Historical Events on May 8

Events 1 - 200 of 215

• 535 John II's reign as Catholic Pope ends, upon his death
• 589 Visigothic King Reccared summons the Third Council of Toledo, where he accepts the Catholic faith
• 615 Saint Boniface IV's reign as Catholic Pope ends

• 685 St Benedict II's reign as Catholic Pope ends after 11 months, upon his death
• 1254 University of Salamanca granted a royal charter by Alfonso IX. Third oldest university still operating and the oldest Hispanic.

• 1360 Treaty of Brétigny signed by English & French, ending the first phase of the Hundred Years' War

• 1604 Pierre Dugua de Monts reaches Cap La Hève (La Have) on the Nova Scotia coast, on his way to establish Arcadia, the first successful permanent settlement in New France
• 1624 Dutch Nassau fleet reaches port of Callao in Peru intending to ransack the annual Spanish silver ship convoy, misses them by five days [1]

• 1639 William Coddington founds Newport, Rhode Island
• 1643 Lady Blanche Arundell, surrenders Wardour Castle, which she had led the defense of against siege by Parliamentarian forces [1]

• 1721 Michelangiolo dei Conti succeeds Pope Clement XI, as Innocent XIII
• 1741 France & Bavaria sign Covenant of Nymphenburg
• 1777 Richard Brinsley Sheridan's comedy play "School for Scandal" premieres in London
• 1784 Only known deaths by hailstones in US (Winnsborough, South Carolina)
• 1787 First US prison reform society formed, the Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons led by Dr. Benjamin Rush
• 1792 British Captain George Vancouver sights and names Mt Rainier, Washington
• 1792 US establishes the military draft
• 1812 US passes 1st foreign aid bill, authorizing up to $50K to assist victims of Caracas, Venezuela earthquake of March 26
• 1821 Greek War of Independence: Greeks defeat the Turks in Gravia
• 1823 "Home! Sweet Home!" by John Howard Payne is 1st sung in London
• 1834 Prussia, Austria and Russia sign classified accord about Belgium

• 1840 Alexander Wolcott patents Photographic Process
• 1842 Versailles to Paris train catches fire; 50 die
• 1846 First major battle of the Mexican–American War fought at Palo Alto, Texas
• 1847 Scot Robert Thompson patents rubber tyre
• 1852 Second London protocol signed reaffirming Danish federation control of independent Duchies of Holstein, Lauenburg and Schleswig

• 1861 Richmond, Virginia, is named the capital of the Confederacy in the US
• 1862 Valley Campaign: Federals repulsed at Battle of McDowell, Virginia
• 1863 Confederación Granadina becomes Estados Unidos de Colombia
• 1864 Actions at Stony Creek/Nottoway bridge, Virginia (Drewry's Bluff)
• 1864 Atlanta Campaign: Severe fighting near Dalton
• 1864 Battle of Spotsylvania Court House begins
• 1871 British-US treaty ends Alabama dispute
• 1877 1st Westminster Dog Show held

• 1879 George Selden files for 1st patent for a gasoline-driven automobile

• 1882 David Belasco's "La Belle Russe" premieres in NYC
• 1885 Sarah Ann Henley survives 76-m jump from Clifton Bridge in Bristol, England
• 1886 Jacob's Pharmacy in Atlanta sells the first Coca-Cola (contained cocaine)
• 1895 China cedes Taiwan to Japan under Treaty of Shimonoseki
• 1898 The first games of the Italian Football League are played

• 1899 The Irish Literary Theatre in Dublin opens
• 1901 A British appointed commission estimates today that some 1,250,000 Indians have died after a severe drought, lasting since 1899
• 1901 In their long-delayed AL home opener, Boston defeats Philadelphia 12-4
• 1902 Mount Pelée on the French overseas island of Martinique erupts, wiping out the city of Saint-Pierre, killing 30,000 and leaving only two survivors
• 1905 Union of Unions organizes In Russia under the chairmanship of Paul Miliukov and joins liberal groups demanding parliamentary government and universal suffrage
• 1906 Philadelphia A's pitcher Albert Bender is deployed to left field in 6th inning and responds with 2 HRs in A's 11-4 win over Boston Americans at Huntington Avenue Grounds, Boston
• 1907 Boston Doves pitcher "Big Jeff" Pfeffer no-hits Cincinnati Reds, 6-0 at South End Grounds, Boston

