July 8

Events

• 1099 - First Crusade: 15,000 starving Christian soldiers march around Jerusalem as its Muslim defenders mocked them.
• 1630 - The Massachusetts Bay Colony celebrates its first Thanksgiving Day.
• 1663 - Charles II of England grants John Clarke a Royal Charter to Rhode Island.
• 1709 - Battle of Poltava - In the Ukraine, Peter I of Russia defeats Charles XII of Sweden at Poltava thus effectively ending Sweden's role as a major power in Europe.
• 1758 - French and Indian War: French forces hold Fort Carillon against British at Ticonderoga, New York.
• 1760 - French and Indian War: Battle of the Ristigouche - British defeat French forces in last naval battle in New France.
• 1822 - Chippewas turn over huge tract of land in Ontario to the United Kingdom.
• 1889 - The first issue of the Wall Street Journal is published.
• 1889 - During the last championship bare-knuckle boxing match, John L. Sullivan defeats Jake Kilrain after 75 rounds.
• 1997 - Mayo Clinic researchers warn that the dieting-drug "fen-phen" can cause severe heart and lung damage.
• 1997 - NATO invites the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland to join the alliance in 1999.
• 2003 - Wikipedia introduces its Hebrew and Hungarian versions

Births

• 1593 - Artemisia Gentileschi, painter (+ 1651)
• 1621 - Jean de la Fontaine, fablist
• 1819 - Francis Leopold McClintock, naval officer and explorer
• 1836 - Joseph Chamberlain, British politician (+ 1914)
• 1838 - Ferdinand Graf von Zeppelin, inventor of rigid dirigibles (+ 1917)
• 1839 - John D. Rockefeller, capitalist, founder of Standard Oil (+ 1937)
• 1851 - Arthur Evans, archaeologist (+ 1941)
• 1867 - Käthe Kollwitz, painter and graphic artist (+ 1945)
• 1885 - Ernst Bloch, philosopher (+ 1977)
• 1908 - Louis Jordan, singer, saxophonist ("Is You or Is You Ain't My Baby,"), actor (Fuzzy Wuzzy, Five Guys Named Moe) (+ 1975)
• 1908 - Nelson A. Rockefeller, United States vice president during Gerald Ford's presidency
• 1918 - Craig Stevens, actor, (+ 2000)
• 1919 - Walter Scheel, politician
• 1932 - Barbara Loden, actress (Splendor in the Grass)
• 1933 - Marty Feldman, comedian, actor (Young Frankenstein)
• 1935 - Steve Lawrence, entertainer, singer
• 1935 - Vitali Sevastyanov, cosmonaut
• 1941 - Dario Gradi, football manager
• 1945 - Micheline Calmy-Rey, member of the Swiss Federal Council
• 1951 - Anjelica Huston, actress (Prizzi's Honor, The Addams Family)
• 1958 - Kevin Bacon, actor (Apollo 13, Wild Things)
• 1961 - Andy Fletcher, musician (Depeche Mode)
• 1970 - Beck, rock and roll singer
• 1975 - Kathleen Robertson, actress (Beverly Hills 90210, Scary Movie 2)

Deaths

• 975 - King Edgar of England
• 1695 - Christiaan Huygens, Dutch scientist
• 1822 - Percy Bysshe Shelley, author
• 1850 - Prince Adolphus of the United Kingdom, 1st Duke of Cambridge
• 1917 - Thomas John 'Tom' Thomson, painter
• 1933 - Anthony Hope, author ("The Prisoner of Zenda")
• 1943 - Jean Moulin, leader of the French Resistance in WW II.
• 1950 - Othmar Spann, Austrian philosopher and economist
• 1967 - Vivien Leigh, actress
• 1990 - Howard Duff, actor
• 1994 - Kim Il Sung, North Korean leader
• 2003 - Ladan and Laleh Bijani, Iranian twins died after an unsuccessful separation operation

Holidays and observances

July 7 - July 9 - June 8 - August 8 -- listing of all days

January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

Referenced By