8 May
May 8 is the 128th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (129th in leap years). There are 237 days remaining.
Events
- 1450 - Kentishmen revolt against King Henry VI.
- 1541 - Hernando de Soto reaches the Mississippi River naming it Río de Espíritu Santo.
- 1794 - French chemist Antoine Lavoisier is executed by guillotine.
- 1846 - Mexican-American War: The Battle of Palo Alto - Zachary Taylor defeats a Mexican force north of the Rio Grande at Palo Alto, Texas 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 be named "Coca-Cola".
- 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, destroys the town of St. Pierre, and kills 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 fought without visual contact between warring ships.
- 1945 - World War II: VE Day. German forces agree to an unconditional surrender.
- 1967 - The Philippine province of Davao was 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 who were occupying the Pine Ridge Reservation at Wounded Knee, South Dakota, ends with the surrender of the militants.
- 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 3 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 crashed on approach into Shenzhen's Huangtian Airport killing 35
- 1999 - Nancy Mace becomes the first female cadet to graduate from The Citadel military college.
Births
- 1521 - Petrus Canisius, Jesuit († 1597)
- 1735 - Sir Nathaniel Dance-Holland, painter († 1811)
- 1825 - George Bruce Malleson, Indian officer and author († 1898)
- 1828 - Jean Henri Dunant, founder of the Red Cross and recipient of the Nobel Prize in peace 1901 († 1910)
- 1829 - Louis Moreau Gottschalk, American composer, pianist († 1869)
- 1842 - Emil Christian Hansen, fermentation physiologist († 1909)
- 1850 - Ross Barnes, baseball player († 1915)
- 1884 - Harry S. Truman, former President of the United States († 1972)
- 1895 - Fulton J. Sheen, bishop, television personality († 1979)
- 1903 - Fernandel, actor († 1971)
- 1905 - Red Nichols, jazz musician († 1965)
- 1906 - Roberto Rossellini, director († 1977)
- 1907 - Wof Stefan Traugott Graf von Baudissin, general († 1993)
- 1911 - Robert Johnson, blues singer and guitarist († 1938)
- 1914 - Romain Gary, writer († 1980)
- 1916 - João Havelange, industrialist and former FIFA president
- 1919 - Lex Barker, actor († 1973)
- 1926 - Don Rickles, comedian
- 1926 - Sir David Attenborough, British television presenter and producer
- 1928 - Theodore Sorenson, political operative, writer
- 1932 - Sonny Liston, boxer († 1970)
- 1932 - Phyllida Law, actress
- 1937 - Thomas Pynchon, novelist
- 1940 - Ricky Nelson, pop singer, († 1985)
- 1943 - Toni Tennille, singer
- 1944 - Gary Glitter, singer
- 1945 - Keith Jarrett, jazz musician
- 1954 - David Keith, actor
- 1963 - Helena Blagne Zaman, Slovene singer
- 1964 - Melissa Gilbert, actress, president of the Screen Actors Guild
- 1964 - Bobby Labonte, NASCAR driver
- 1975 - Enrique Iglesias, singer
Deaths
- 1794 - Antoine Lavoisier, chemist (b. 1743)
- 1842 - Jules Dumont d'Urville, explorer (b. 1790)
- 1873 - John Stuart Mill, Empiricist philosopher (b. 1806)
- 1880 - Gustave Flaubert, novelist (b. 1821)
- 1891 - Helena Blavatsky, author (b. 1831)
- 1947 - Harry Gordon Selfridge, founder of Selfridges department store (b. 1858)
- 1952 - William Fox, Austro-Hungarian-born American 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 racing driver (b. 1950)
- 1985 - Theodore Sturgeon, science fiction writer (b. 1918)
- 1988 - Robert A. Heinlein, science fiction writer (b. 1907)
- 1993 - Avram Davidson, science fiction writer (b. 1923)
- 1994 - George Peppard, actor (b. 1928)
- 1999 - Dirk Bogarde, actor (b. 1921)
- 1999 - Dana Plato, actress (b. 1964)
Holidays and observances
Recorded this day
May 7 - May 9 - April 8 - June 8 -- listing of all days
