canadian writer (b. 1880)
• 1917 – Tom Thomson, Canadian painter (b. 1877)
• 1930 – Sir Joseph Ward, 17th Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1856)
• 1933 – Anthony Hope, British author (b. 1863)
• 1934 – Benjamin Baillaud, French astronomer (b. 1848)
• 1939 – Havelock Ellis, British physician (b. 1859)
• 1941 – Moses Schorr, Polish rabbi, senator, historian and orientalist (b. 1874)
• 1943 – Jean Moulin, French Resistance leader (b. 1899)
• 1950 – Othmar Spann, Austrian philosopher (b. 1878)
• 1956 – Giovanni Papini, Italian essayist (b. 1881)
• 1957 – Grace Coolidge, First Lady of the United States (b. 1879)
• 1961 – Konstantinos Logothetopoulos, Greek medical doctor and politician, the 2nd Prime Minister of the collaborationist Hellenic State (b. 1878)
• 1962 – Georges Bataille, French writer and philosopher (b. 1897)
• 1967 – Fatima Jinnah, Pakistani political figure (b. 1893)
• 1971 – Charlie Shavers, American jazz trumpet player (b. 1920)
• 1973 – Ben-Zion Dinur, Russian-born Israeli educator, historian and politician (b. 1884)
• 1973 – Wilfred Rhodes, English cricketer (b. 1877)
• 1979 – Sin-Itiro Tomonaga, Japanese physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1906)
• 1979 – Robert Burns Woodward, American chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1917)
• 1979 – Michael Wilding, English actor (b. 1912)
• 1981 – Wild Bill Hallahan, American baseball player (b. 1902)
• 1986 – Skeeter Webb, American baseball player (b. 1909)
• 1987 – Gerardo Diego, Spanish poet (b. 1896)
• 1987 – Lionel Chevrier, Canadian politician (b. 1903)
• 1988 – Ray Barbuti, American middle distance runner and football player (b. 1905)
• 1990 – Howard Duff, American actor (b. 1913)
• 1991 – James Franciscus, American actor (b. 1934)
• 1994 – Christian-Jaque, French film director and screenwriter (b. 1904)
• 1994 – Kim Il-sung, North Korean leader (b. 1912)
• 1994 – Lars-Eric Lindblad, Swedish-born American entrepreneur and explorer (b. 1927)
• 1994 – Dick Sargent, American actor (b. 1930)
• 1999 – Pete Conrad, American astronaut (b. 1930)
• 2001 – John O'Shea, New Zealand film director (b. 1920)
• 2002 – Ward Kimball, American animator (b. 1914)
• 2004 – Paula Danziger, American author (b. 1944)
• 2004 – Jean Lefebvre, French actor (b. 1922)
• 2006 – June Allyson, American actress (b. 1917)
• 2006 – Peter Hawkins, British actor and voice actor (b. 1924)
• 2008 – John Templeton, British businessman and philanthropist (b. 1912)

Holidays and observances

• Christian Feast Day:
  • Abda and Sabas
  • Auspicius of Trier
  • Grimbald
  • Kilian, Totnan, and Colman
  • Procopius of Scythopolis
  • Sunniva and companions
  • Theobald of Marly
  • July 8 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

• International wear your pants on your head day
• Soapy Smith Wake (Skagway)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada

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