Major Events
- 1099 First Crusade: 15,000 starving Christian soldiers march in religious procession around Jerusalem as its Muslim defenders look on
- 1497 Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama departs on his first voyage, will become the 1st European to reach India by sea
- 1777 Independent Vermont introduces a new constitution, prohibiting slavery
- 1800 Dr Benjamin Waterhouse gives 1st cowpox vaccination in the US to his son to prevent smallpox
- 1853 Commodore Matthew C. Perry sails his frigate Susquehanna into Tokyo Bay, opening Japan to Western influence and trade
- 1948 500th anniversary of the Russian Orthodox Church celebrated in Moscow
- 1949 South Africa's Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act commences, prohibiting marriage or a sexual relationship between White people and people of other races [1]
- More July 8 Events
Jul 8 in Film & TV
- 2010 "Inception", directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, premieres in London
Jul 8 in Music
- 1996 British girls group the Spice Girls release their debut single "Wannabe" in the UK
Jul 8 in Sport
- 1995 Wimbledon Women's Tennis: German superstar Steffi Graf beats Arantxa Sánchez Vicario of Spain 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 for her 6th Wimbledon title
Did You Know?
The Mounties (North West Mounted Police) begin their March West from Fort Dufferin
Jean de La Fontaine
John Pemberton
Ferdinand von Zeppelin
John D. Rockefeller
Nelson Rockefeller
Yann LeCun
Walter Kerr
Roone Arledge
Anjelica Huston
Louis Jordan
Toby Keith
Todd Martin
Fun Fact About July 8
Alfred Carlton Gilbert's patent for the Erector Set is issued, it becomes one of the most popular toys of all time
Famous Weddings
- 1290 Princess Margaret (15), daughter of Edward I of England marries Duke Brabant John II (14) at Westminster Abbey, London
- 1551 William I, Prince of Orange (18) weds Dutch noble and heiress Countess Anna van Egmont (18), until her death in 1558
- 1800 British politician and future Prime Minister of UK George Canning (30) weds Scottish heiress Joan Scott (24-ish) at St George's Anglican Church, Hanover Square, London, until his death in 1827
More July 8 Weddings
Christiaan Huygens
Vivien Leigh
Kim Il-sung
Betty Ford
Ernest Borgnine
Shinzō Abe