• 1909 American Albert Raines runs world record marathon (2:46:04.6) in NYC
• 1909 British runner Henry Barrett runs world record marathon (2:42:31) in the Polytechnic Marathon in London
• 1912 Film and television production and distribution studio Paramount Pictures is founded
• 1916 German munitions bunker in Fort Douaumont explodes killing 679 German soldiers
• 1916 Irishmen Eamon Kent, Michael Mallin, Con Colbert and Sean Houston are executed by British authorities following the Easter Rising at Kilmainham Gaol, Dublin
• 1919 1st transatlantic flight take-off by a navy seaplane
• 1919 Appingedam soccer team forms

• 1921 Sweden abolishes capital punishment

• 1924 Memel territories given to Lithuania
• 1924 Workers at Werkspoor in Amsterdam strike against 3rd wage cut
• 1925 French colonial army beats Rifkabylen in Morocco
• 1926 A. Philip Randolph organizes Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters
• 1926 Fire breaks out in Fenway Park, home of Boston Red Sox baseball team
• 1929 Jan Mayen island, 500 km NNE of Iceland, incorporated into Norway

• 1931 Operette "Land of Smiles" premieres in London

• 1935 MLB Cincinnati Reds catcher Ernie Lombardi doubles in 6th, 7th, 8th & 9th in 15-4 victory over Phillies, in game one of a double header at Philadelphia's Baker Bowl
• 1936 Jockey Ralph Neves unexpectedly revived after being declared dead after a fall. His wife faints when he returned to track
• 1938 Stravinsky's "Dumbarton Oaks" premieres in Washington, D.C.
• 1939 Archaeologist James Brown begins excavating at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk, goes on to find a royal 7th century Anglo-Saxon burial ship - the great archeological discovery on British soil [1]
• 1941 German Q-ship Pinguin sinks in Indian Ocean
• 1942 1st twilight game in 24 years, the Dodgers top Giants 7-6 raising $60,000 for Navy Relief Fund
• 1942 Aircraft carrier USS Lexington sunk by Japanese air attack in Coral Sea
• 1942 German summer offensive opens in Crimea
• 1943 Admiral Cunningham of British fleet: "Sink, burn & destroy; let nothing pass"
• 1944 33 communist resistance fighter sentenced to death
• 1945 Canadian troops move into Amsterdam
• 1945 Chinese counterattack at Tsjangte, supports by 14th air fleet

• 1945 V-E Day: World War II ends in Europe after Germany signs an unconditional surrender
• 1946 Estonian school girls Aili Jõgi and Ageeda Paavel blow up the Soviet memorial that preceded the Bronze Soldier in Tallinn
• 1946 MLB Boston Red Sox shortstop Johnny Pesky scores 6 runs in 14-10 win over visiting Chicago White Sox

• 1949 West German constitution approved

• 1950 Tollund Man, an early Iron Age bog body found hanged as a human sacrifice, discovered by men digging for peat in Jutland, Denmark [1]
• 1951 Dacron men's suits introduced
• 1951 US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Enewetak Atoll
• 1953 WIPB TV channel 49 in Muncie, IN (PBS) begins broadcasting
• 1954 1st shot-put throw over 60' (18.29 m) by American Parry O'Brien, Los Angeles, California
• 1956 John Osborne's "Look Back in Anger" premieres in London

• 1959 3-deck Nile River excursion steamer springs a leak panicking passengers who capsized ship; 200 drown just yards from shore

• 1960 1st performance of Ferde Grofé's "San Francisco Suite", with Grofé conducting, in San Francisco
• 1960 USSR & Cuba resume diplomatic relations
• 1961 1st practical sea water conversion plant-Freeport, Texas

• 1962 1st Atlas Centaur Launch
• 1962 London trolley buses (electrically powered buses using overhead supply) go out of service

• 1965 1st shut put over 70' (Randy Matson 70' 7")
• 1966 Last game at old Busch stadium, St Louis Card lose 10-5 to San Francisco

• 1967 The Philippine province of Davao is split into three: Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, and Davao Oriental
• 1968 Jim (Catfish) Hunter of Oakland pitches perfect game vs Twins (4-0)
• 1968 Pulitzer prize awarded to William Styron (Confessions of Nat Turner)
• 1969 Cambodia recognizes the German Democratic Republic (East Germany)

• 1970 Beatles release 12th, and final, studio album, "Let It Be", in conjunction with the film of the same name
• 1970 Construction workers break up an anti-war rally in NYC's Wall Street
• 1970 Thousands of students protest against the Vietnam War following the Kent State University shootings in Ohio
• 1972 Sabena aircraft at Lod International Airport, Tel Aviv, captured by Palestinians

• 1974 50 MPH speed limit in Britain lifted

• 1976 The rollercoaster Revolution (roller coaster), the first steel coaster with a vertical flip, opens at Six Flags Magic Mountain
• 1978 ABC TV airs "Stars Salute Israel at 30"
• 1979 Radio Shack releases TRSDOS 2.3

• 1980 1st non-stop trans-North American balloon flight departs Fort Baker, California. Maxie Anderson and son Kristian pilot the Kitty Hawk for five days.
• 1980 Sabres take only 15 shots, Islanders 22, in a playoff game
• 1980 World Health Organization announces smallpox has been eradicated
• 1981 Ron Davis pitches 10th consecutive strike out, 1 short of record
• 1984 France performs nuclear test at Mururoa atoll

• 1984 Thames Barrier to stop flooding in London officially completed
• 1984 The Soviet Union announces it will not participate in Los Angeles Summer Olympics in retaliation for the American boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics
• 1985 France performs nuclear test at Mururoa atoll
• 1987 Gary Hart quits US democratic presidential race due to affair with Donna Rice
• 1987 The Loughgall ambush: The SAS kill 8 IRA members and 1 civilian, in Loughgall, Northern Ireland
• 1988 Amateur referees work NJ Devil-Boston Bruin playoff games, as NHL referees walk-off, due to a restraining order brought by Devils

• 1989 US space shuttle STS-30 lands
• 1990 Cuyahoga County voters approve sin tax to build Cleveland Gateway
• 1990 Reindependence Day of Estonia

• 1993 16-year-old Keron Thomas disguises himself as a motorman and takes a NYC subway train and 2,000 passengers on a 3 hour ride
• 1993 ABC Masters Bowling Tournament won by Phil Ware

• 1994 500th commentary by Andy Rooney on 60 Minutes
• 1994 Colorado Silver Bullets (all-female pro baseball team) 1st game
• 1994 Erling Kagge becomes the first person to complete the Three Poles Challenge
• 1994 Ernesto Perez Balladares elected president of Panama
• 1994 Jose Maria Figueres becomes president of Costa Rica

• 1996 South Africa's Constitutional Assembly adopts permanent post-apartheid constitution
• 1999 Nancy Mace becomes the first female cadet to graduate from The Citadel military college (South Carolina)
• 2005 The new Canadian War Museum opens, in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of V-E Day

• 2010 Barrow AFC wins English FA Trophy at Wembley, makes them only team to win it at both Old & New Wembley stadiums
• 2010 Last piece of Yankee Stadium falls in the Bronx, New York, marking the end of the two year demolition process

• 2013 33 people are killed after an overloaded bus falls into a river in Himachal Pradesh, India

• 2014 NFL Draft: South Carolina outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney first pick by Houston Texans

• 2018 Ebola outbreak declared in north-west Democratic Republic of Congo with 2 confirmed cases and 17 deaths
• 2018 Largest-ever wave at 23.8m recorded in the South Hemisphere at Campbell Island by New Zealand scientists
• 2018 Paris St-Germain seals the French domestic football treble with a 2-0 win over 3rd Div Les Herbiers in the French Cup Final at the Stade de France

• 2018 Seattle Mariners MLB left-hander James Paxton hurls a no-hitter in a 5-0 win over the Blue Jays in Toronto
• 2019 Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes argues that Facebook should be split up and regulated in "New York Times" Op-Ed essay
• 2019 Governor of Georgia Brian Kemp signs new abortion law, the so-called "heart-beat bill" (comes into effect Jan 2020)
• 2019 Iran announces it will stop complying with parts of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal
• 2019 Pakistani Christian woman Asia Bibi who spent eight years in prison on death row for blasphemy arrives in Canada
• 2019 Singapore passes sweeping "anti-fake news" laws bill
• 2019 Thailand's general elections official results show opposition Pheu Thai Party won most seats but still unable to form governmen, due to rules favoring the military
• 2019 UK goes a week without using a coal-fired power station for first time in 137 years due to use of more renewable energy

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